How to set up QR code attendance for students in RTOPilot

With RTOPilot, your trainers can mark attendance in two ways: manually, or by letting students check themselves in with a QR code. QR code attendance tracking gives your trainers more time back in each session, since there’s no roll call to run and no record to re-enter later. Every check-in is time-stamped automatically, which makes attendance easier to produce at audit time.

This guide walks through how QR code check-in works, how to turn it on for a class, and how to mark attendance manually when needed.

What is QR code check-in 

QR code check-in is part of Class Mate, RTOPilot’s in-class admin tool and one of two ways RTOPilot handles RTO attendance tracking. Your trainer displays a QR code for a session, and students scan it with their own phone to mark themselves present, instead of a trainer calling the roll or passing round a paper sign-in sheet.

Class Mate replaces paper rolls with digital check-ins. Trainers can mark attendance manually, or students can scan a QR code to sign in, and the record updates in the system either way.

Note: This is different from the enrolment QR code. A check-in QR code marks attendance for a student already enrolled in the class. A separate enrolment QR code, where your organisation allows it, lets a new student enrol into the class itself.

How to turn on QR check-in for a class

To display the QR check-in code for a session, your trainer needs to:

1. Open the class from Classes in the Trainer Portal.
2. Select View Details.
3. Choose the session.
4. Select Student Check-In.

The QR code appears on screen, ready for students to scan.

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Tip: Watch the video to see how to open a class and start taking attendance from the Trainer Portal. How Trainers Manage Class Details with RTOPilot

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How a student checks in

A student scans the displayed QR code with their phone to sign themselves into the session. No app is needed. For students who don’t have a phone on hand, or run into a scanning issue, your trainer can mark them present directly from the class view.

How to mark attendance manually

QR code check-in doesn’t replace manual attendance marking; it sits alongside it. Your trainer can still mark students present or absent directly from the Trainer Portal, on any device, whether or not a class uses QR check-in. This keeps attendance workable for sessions where not every student has a smartphone, or where a trainer prefers to mark attendance themselves.

Tip: RTOPilot’s attendance tracking software covers both methods from the same screen. For more detail, see Attendance Tracking & Training Delivery Software.

How check-in data reaches your records

Attendance, assessment, and progress data captured through Class Mate syncs automatically to your student management system, whether a student checked in by QR code or a trainer marked them manually. Each attendance record is time-stamped, so there’s no manual reconciliation between a class roll and your student records.

How to download the attendance sheet

Your trainer can still generate a downloadable attendance sheet for a session, as a PDF or spreadsheet, with your RTO’s branding applied.

1. Open the class.
2. Select Attendance sheet.
3. Download as PDF or spreadsheet.

How QR code check-in supports compliance

Each QR check-in is time-stamped the moment a student scans, so your RTO has a digital record instead of a paper sheet that can go missing or get filled in after the fact. This supports the record-keeping obligations your RTO holds under the Standards for RTOs. For the broader compliance picture, including AVETMISS reporting, see AVETMISS Compliance.