Digital punch card: how staff stamp it without slowing the line

What changes when the punch card moves to the phone

With a paper punch card, the employee looks for the hole punch, the customer looks for the card in their wallet, and sometimes it stayed at home. With a digital punch card, the card is in the phone wallet, next to the credit cards, and the employee stamps it from their own phone.

Most business owners have one simple worry: that it will slow down the register. At a busy hour, every second is felt in the line. So it is worth understanding exactly what happens at the register, step by step, and what to do when something does not work.

What stamping looks like at the register

For example only: "Almond Bakery" is a fictional bakery. Noa works the register in the morning, and the next customer asks for a croissant and a coffee.

1. The customer opens the card in their phone wallet and shows it.
2. Noa scans it with the scanner on her phone. There is no special device at the register.
3. The scanner identifies the customer and shows their name and where the card stands.
4. Noa presses the button. Only now is the visit recorded.
5. A stamp lands on the card, only after the visit is recorded.
6. The card in the customer's wallet updates, for example: 2 more visits to a gift.

Why the scan does not stamp by itself

It sounds like an extra step, but it saves a lot. A scan can happen twice by mistake, when the phone shakes or the customer brings it close again. If every scan stamped, double visits would be recorded. In Shortip the scan only identifies, and the visit is recorded only when the employee presses. The employee sees who they are stamping before they press.

When something goes wrong at the register

The register is not a lab. Customers forget their phones, the signal drops, and employees press by mistake. This is how it is solved:

• The customer forgot their phone? Find them by phone number, and stamp as usual.
• The signal dropped? The visit is saved on the employee's phone and sent when the signal comes back. Nobody needs to remember to record it later.
• A visit was recorded by mistake? Undo it with a reason, and see who undid it.

NFC sticker: when the line is especially long

Some businesses prefer one more way, without the employee holding a phone. The employee offers an NFC sticker, the customer brings their phone close to it, and the visit is recorded. Here too it is the employee who offers the sticker. It does not stand alone on the counter for everyone who walks by.

So that nobody takes advantage of it, a sticker stamps a card once a day. A sticker got lost? Cancel it in the portal in two clicks, and print a new one in its place.

When to choose the sticker and when the scan? The scan fits when the employee is holding a phone anyway and wants to see the customer's name before stamping. The sticker fits when the employee's hands are busy, for example at the coffee machine or the oven. You can use both, depending on what is happening at the register.

The team: who stamps, and from which phone

Every employee stamps from their own phone. To start, you send the employee an invitation on WhatsApp, and they install the scanner. There is no password to pass on by word of mouth and no account to open.

Shift manager

You are not always at the business. A shift manager can add a new employee or switch their phone when you are not there. That way an employee who started today does not wait for you to stamp their first customer. For example only: at the fictional bakery, Omer's phone breaks in the middle of the Friday shift. The shift manager moves his scanner to another phone within a few minutes, and the owners, who are on vacation, do not need to answer the phone.

Messages to the team

Need to tell all your employees something? Send a message from the portal to their phones, and see who read it. For example: "From today, offer the sticker at the second register too". This is not a channel to customers. The message reaches only the team's phones.

Customers who come with a paper punch card

If you had a paper card until now, you do not need to throw it away. A customer with a paper punch card? Move their visits to the card on their phone, with your approval.

For example only: a customer of "Almond Bakery" comes with a paper card that has six punches. Noa signs them up to the loyalty club, sends you the request, and you get a notification. After you approve, the card on their phone starts from six visits, and they continue from the same point.

"Worth a look": what is worth checking

Most days pass without anything strange. But when something unusual happens, it is better to know. Many visits for one customer in a day, or undos by one employee, are marked for you in the portal under "Worth a look".

A mark like this is not an accusation. Sometimes a customer really did buy three times in one day, and sometimes a new employee is still learning where the button is. The mark only tells you where to look, and you decide whether to ask.

The first week at the register

The technology is the easy part. What decides whether stamping is fast is the team's habit. A few steps that help in the first week:

1. Send an invitation to all your employees before the first day, so the scanner is already installed when the shift starts.
2. Let every employee stamp themselves once, with a test card. After one time the button is already familiar.
3. Decide where the phone stands at the register, if you chose a shared phone. A fixed place saves searching at a busy hour.
4. If you have an NFC sticker, put it near the register, in a place the employee reaches without moving.
5. At the end of every day, open what happened at the register today in the portal, by employee. That way you see who still needs help.

For example only: at the fictional bakery from the example, Omer works only on Fridays. On his first day he forgets to press the button after the scan, and the customer asks why the card did not update. Omer sees the name on the screen, presses, and the stamp lands. The next Friday he no longer forgets.

One more thing worth telling the team: there is no need to explain to the customer how the card works on every purchase. It is enough to scan, press, and move on to the next customer. The customer sees the update in their wallet on their own.

Frequently asked questions