For the Volunteers' Guide to using Kiosk, click here.

VolunteerHub’s Kiosk is a user-facing application that allows volunteers to register for current-day events, check into and out of those events and create new user accounts in VolunteerHub. Kiosk is included as part of the OnSite. Kiosk is touch-screen compatible for all mobile devices.

Kiosk is a companion interface separate from the main VolunteerHub site and is accessible through a URL address similar to your VolunteerHub site's regular URL (e.g., company.volunteerhub.com), but with the extension "kiosk" at the end (e.g., company.volunteerhub.com/kiosk).

Kiosk is an optional module and is included with OnSite at no additional charge in some VolunteerHub plans. If your organization does not yet have it, contact clientsuccess@volunteerhub.com for more information on how your organization can get started using the Kiosk and OnSite.

This article covers each of the following topics:

Choosing Your Kiosk Settings

Before activating and using the Kiosk to check users into events, you will need to decide which settings to use. These site-wide settings can be found at the bottom of the Site Settings tab of the Settings page.

Hours Tracking Mode

Select an option for granting hours to your users for events from the drop-down menu provided.

  • Grant hours upon registration: This option allows you to grant hours automatically to users once they register for the event. Do not use this option if you are using OnSite/Kiosk.
  • Grant hours upon check in: This option allows you to grant hours automatically to users once they check in for an event via Kiosk or OnSite , which prevents no-shows from being granted hours. Users will be required to check in only.
  • Grant hours upon check out: This option allows you to grant hours automatically to users once they check out of an event. This option is the most accurate hour-tracking method, but requires that users check out via Kiosk or OnSite before they leave the event. Users will have until the end of the day to check out (to accommodate those who stay late).

Note that if using the "Grant hours upon check out" option and a user forgets to check out, the user will not receive hours for the event. In this case, the administrator will need to enter hours manually for that individual in the Hours page of the event (you will see the user's check-in time on that page, but no check-out time and no hours). In addition, the automatic check-out option rounds hours to two decimal places.

Kiosk Settings

These options are available only to customers who have purchased OnSite, which also includes the user-facing Kiosk app.

  • Allow new users to create accounts via the kiosk: Check this checkbox to enable users to create an account on the Kiosk. This will add to the Kiosk interface two buttons: One for the existing user workflow, and one for the new user workflow. This option is useful in capturing new volunteer data if your organization allows new volunteers to show up to events before having created an account in your VolunteerHub site.
  • Allow users to register for events via the kiosk: Check this checkbox to allow users to register for events on the Kiosk. If left unchecked, only users already registered for an event will be able to check into events on the Kiosk. This option is useful in capturing registration data if your organization allows existing or new volunteers to show up to events without first having registered for the event.
  • Restrict check-in to within one hour of event start time:  Turning off this setting allows volunteers to check into events happening more than 1 hour into the future (Kiosk only works for events on the same day).

Activating Kiosk

The first time you use Kiosk on any device, you will need to activate the app on the device. This is intended as a safeguard so that users do not open the Kiosk App on their personal devices without authorization.

Kiosk requires no download or installation - it is simply an extension of your VolunteerHub site and can be accessed from any activated device and browser.

Step 1.

To activate for the first time on any device, log in to your VolunteerHub account and navigate to Settings from the Main Menu then click Kiosk Device. The page will state that the Kiosk is not yet activated by displaying as 'Off' (Figure 1). Toggle the enable option to 'On'. Click SAVE.

Figure 1. Kiosk must be activated for first-time use on any device.

Step 2.

The screen also provides several options for basic settings (Figure 1):

  • Ensure the correct time zone is selected.
  • Select a specific event group from the Event Group drop-down menu to show only events belonging to that event group in the Kiosk, or leave “All Events” selected to show all events occurring on the current day.
  • If you have a nametag printer set up on the device, select it from the Nametag Printer drop-down menu. If you already have Kiosk and wish to have a nametag printer set up in VolunteerHub, please contact support@volunteerhub.com.
  • Toggle the Show QR code for mobile device check-in to enable QR codes within Kiosk.
  • Set the Kiosk's default language.

Step 3.

When finished, click on the Save button.

Checking into Events

Once Kiosk is activated, choose Kiosk from the main menu to navigate to Kiosk.  The start page is displayed (Figure 3). This page allows a pre-registered user to scan the event QR code (if enabled) or enter user details to search for his or her profile in the system.


Figure 2. Users can search for themselves or scan a QR code to check in.


Type the user’s first name, last name, email or phone number into the search box and click on the Continue button. A matching user/username will appear along with the message, “Is this you?” (Figure 4). Click on the Continue button to check in the displayed user or click the Start Over button to start over.

Figure 3. Click on the Continue button to confirm your identity.


Click on the Continue button to check into the current event (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Kiosk prompts the user through all the steps to check into an event.

Once checked in, click on the Start Over button or wait 10 seconds for the Kiosk to return to the start page.

Note: as with OnSite, kiosk applies only to events that occur on the current day.

Checking Out of Events

To check out of an event, return to the start page and enter the user’s first name, last name, email or phone number. Click on the Continue button to confirm your identity and, on the next screen, click on the Continue button to check out of the event (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Don’t forget to check out of the event at the end of the shift.

When the confirmation message appears, click on the Start Over button or wait 10 seconds for the Kiosk to return to the start page.

Installing the Chrome Web App (Windows Only)

Using Google Chrome, you can save Kiosk to a device as a web-app (this is optional, not a requirement for using Kiosk).  This can only be done on a Windows computer.

  1. Access Kiosk via Chrome
  2. Press the three-dot menu button in the upper right of Chrome and choose 'Install VolunteerHub Kiosk'

  3. Choose 'Install'


  4. A shortcut for Kiosk appears on the desktop and Kiosk launches as a slimmed-down web app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does accessing Kiosk log me out of Admin?
Yes, once you launch Kiosk from Admin, you are now logged out of Admin. This is for added security to ensure against unwanted Admin access by any third-parties.

Why doesn't an event display in Kiosk?
Kiosk only displays events that 1) are occurring now or starting in the next hour and 2) the user is qualified to register for. Keep in mind that Kiosk obeys the same rules as your regular site. If you have deactivated registration, if an event is full, or if a user does not have permission to register for an event, then it will not be available to them in Kiosk. You can instead use OnSite to check them in. For assistance determining why an event doesn't display in Kiosk, please refer to this FAQ.

Also, you may need to verify that your Kiosk has been set up to display the proper Event Group. While logged into VolunteerHub Admin, navigate to your Settings page, select the Kiosk Device tab, and verify that the correct Event Group has been chosen from the dropdown list. If not, select the proper group (or "All Events") and click Save.

Can a user check in to more than one event on the same day?
Yes, but only if the user is pre-registered for those events. Otherwise, users may only check themselves in to one event per day in Kiosk. You can instead use OnSite to check them in.

What if a volunteer forgets to check out?

If you have your Hours Tracking Mode set to "Grant hours upon check out," then users must check out in order to receive hours for an event. To make sure no users remain checked in, we recommend that you go into OnSite at the end of each day. On the Events tab, you can quickly see if any users remain checked in and haven't checked out. At that point, you can navigate to the Event and click "Check Out All" as needed.

Can a new user be added to a user group when creating an account in Kiosk?

Yes, new users can be added to a user group if the membership control option 'Allow new users to join this group via the kiosk' is checked and the user group has an event reservation that day.  See this article for more details.

Why won't my Kiosk remain activated?

Once you have activated Kiosk on a device, it should remain activated and won't require you to remain logged in. Kiosk requires cookies in order to hold activation. Please be sure that your browser has been set up to allow cookies.