Over the past month, we've been posting about the importance of safety and security procedures including great check-in and check out procedures. In keeping with that spirit, I sent some questions to a couple of check-in companies. Over the next couple of days, I'll post some of the responses I've received. Today, I'm interviewing Planning Center Online about their check-in system. 

1. What is the heart of your company? Why does your company exist?

Our heart is pretty simple. We love churches, and we love software. So, we try to make the best software out there to serve the church. Check out this quick video if you'd like to hear about what we do and why we exist:

2.  What makes your company different than others?

I think the biggest difference our company has is that we love what we do, and we use our own apps. Since over two-thirds of our team has worked at a church or currently serves with churches, we're actually using our apps on a daily basis. So, if there's something that we know will help us, and ultimately our other users, we're excited to jump on the opportunity. It's great to see how excited people get when they talk about how to improve our apps throughout the office.

3. What should people consider as they choose a check-in company?

It's hard to say what someone should consider, as I think everybody has a different reason they're looking for a check-in solution. The things that we value in our Check-Ins app is simplicity, affordability, and safety. A good check-in solution needs to be easy to use. Any given Sunday could have hundreds of children trying to check in, in a 10-minute period. So, it needs to be fast, and simple. Because we love churches, we also know the struggles that a tight budget can have, so we try to make the apps as affordable as possible. And lastly, we feel that safety is one of the main reasons for a check-in program. You've got to be able to tell where someone is at any given point, and have all the information you can need on a child's label in case they were lost or possibly in need of emergency attention.

4. What size church would you say your company works best with?

We pride ourselves in making our app scalable. So, honestly our Check-Ins app is perfect for all church sizes. And we price our packages based on this. We have a free package for churches who only need 15 daily check-ins and offer all the way up to an unlimited check-ins package.

5. Are there any other benefits to your company people should consider as they are contemplating a check in company?

Not only do I believe in the CEO, who loves us like his own family, and our amazingly skilled developer team, but I also believe our support team is one of the best in the country. I've personally worked for and dealt with many support teams and I've found nothing better than the PCO Support team. Not only do we answer all tickets in an incredibly short amount of time, we also know the stresses of working in a church. So, we know exactly where you're coming from, and generally go above and beyond in supporting people with every interaction we have.

6. Why should people care about security at their church? 

I like to think that child security is almost like wearing a seat belt. Most of the time you don't even realize you're wearing one, and you probably could have made it to your destination without buckling up. However, those few times you need it, it needs to work quickly and perfectly. That's how I feel a check-ins app needs to be. The majority of the time you simply don't notice it. It's simple to use, and has a simple purpose. But when you need to know who to contact when someone is sick, or you need to find out where a child is, it needs to work flawlessly and it definitely needs to be there.

The author has not and does not receive any compensation for highlighting this product.