Checklist

Event door plan: how to build it, with a checklist for the day before

By SOMOS DER · October 30, 2026 · 7 min read

An event door plan is a single page that answers five questions: who comes in, through which gate, with what credential, who checks them and what happens when something goes wrong. Build it a week before the event and go over it the day before with a short checklist: attendee types and permissions closed, checkpoints set up, devices charged, network tested at the venue and every operator knowing who to call. If you are producing an event in Argentina from abroad, the plan is also what lets a local crew run your door the way you would.

What a door plan is and why it must fit on one page

At most events, door information is scattered: the guest list in an email, press permissions in a chat, the opening time in the run of show and the supervisor's phone number in someone's head. On the day, the operator scanning codes has no time to look anything up. They need a page they can read in thirty seconds. When the people writing the plan are in New York, Madrid or São Paulo and the people at the door are in Buenos Aires, that page is also the handover.

The door plan does not replace the venue's safety plan or its permits, which set capacity and evacuation. It is the operational part of the entrance. The crowd management chapter of The Purple Guide, a UK reference for event safety, starts there: it says the crowd management process «starts with how people will access the event», and it lists ingress and egress checks and queuing systems as sections of that same chapter.

The five parts of the plan

1. Who comes in

List the attendee types: general, VIP, press, staff, suppliers, speakers or performers. For each, how many you expect and from what time they arrive. With PASE each type has its own registration link, so the number in each row comes from the system, not from a guess.

This is also where you decide whether a type has re-entry. A type with re-entry does not use up the QR: the person can leave and come back, and every pass is logged with date and time. A type without re-entry gets in once and the QR is spent; if someone tries again with the same code, the screen shows DUPLICATE. Write it down, type by type, because it is the question operators get asked most at the door.

2. Through which gate

A simple map, even hand-drawn, with each checkpoint marked and which types go through each one. If staff and suppliers use a service entrance, it goes on the map. If press has its own desk, that too.

3. With what credential

QR on the phone, a printed badge or both. If you will print at the door, note where the printer is, which badge size you use and who runs it. Mixed audiences matter here: the registration page and the QR email are available in Spanish and English (they follow the browser language, and ?lang=en on the link forces English), so check which link went to which group. There is no Portuguese version.

4. Who checks

One name per checkpoint, with their shift, and a supervisor with authority to decide unclear cases. CISA's Public Venue Credentialing Guide (May 2020) recommends training access-control personnel to recognize the credentials allowed in their specific area and to understand the procedures for denying entry, and developing specific procedures for notifying security. In plain terms, that is one line in the plan: «if X happens, call Y». The same guide suggests a credential board at each control point showing which credentials are valid there, which is exactly what the permission table in your plan does. If the supervisor is from your team and the operators are local, make sure they share a language, or that the plan is written in Spanish too.

5. What to do when something fails

Three minimum scenarios, with the answer written down:

• The guest does not have the QR. Ask them to use «Recover your access», which emails the QR again on the spot. If they are not registered and the event allows it, register them manually at the door.
• The screen says NOT AUTHORIZED or DUPLICATE. No arguing in the line: the person steps aside and the supervisor decides.
• The internet drops. PASE needs a connection at the door; if the network fails, it shows that it is offline and lets you retry. The plan must say what the backup network is (for example, a phone on a different mobile carrier sharing its connection) and who switches to it.

The day-before checklist

The day before, nothing gets designed: everything gets checked. This is the list, in the order that works best.

Data and permissions

• Attendee types closed, each with its re-entry rule defined.
• Permission matrix reviewed: which type enters which zone. If you use time slots with capacity, check that every slot is set up.
• Registrations checked by type: if one type has far fewer sign-ups than expected, find out why today, not tomorrow at the door.
• Last-minute additions (client guests, late press) loaded into the system, not kept on a separate sheet of paper.

Checkpoints and devices

• Each checkpoint created with a clear name («Gate 1 general», «VIP entrance») and set to once-only or re-entry according to the plan.
• One device per checkpoint, plus a spare, fully charged and with a charger or power bank. If you bring chargers from abroad, check the plugs and voltage at the venue.
• If you use physical scanners, test them with the device they will work with.
• Badge printer with supplies, if you are printing.

Venue and network

• Confirm with the venue what time you can get in to set up the door and where the power outlets are.
• Test the network at the exact spot where each operator will stand, not in the venue office. Ideally, run a full door rehearsal.
• Have the backup network written down and tested.

People

• Every operator has the door plan and knows their checkpoint, their shift and the supervisor's phone number.
• Every operator has opened the scanning screen at least once and seen a VALID, a DUPLICATE and a NOT AUTHORIZED with test QR codes.
• It is clear who opens the door, who closes it and who watches the live report during the event.

Guest communication

• PASE does not send automatic reminders. If you want people to arrive with the QR ready, send a message yourself the day before with the time, the gate that applies to them and a note that they can get the pass emailed again if they cannot find it. Write times in 24-hour format («19:00») so nobody misreads them.
• If there are entry conditions (minimum age, ID), put them in that message and in writing at the door.

How many gates you need

The door plan does not invent capacity: it measures it. Count how many people you expect in the peak arrival hour, and measure in the rehearsal how many people per minute one operator gets through in your setup (QR on screen, with printing, with an ID check). Those two numbers tell you how many checkpoints you need so the line does not build up. If it is your first event in this format, take the rehearsal figure and add one checkpoint as a margin. The Base plan includes 1 access point, Pro up to 4 and Enterprise unlimited (see pricing).

If the operator has to ask something of someone who is not at the door, that answer was missing from the plan.

Frequently asked questions