Locations are the backbone of ReelCount. They represent your catering sites, appear on the Dashboard and Schedule, and connect directly with the Scanner app used on set.
Creating a Location
Go to Setup → Locations.
Click Create.
Fill in the details:
- Location Name – how the site will appear across your production.
- Location colour – used for the scanner pop-out border and schedule labels.
- Scanner background – an image shown on the iPad Scanner. It's automatically fitted to the scanner's portrait screen, so a portrait image works best.
- Quick department pickups – switch this on if you want crew at this site to be able to collect meals for their whole department in one go (Department Quick Pickup on the scanner).
Every new location is given a unique 6-digit location code — this is what you'll type into the Scanner app to connect an iPad to the site.
Tip: Upload your production logo or a daily message as the background image — it makes the scanner stand out and look professional.
Depending on your plan, there may be a limit on how many locations you can create — the Locations tab shows how many you've used. If you hit the limit, delete a location you no longer need or upgrade your plan.
Unlocked locations
You can also mark a location as unlocked — for craft, coffee and snack points. You still schedule crew to an unlocked location, but the crew you schedule can collect as many times as they like while the session is open, instead of once. The setting is fixed when the location is created, and unlocked locations count towards the same location limit. It's rolling out gradually, so on some accounts the option still shows as coming soon.
Managing Locations
Each location card has a three dots menu where you can:
- View and copy the location code (needed to connect the Scanner app)
- See at a glance whether Quick department pickups is enabled
- Edit or delete the location
You can also Reorder your locations from the Locations tab.
⚠️ Note: Deleting a location can't be undone. The location is removed from all future sessions, and any future session left with no location is deleted too. Past sessions and their collection history are kept.
Setting Up the iPad Scanner
Once your location is created, you'll want to connect an iPad so crew can scan their passes.
- Download the ReelCount Scanner app from the App Store.
- Open the app and enter the location code.
- The background image you uploaded will appear on screen.
- Place the iPad on a stand so crew can scan themselves.
Best Practice for iPad Setup
- Use the iPad's Guided Access mode to lock it to the ReelCount app and prevent tampering.
- Make sure the iPad has a stable Wi-Fi connection — the app needs internet to work.
- For busy sites, you can run multiple iPads with the same location code. All scans will sync instantly via the cloud.
And that's it — your location is live, ready for scheduling and scanning.
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