Questions and troubleshooting

Short answers first, each with a link to the page that explains it in full. Then a troubleshooting section, by what you see on the screen.

For owners: before you start#

Do my customers need to download an app?#

No. Line Me Up runs in the phone's browser. A customer scans your QR poster, opens your link or finds you in the directory, and they are on your page. They can add Line Me Up to their Home Screen if they like, and then it opens full-screen like an app. The same goes for your team and your TV: everything is a web page, nothing comes from an app store. See Finding a place and joining.

Do customers pay anything?#

No. There is no fee, deposit or payment step for a customer anywhere in Line Me Up. Prices you put on your services are shown for information only; nobody pays through the app. The business's plan is explained in Plans, visits and billing.

What equipment do I need?#

At each desk: a phone, tablet or computer with an up-to-date browser and an internet connection. The desk screen is designed to fit a phone.
For a waiting-room TV (optional): a TV, or a TV stick, with a modern web browser.
For customers to find you: your QR poster, printed. Line Me Up makes it for you.

See Set up your business, TV displays and Posters, links and QR codes.

How do I add my staff? Do they get an email?#

No email is sent. You add each person on Team, and Line Me Up shows a temporary password once. You hand it over yourself. When they first sign in, the staff app asks them to choose their own. If someone loses it, an owner presses Give them a new password on Team. See Your team, roles and leave.

What can each role do?#

There are three roles. Owners can do everything, including Settings. Managers run the day and set things up: the Live board, the Waitlist, Lines, Desks, Services, Processes, Team, Insights, Visits and Displays. Staff serve at a desk and can see the Waitlist. An owner or a manager can also give chosen staff two extra abilities. See Welcome to Line Me Up and Your team, roles and leave.

Not today. One staff account belongs to one business, and there is no switcher between locations.

Which plan do I need?#

Compare what each plan includes on Pricing, and read Plans, visits and billing for how visits are counted and where to see your plan in Settings.

Can I try it before setting up my own business?#

Yes. There are live demo businesses you can open as an owner or as staff, and watch customers arrive and be served. See Trying the live demos.

Which languages does it speak?#

Eight: English, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Spanish, Japanese, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Each person chooses their own, so a receptionist and a customer can use different ones on the same visit. See Languages and the words on screen.

Why does my clinic see different words?#

A few words change with the kind of place you chose in setup. A clinic sees Emergency, Mark emergency, Hospital ID and Review; other places see Above everyone, Put above everyone, Reference and Back to you. The person waiting is called a customer everywhere, a clinic included. You cannot type your own words, but changing your kind of place in Settings changes these. See Languages and the words on screen.

For the desk#

Who does Call Next call?#

The right next person: anyone marked above everyone first (a clinic sees Emergency), then anyone marked priority, then everyone else in their place in the line. Bookings are called only inside their time window, and anyone running late or already with another desk keeps their place while they are passed over. If your desk serves several lines, calls are shared between them in the mix your manager set, and an empty line is skipped. See Urgent visits, priority and order.

Can two desks call the same person?#

No. Even when several desks press Call Next at the same moment, each gets a different person. That is also why Call Next waits for a connection.

I pressed Complete on the wrong person. Can I undo it?#

Yes, for a few seconds. Every press on the Workboard happens at once and shows Undo instead of asking "Are you sure?". Press Undo before it disappears. After that, a manager can put things right from the Waitlist. See Serving at a desk: the Workboard.

The person I called has not come. What now?#

Press Call again to call them once more, on their ticket and on the TV, without moving anyone. You can do that once every 30 seconds. If they still do not come, press No-show. If you do nothing, the Workboard counts down and marks them a no-show itself when the time your business allows runs out.

Can I take a break without losing my place in the day?#

Yes. Take a break with a reason and, if you like, a time you will be back. Nobody new is sent to you until you press Back on shift, and anyone you had called is not stranded: they go back near the front and the next desk calls them first. See Serving at a desk: the Workboard.

Can one device run several desks?#

Yes, for owners and managers. Run desk on the Live board starts a shift at a desk and lets you call for it from the board. Those desks stay on shift only while that browser tab is open. See Running several desks from one device.

What happens if the Wi-Fi drops while I'm serving?#

You can still press They're here, Complete and No-show; they are sent when the connection comes back. Call Next waits until then. Don't reload the page while changes are waiting. See Live updates, offline, privacy and accessibility.

For managers#

What happens to people still waiting at closing time?#

Half an hour after your closing time, anyone still waiting is taken off the line, so tomorrow starts empty. Their ticket says Closed for the day rather than leaving them wondering. See Opening hours, closures and special days.

How do I close for a holiday?#

In Settings, add a closed date or a range of dates, with a note customers can read. Before you save, you see any bookings it affects and choose whether to cancel them or keep them. See Opening hours, closures and special days.

How do I stop new people joining for a while?#

Pause the line. Nobody new can join it, and everyone already waiting will still be seen. Customers see Not taking new customers on your page. Resume it whenever you are ready. See Lines, services and desks.

Can I export my visits?#

Yes, owners and managers can. On Visits, choose a period and press Export CSV. One export holds up to 10,000 visits; for more, choose a shorter period. See The Visits report.

Can staff see Insights or the Visits report?#

No. Insights and Visits are for owners and managers. See Insights.

Does the "nobody covers this line" alarm warn anyone?#

Only on screen. It shows on the Live board and the Waitlist; it does not call or message anyone. Keep the board open somewhere you will see it. See The Live Board.

For customers#

How will I know it is my turn?#

Keep your ticket open: it updates by itself and changes to It is your turn, with where to go. Updates about your visit also collect under the bell at the top of the app. Where your phone and browser support it, you can also turn on alerts on your phone. See Waiting, your ticket and alerts.

Do I need an account?#

Not to look around. You confirm your phone number with a 6-digit code when you join or book, and there is no password. See Your account, language and privacy.

Why does my ticket show no waiting time?#

The estimate comes from the desks serving your line. When no desk is serving it, before the staff start for example, there is nothing to estimate from, so you see how many people are ahead and no time. The time is always an estimate, shown as a range.

I'm going to be late. Will I lose my place?#

Not if you say so. Press Running late on your ticket and choose 5, 10 or 15 minutes. Your place or booked time is kept. You can do this twice per visit.

Can I move my booking to another time?#

Not yourself. Cancel it in your Visits tab and book the new time, checking the new time is free first, or ask the desk to move it. You can book up to a week ahead: today and the next six days. See Booking a visit.

Can my family follow my place?#

Yes. Share your ticket's link. It opens on any phone without signing in and never shows your name. Anyone with the link can also give up your place until you are called, so share it only with people coming with you.

I closed the page. How do I get back to my place?#

Open Line Me Up on the same phone and tap the Visits tab. Your places are listed there. For a visit the desk added for you, use the link or the QR code from the desk; signed in, you can tap Save this visit to my visits to keep it with the rest.

Troubleshooting#

Find what you see, then try the steps in order.

A TV went blank or froze#

Who Owner, Manager

Where to find it Staff app Displays

Look at the TV. Waiting for the next call or No calls yet is normal on a quiet morning: nothing is wrong.
If it says Offline — showing the last calls or Reconnecting — checking for calls every 10 seconds, it has lost its internet connection. Check the TV's Wi-Fi. It comes back by itself.
In the staff app, open Displays. If the TV is marked Offline, check it is switched on, its browser is open on the Line Me Up page, and it is on the Wi-Fi.
Not sure which TV is which? Press Identify on its card: the TV shows its own name full-screen for ten seconds. (Identify works only while the TV is online.)
If the TV shows Pair this screen and a code, it was removed or has been unplugged for a long time. Pair it again from Displays with Add a display.

A customer did not get an alert#

Alerts on a locked phone are not available on every phone. Work through this with the customer:

Ask them to open their ticket. It always shows their current place and, when called, It is your turn.
Ask them to tap the bell at the top of the app. Every update about their visit is listed there, even without an account, for visits followed on that phone. An update can take up to about a minute to appear.
If they want alerts on the phone itself, they open the bell and press Turn on notifications, then allow it when the phone asks. If they see Notifications are blocked for Line Me Up., they need to allow them in the browser's settings.
On an iPhone, alerts need Line Me Up added to the Home Screen and opened from there. Until then, they should keep the ticket open.
Do-not-disturb or focus settings on the phone can still silence alerts.

A line shows no desk, or people are waiting and nobody is calling them#

Who Owner, Manager

Where to find it Staff app Live board

The Live board shows a red strip, Lines no desk on shift covers, naming the line and how many are waiting. Nobody pressing Call Next anywhere will reach those people until a desk covers the line.

Open Live board and find the line in the red strip.
Press Add to … on one of the desks it suggests. The line is added to that desk at once, with Undo in case you change your mind.
Or press Run desk to start a shift at a desk that serves the line, and call for it from the board.
If no desk is on shift at all, someone needs to start one: at the desk, open Work my desk and press Start my shift.

Call Next is greyed out#

Offline — can't call next: your device has lost its connection. Wait for it to come back; see Live updates, offline, privacy and accessibility.
Nobody waiting: there is nobody in your desk's lines right now.
Everyone waiting is with another desk or running late: people are waiting, but each is held for now. They keep their place and are called as soon as they are free or back.
You are on a break: press Back on shift first.

The Workboard says "Your desk was released while you were away"#

Your device was out of touch long enough for the desk to be freed for others. Start your shift again. If you had started serving someone, they were set aside for you: press Reclaim with their name on it to take them back.

A change "did not go through"#

A press made while offline could not be applied afterwards, usually because a colleague moved that customer in the meantime. The message names the token. Find it on the Live board or the Waitlist and put it right there.

The staff app says "Live updates unavailable"#

The live connection could not be made, so the screen is checking for changes every few seconds instead. Everything still works. If it lasts all day, check the Wi-Fi, or whether your network blocks the connection.

Email or password is incorrect. Check the email is the one they were added with, and use Show password to check what they typed.
Forgotten password? There is no reset by email. An owner opens Team, finds the person and presses Give them a new password, then hands over the temporary password shown.
If they were switched off on Team, they cannot sign in until an owner reactivates them.
After many failed attempts, sign-ins are slowed down for a while. Wait a few minutes, then try again.

Wrong number typed? Change number starts again.
No code yet? Send it again sends a fresh one. A code lasts five minutes.
Too many tries. Give it a few minutes. — wait, then try again. A code stops working after three wrong guesses.
Signing in by phone is not switched on yet. — phone sign-in is not available at the moment.

Whatever the reason, the desk can always add the customer from the staff app, and give them a QR code or a printed slip to follow their place. See Posters, links and QR codes.

A customer cannot join the line#

The line says why in words on the business's page:

Closed now — outside opening hours. Booking may still work.
Not taking new customers — the line is paused.
Full for today — the line has reached its limit of people waiting at once.
You are in this line — they already hold a place in it.

In every case the desk can still add someone standing in front of it. See Finding a place and joining.

A customer's ticket says "this may be out of date"#

Live updates unavailable — this may be out of date. appears when the ticket has heard nothing for about 45 seconds, usually because of a weak signal. It keeps the last numbers it knew and keeps trying. Moving to better signal, or reloading the page, brings it up to date.

A customer's ticket says "Marked as not arrived"#

They were called and did not reach the desk before the time the business allows. They should speak to the desk, which can put them back in the line from the Waitlist. See The Waitlist.

A customer's ticket says "This token is no longer live"#

The visit was served or cancelled, or the link is wrong. If they expected to still be waiting, check the token on the Waitlist.

A customer opened a desk-issued ticket on a second phone and cannot change it#

Only the phone that opened the link first can give up the place or say it is running late. Other phones can follow along. The desk can make changes for them.

Screens are in the wrong language#

Each person's language is their own. Staff change theirs in Your account; customers in their Account tab, or with the language switch before signing in. A TV page has its own language, set on the page. See Languages and the words on screen.

The staff app turned dark (or won't)#

The theme is kept per device. Open Your account and, under This device's theme, choose Light, Dark or Same as this device. The customer app always uses its bright light theme.

Still stuck?#

Every staff screen has a short explanation under its title and a ? for more. The version number at the foot of the sidebar opens a plain list of what changed recently, which helps if something looks different from yesterday. For anything else, contact us.