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How to Count People at an Event

Count people at an event on your iPhone: set up In and Out counters, tap as people pass, undo slips, and print or share the count as a PDF or CSV.

  • How-to
  • Tally Cat
Made for this: Tally Cat

You're on the door at a fair, a talk or an open day, and someone asks: "How many came?" A pen and a sheet of tick marks works until it rains or you lose your place. Your iPhone can do the counting, and keep every tap with its time. This guide walks through how to plan a headcount, then how to do it with Tally Cat, our tally counter app for iPhone and iPad.

Plan the count first

A good headcount is decided before the doors open:

  • What are you counting? Everyone who came in, or how many are inside right now? The first needs one counter. The second needs two: In and Out.
  • Where do you stand? Pick a spot where people pass one at a time, like a door or a gate. Count someone as they cross a line you choose, not when you first see them.
  • One counter per door, or one per kind of person. With two doors, give each its own counter, so you can see which door was busier. You can also count Adults and Children, or Members and Guests, as separate counters.
  • Who counts when? If you hand the phone over halfway through, agree on it, so nobody counts the same group twice.

This guide is about counting. If your venue has a limit on how many people can be inside, that comes from the venue or your local rules, not from an app.

Set up your counters

When you open Tally Cat, you get one counter, called Count, as a big coloured tile.

  1. Name the count. Tap the name at the top (it says Count to begin with) and give it a name, like "Hall door". This is the name on your count sheet later.
  2. Rename the first counter. Touch and hold its tile, choose Rename, and call it "In".
  3. Add more counters. Tap Add a counter, type a name such as "Out", and tap Add. Each counter gets a colour, and the same colour marks it on the count sheet.

There's no limit on counters or counts. If you add a counter by mistake, touch and hold it and choose Remove. A counter that has already counted something asks you first, because its counts go with it.

Count as people pass

Tap anywhere on a tile to count one. The tiles are big, and your iPhone gives a small haptic tap on every count.

  • Counted one too many? Tap the minus in the tile's corner to take one off. A count never goes below zero.
  • Tapped the wrong tile? Tap Undo at the top. It takes back the last tap, whichever counter it was on.

Under the name, Tally Cat shows when the count started and, with more than one counter, how many were counted in all. Every tap is saved on your iPhone the moment you make it.

One thing to know with In and Out: "counted in all" adds every counter together. The number of people inside right now is In minus Out, and Tally Cat doesn't work that out for you, so subtract the two when someone asks.

End the count and keep it

When the event is over, tap End this count, then End count. The count is kept in Past counts with its start and end times, and a new count starts with the same counters at zero. That's handy for a second session or the next day: the setup is already done.

To find an old count, tap the clock button at the top for Past counts. Each one shows its name, its times and its total. Ending a count never deletes it.

Tap the share button at the top to open the Count sheet. It shows the count's name, its times and the total, then a row for each counter with its count and its first and last tap, and ruled lines for notes in the space left.

  1. Pick Letter or A4.
  2. Tap Print to print it, or Share PDF to send it from any app.
  3. Tap Share CSV for a spreadsheet of every tap: its time, the counter, +1 or -1, and the count after it.

You can open the count sheet for any past count too, from Past counts.

When was it busiest?

If you need to know when people arrived, not just how many, the 15-minute report (Pro) splits the count quarter hour by quarter hour. You get a row for each 15 minutes, a column for each counter and a total, with the busiest quarter hour named at the top. It's made from the tap times Tally Cat already keeps, so it works on your past counts too. Print it, share it as a PDF, or share it as a CSV.

Counting lots of categories at once, like age groups? The counter grid (Pro) lays your counters out as big squares, so more fit on the screen.

Running the rest of the door?

If guests also sign in, see our guide on how to make a sign-in sheet. Selling entry? Here's how to make event tickets on iPhone.

What it costs

Counters, counting, undo, Past counts, and the count sheet as a print, PDF or CSV are free, with no limit on counters or counts. There's no account and no ads. Tally Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase that adds the 15-minute report and the counter grid. If you lose Pro, nothing is deleted: every count stays, and so does the free count sheet. More on the Tally Cat page.

Your counts are kept on your iPhone or iPad. They leave only when you print or share them yourself.

Quick answers

What's the easiest way to count people at an event?
Stand where people pass one at a time, and tap a counter on your phone as each one crosses a line you chose. Keep every tap with its time, so you can check the count later.

How do I count people going in and out?
Make two counters, In and Out. The number inside is In minus Out.

I tapped by mistake. Can I fix it?
Yes. Tap Undo to take back the last tap, or the minus on a tile to take one off that counter.

Can I count more than one door?
Yes. Give each door its own counter, and the count sheet shows each one's count with its first and last tap.

Does it work on iPad?
Yes. On iPad the tiles grow to fill the screen.

Try Tally Cat

Try Tally Cat: free, no ads, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/tally-cat