Clinic-based ABA runs on handoffs. A parent arrives with their child, an RBT needs to come out and get them, and the BCBA may want to say a word to the parent. Meanwhile every other tech is on the floor with a client, in the middle of a program that doesn't pause well.
Most clinics solve the handoff with whoever happens to be near the door. That works until the door is unattended, a doorbell pulls three techs off the floor, or a parent waits in the lobby with an unsettled child and no idea whether anyone knows they're there.
TapIn puts an iPad at the entrance. The parent taps the name or photo of the person they're meeting, and that one person gets a push notification on their phone. They finish the trial they're running, hand off their current client, and come out.
What gets in the way in an ABA clinic
Nobody on the floor can watch the door
RBTs are working one-on-one, often on the floor or in a session room. Stepping away to check the lobby means stepping away from a client, and a doorbell interrupts every session at once.
Drop-off and pickup come in waves
Sessions often start and end at the same times, so several families arrive within a few minutes. Each needs their own staff member, and each parent wants to know they've been seen.
Parents don't always know who's on today
Staff schedules change. A parent may know their child's BCBA but not which RBT has the session today, so the check-in has to work either way.
How TapIn helps
The person the parent picks gets the alert
The parent taps a BCBA or RBT on the iPad and only that staff member's phone buzzes. If parents don't know today's tech, list a lead or the clinic director instead and let them route it.
Initials or nothing at all
Parents can type their child's initials, or you can turn off the name field so the check-in is just a tap. TapIn never sees programs, data sheets, or session notes.
A kiosk at every entrance
Put an iPad with your logo and colors at each door or location. Kiosks and locations are unlimited, and each location's kiosk lists only the staff who work there.
Pay for the staff who get alerts
Each person who receives check-ins is a seat at $3.99 a month after the first at $5.99, billed monthly. The account owner who only manages the dashboard isn't billed.
A check-in, step by step
- 1
At 8:58, three families arrive for 9:00 sessions.
- 2
Each parent taps their child's RBT on the iPad by the door and types the child's initials.
- 3
Three RBTs, wrapping up morning setup, each get a silent alert on their own phone.
- 4
Each comes out for their own client. The BCBA, running a parent training in the back, is never interrupted.
Want the full setup, including locking the iPad into kiosk mode? Read the iPad check-in kiosk setup guide.
Simple per-seat pricing
$5.99/month for the first therapist and $3.99/month for each additional, billed monthly. Unlimited iPads and locations, admin users free. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. See pricing.
ABA Therapy check-in questions
Do RBTs need their own seats?
Anyone who receives check-in alerts is a seat: $5.99 a month for the first and $3.99 for each additional. A clinic with 10 staff receiving alerts pays $41.90 a month, and 20 staff pay $81.80. The account owner who only manages the dashboard isn't a seat.
What if a parent doesn't know which RBT is on today?
List the person who assigns sessions, like a lead RBT, the BCBA, or the clinic director, and have parents tap them. That person gets the alert and sends the right tech out.
Can a parent check in two children with different staff?
Yes. They tap the first staff member, then the second. Each check-in goes to the right person.
Does TapIn connect to CentralReach or our practice management system?
No. TapIn only handles the arrival and the alert, and it runs alongside whatever you use for scheduling, data collection, and billing.
Will kids play with the iPad?
The kiosk starts on a welcome screen with one Check In button, and you can lock the iPad to the TapIn app with Guided Access. A stray tap sends one silent alert to one person instead of ringing a bell through the clinic.
Also built for
- Pediatric Therapy patient check-inOne iPad at the door, one tap by the parent, and the right therapist out of six gets a silent alert. No doorbell, no front desk, no stroller traffic jam at a counter.
- Group Therapy patient check-inFive clinicians or twenty-five, one waiting room or three. Each client taps their own therapist on the iPad, and only that therapist gets a silent alert.
Keep reading
- iPad patient check-in kioskTurn any iPad into a patient self check-in kiosk. Patients tap their therapist's name and the therapist gets a silent push notification. Free app, 5-minute setup, from $5.99/month.
- How to set up an iPad check-in kioskStep-by-step guide to turning a spare iPad into a patient check-in kiosk: Guided Access, mounting, Wi-Fi, the TapIn kiosk app, and pairing with a QR code. About 10 minutes.
- Running a practice without a front deskHow solo and small group therapy practices handle arrivals, waiting rooms, and interruptions without a receptionist. Practical options, what each costs, and where an iPad check-in kiosk fits.
- How therapists know a client has arrivedTexts, doorbells, timed pickups, and check-in kiosks: how therapists in practices without a receptionist find out their client is in the waiting room, and how group practices route each arrival to the right clinician.
Smooth out drop-off at your ABA clinic
Try TapIn free for 14 days with no credit card. Pair an iPad, invite your BCBAs and RBTs, and every handoff starts with a quiet alert.