[havaloc]

Back in 2008, I used a receipt printer and a barcode scanner to bridge the gap in a paper based registration system for a college gym memberships. I set up a series of kiosk PCs that spit out a small receipt based on a web form that was filled out on the PC. Using a PHP script, it just separated data fields with embedded tabs in a QR code.

Once the membership was paid for, the admin would scan the receipt, making the membership live in under a second, by typing in that data in a web form on a different PC.

Why not have a direct linkage? Because in 2008 cash was still very popular, and we were working with legacy student ID system, so a direct linkage would have been difficult.

Before that change, students would fill out a paper form, and staff and students would type in all the data. It took months do to all 8000 memberships per semester, and most would be done around the halfway point of the semester. Madness.