When an exhibitor scans an attendee badge in the Certain Touchpoint app and the result comes back as "Unknown Lead" (or blank), it means the QR code value on the badge did not match any attendee record in the event. This is one of the most common issues reported during live lead retrieval sessions, and in the vast majority of cases it is a configuration or data issue—not a software bug. This article explains how the matching works, what causes the error, and exactly how to fix it for a single attendee or a group.
1. How QR Code Matching Works
Every attendee profile in Touchpoint has a field called External Matching Code / QR Code source (also referred to as the Lead Code). This is the value that the Touchpoint app uses to identify an attendee when their badge is scanned.
When an exhibitor scans a badge, the app reads the value embedded in the badge QR code and looks for an attendee whose External Matching Code / QR Code source field contains that exact same value. If a match is found, the attendee's contact information is returned. If no match is found—for any reason—the result is the Unknown Lead.
The value encoded in the badge QR code must exactly match the value in the External Matching Code / QR Code source field on the attendee's Touchpoint profile. Any difference—extra characters, different format, wrong source field—will produce an Unknown Lead result.
The attendee's in-app My QR Code button (when the My QR Code feature is enabled) auto-generates a QR code from this same field. If the field is blank, no QR code is displayed for that attendee in the app.
2. Common Causes of "Unknown Lead"
Most Common: External Matching Code field is blank on the attendee profile. The attendee exists in Touchpoint but their External Matching Code / QR Code source field was never populated. This is most likely to happen with walk-in registrants, manually added attendees, or events where the attendee upload omitted the Lead Code column. Without a value in this field, there is nothing for the scanner to match against.
Common: Badge QR code encodes a different value than the Lead Code. The attendee has a Lead Code on file, but the QR code printed on their badge was generated from a different value—for example, the badge printer used an internal sequence number, a different attendee ID, or a formatted string that doesn't match Certain's registration code exactly. The values must be identical, character for character.
Common: Third-party registration or badge system QR codes. Customers using a third-party registration system (such as Stova, Cvent, or others) to print badges will find that those systems embed their own QR code values, which will not automatically match Certain's External Matching Code. The external system's QR value must either be imported into Touchpoint as the Lead Code, or the badge printer must be given Certain's Lead Code values to encode instead.
CommonWrong QR code type used with Certain badge printing. When using Certain Platform badge printing, the QR code type on the badge template must be set to “Basic” (Simple QR Code). Using any other QR format will produce a value that does not match the attendee's registration code stored in Touchpoint.
Less Common: Attendee was not yet uploaded when the scan occurred. Onsite or last-minute registrants whose data was not yet imported into Touchpoint will scan as Unknown Lead because there is no matching profile in the system at the time of the scan. These scans cannot be retroactively associated with an attendee record after the fact—the attendee data must be in the system before scanning occurs.
Less Common: Duplicate attendee record—manually created record has no Lead Code. If a walk-in attendee was manually added in the Touchpoint CMS and also came in through the Platform integration, two records exist. The manually created record typically has no External Matching Code. When the badge is scanned and the system resolves to the wrong (manual) record, the result is Unknown Lead. Deleting or merging the duplicate resolves the issue.
3. Fix: Updating a Single Attendee Record
Use this method when you need to correct one or a handful of attendee records during or after an event.
- In the Touchpoint CMS, navigate to your event and go to Attendees. Find the affected attendee and click Edit on their record.
- Scroll down to the QR Code / Lead Retrieval Profile section. This section only appears if Lead Scanning or Session Check-In Scanning is enabled on the event's Manage Purchases page.
- Check the External Matching Code / QR Code source field. If it is blank or contains an incorrect value, this is the cause of the Unknown Lead error.
- Determine the correct value to enter. For Platform-integrated events, this should be the attendee's Registration Code from the Certain Platform. For non-Platform events, this should match the value encoded in the QR code on their printed badge.
- Enter or correct the value and click Save. The attendee's QR code in the app will update immediately.
- To verify, ask the attendee to open their My QR Code in the app (if the feature is enabled). A QR code should now be displayed. Have the exhibitor scan it to confirm a successful match.
- Quick diagnostic tip: If you have access to the attendee's physical badge, scan the QR code with your phone camera outside the Touchpoint app. The raw text value will appear. Compare it exactly to what is in the External Matching Code / QR Code source field in the CMS—they must be identical.
4. Fix: Updating Multiple Attendees via Bulk Import
When several attendees are affected—for example, after a large wave of walk-in registrations or when a badge vendor used different QR values—use the bulk upload process to update Lead Codes for a group of attendees at once.
Step 1 — Export your current attendee list From the Attendees section of your Touchpoint event, export the current attendee spreadsheet. The External Matching Code / QR Code source field is shown in the export as the Lead Code column. This gives you a starting point to see which records are blank or incorrect.
Step 2 — Populate the Lead Code column
In the spreadsheet, fill in (or correct) the Lead Code column for each affected attendee. The value you enter must exactly match what is encoded in that attendee's badge QR code. Common source values include:
- The attendee's Registration Code from the Certain Platform (for Platform-integrated events)
- The attendee's External ID as assigned by your registration or badge vendor
- The attendee's email address (acceptable for non-Platform events if the badge QR encodes the email)
- Any unique identifier, as long as it matches the badge QR exactly
Important: Each Lead Code must be unique per attendee within the event. Duplicate Lead Codes across multiple attendee records will cause unpredictable matching results.
Step 3 — Re-import the spreadsheet In the Touchpoint CMS, navigate to Attendees > Import and upload the updated spreadsheet. The import will update existing records based on the attendee identifier. Lead Codes will be applied to each matching profile immediately upon successful import.
Step 4 — Verify After the import completes, spot-check a few attendee profiles to confirm the Lead Code field is now populated. If the My QR Code feature is enabled, ask a test attendee to open the feature in their app — they should now see a QR code displayed.
Step 5 — Platform-Integrated Events
For events connected to the Certain Platform via the Platform-Touchpoint integration, the External Matching Code / QR Code source field is automatically populated with each attendee's Registration Code when they sync from Platform to Touchpoint. No manual entry is required for standard registrants. However, Unknown Lead errors can still occur in Platform-integrated events in these situations:
- Walk-in attendees submitted through a walk-in form may be manually created in the Touchpoint CMS rather than coming through the integration, and will not have a Lead Code auto-populated.
- Certain badge printing with a non-Basic QR code type will embed a different value than the Registration Code. Always select the "Basic" (Simple) QR Code option in the badge template settings.
- Attendees who registered after the last sync may not yet have their record in Touchpoint. A manual sync or re-import will resolve this.
Step 6 — Third-Party Badge and Registration Systems If your organization uses a third-party registration platform to generate attendee badges, QR codes produced by those systems will not automatically match the Lead Codes in Touchpoint. You have two options to resolve this:
Option A: Import the external system's IDs into Touchpoint Export the attendee ID values from your external system, add them to the Lead Code column in your Touchpoint attendee spreadsheet, and re-import. Touchpoint will then match scans against those external IDs. Best For: When you cannot control what value the badge printer encodes in the QR code.
Option B: Provide Certain Lead Codes to your badge printer Export the attendee list from Touchpoint (which includes the Lead Code column) and send those values to your badge vendor. Ask them to encode the Lead Code value—not their own internal ID—in each attendee's badge QR code. Best For: When you have control over badge production before the event.
Note on exporting Lead Codes from Touchpoint You can export the full attendee list including Lead Codes from the Attendees section of the Touchpoint CMS. The External Matching Code / QR Code source field appears as the Lead Code column in the exported spreadsheet. Share this column with your badge vendor and ask them to encode each attendee's Lead Code value in their badge QR codes.
Step 7 — Walk-In and Onsite Registrants Walk-in attendees represent the most common source of Unknown Lead errors during live events. Because they scan on-site, their data frequently either isn't in Touchpoint yet at the time of scanning, or it was entered manually without a Lead Code.
Before scanning begins:
- Upload all walk-in registrant records to Touchpoint before exhibitors begin scanning, including a Lead Code for each.
- If walk-in badges are printed on-demand, ensure the badge printing station encodes the same value that will be uploaded as the Lead Code in Touchpoint.
If Unknown Lead scans have already occurred:
- Unknown Lead scans that occurred before an attendee's record was in the system cannot be retroactively linked to the attendee after the scan. The scan records the raw QR code value, but the system cannot automatically match it once the event has progressed.
- For these cases, contact information must be collected directly from the affected attendees by the exhibitor.
- If exhibitors photographed the attendee badges, the encoded QR value (scannable via any standard camera) can be used to identify the attendee and manually enter their details.
No retroactive matching available. There is currently no way to retroactively associate an Unknown Lead scan with an attendee record after the scan has been recorded. Prevention—ensuring all records are uploaded before scanning begins—is the only reliable approach.
Step 8 — Prevention Checklist
| Action Item | Who | | --- | --- | | Confirm all attendee records are uploaded to Touchpoint before scanning begins, including a unique Lead Code for each | Event Admin | | For Platform-integrated events: verify that the Platform-Touchpoint sync has completed and that External Matching Code fields are populated | Event Admin | | For Certain Platform badge printing: confirm the badge template uses the Basic (Simple) QR Code option | Event Admin | | For third-party badge vendors: share the exported Lead Code column from Touchpoint and confirm the vendor will encode those values in the badge QR codes | Event Admin / Badge Vendor | | Test-scan at least 3–5 attendee badges before exhibitor scanning begins to confirm matching is working | Event Admin / Support | | For events with walk-in registration: establish a process to upload walk-in records (with Lead Codes) in real time throughout the event day | Event Admin | | Advise exhibitors that any "Unknown Lead" result should be flagged immediately so the event admin can investigate while the attendee is still on-site | Exhibitor Coordinator |
Related Articles
- Lead Retrieval — Feature Setup
- My QR Code Feature
- My QR Code vs. Contact Exchange QR Code
- Attendance Tracking
- Certain Touchpoint Support
If you are unable to resolve the issue using the steps above, contact Certain Support with the event URL, the affected attendee name or email, and (if possible) a scan of the raw QR code value from the badge. This will allow the support team to investigate the mismatch quickly.
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