# Registration vs Attendance: What Is the Difference?

> Registration records who signed up; attendance records who showed up. Here is why the difference matters and how to keep both without extra work.

Published: 2026-01-10  
Author: Andrey (OpenCommunity Team)

## Key takeaways

- Registration records intention or eligibility to join; attendance records who actually took part.
- Ten registrations and four attendees are both true and answer different questions.
- Reporting gets much easier when your system keeps registration and attendance as separate, connected facts.

## Two questions, two records

**Registration** and **attendance** are easy to blur, but they answer different questions. Registration says who signed up or is eligible for a program. Attendance says who actually came. A program can have twelve people registered and seven who show up on a given day, and both numbers are correct.

Keeping them straight is the foundation of honest reporting. It also connects directly to counting [unique participants versus total visits](https://opencommunity.ca/blog/unique-participants-vs-total-visits/index.md).

## What registration tells you

Registration is a record of intention or eligibility. It usually happens once, ahead of time or at first contact.

- Who has signed up for a program or is eligible to join.
- The information you collect when someone first enrolls.
- A planning number: how many to expect, and how full a program is.

## What attendance tells you

Attendance is a record of what actually happened, session by session.

- Who came to a specific session, and when.
- How participation changes over weeks.
- The basis for counting visits and reach.

## Why the difference matters

Funders and boards often ask different questions, and mixing registration with attendance produces numbers that do not add up. If you report registrations as if they were visits, you overstate participation. If you report only one session's attendance as your reach, you understate it. Keeping both lets you answer accurately: how many enrolled, how many attended, and how often.

## Keeping both without extra work

The trick is to capture attendance at the moment of sign-in rather than reconstructing it later. When registration happens once and attendance is a quick tap each session, both records stay accurate without extra work. This is exactly what [participant management software](https://opencommunity.ca/blog/what-is-participant-management-software/index.md) is built to do.

## Questions and answers

### What is the difference between registration and attendance?

Registration records that someone signed up or is eligible for a program. Attendance records whether they actually came to a session. One is about intention or eligibility, the other about what happened.

### Can someone be registered but not attend?

Yes, and it is common. A person may enroll and then miss sessions. That is why registration counts and attendance counts differ, and why keeping both matters.

### Which number should we report to funders?

It depends on the question. Registrations show enrollment; attendance shows participation. Report the one that answers what the funder is asking, and be clear about which is which.

### Do we need to track both?

Usually yes. Registration helps you plan and understand demand, while attendance shows real participation and reach. Together they give an honest picture that neither provides alone.

## More from OpenCommunity

- [All resources](https://opencommunity.ca/blog/index.md): Browse every published guide.
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