Many venues have delayed enforcing Scotland's new vaccine passport scheme after problems with the smartphone app.
Football clubs hosting this weekend's three premier league said no fans would be turned away for not having proof of vaccine status.
Nightclubs also adopted a flexible approach although many used it as a chance to test their systems.
Representatives of the sector said the scheme was "not fit for purpose".
Many people took to social media to complain of problems with the vaccine certification app which only became available to download about 12 hours before the scheme started early on Friday morning.
The Scottish government had previously announced there would no enforcement of the new rules until 18 October, to give venues a chance to get their procedures up and running.
It said high demand had put strain on the computer systems on Friday, while Health Secretary Humza Yousaf expressed "regret" for any inconvenience caused.
The rules require unseated outdoor events with more than 4,000 attendees to carry out a "reasonable number" of spot checks while nightclubs and smaller venues covered by the scheme will need to conduct more rigorous checking.
'Disastrous launch'
However, Hearts said it would simply be trialling its checking system with no fans turned away from its match with Motherwell on Saturday.
Rangers also said its match with Hibs at Ibrox on Sunday would be a "test event", while Aberdeen FC said everyone would be allowed entry to Pittodrie for its match against Celtic "regardless of whether they have proof of vaccine or not".
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said: "It has become very clear that the Scottish App is simply not fit for purpose and the vast majority of people are experiencing repeated problems in registering and uploading their personal vaccine status to the app.
"The NTIA has repeatedly warned Scottish government of just how unworkable their vaccine passport plan is, and the disastrous launch of this flawed scheme has proved that our warnings were well founded."
What did Glasgow's clubbers make of it?
By Jonathan Peters, BBC Scotland News
Day one of Scotland's vaccine certification scheme, and there was a mixed reaction in this nightclub's queue.
Most clubbers had heard of the app, and given the reported teething issues, a surprising number had even managed to get it working.
Everyone we spoke to said they would show their vaccine status to gain entry into the club. Enthusiasm for the scheme was less unanimous.
The grace period before the scheme becomes mandatory was welcome for a lot of these young people, some of whom said they simply did not have time to get both doses before today.
There was some confusion about when exactly the scheme comes into effect. A few clubbers we spoke to in the queue were so anxious to get in that when they ran into difficulties with the app, they downloaded their vaccine papers on to their phones.
So will this drive more young people to get the vaccine? Everyone we spoke to said they had either had both doses already, or would be fully vaccinated soon. No one said entry to a nightclub was the deciding factor.
Will it make clubs safer? "It's a little late," was the view of the club's manager, pointing out they have been open for several weeks already.
He was confident door staff could handle the extra checks, and the bouncers were checking phones as well as IDs without any great difficulty. Of course, no one was turned away for lack of a vaccine passport tonight.
The real test will come later this month, when it becomes mandatory.
Mike Grieve, chairman NTIA Scotland director of the Sub Club, said: "As anticipated, the roll out of this ill-conceived policy led to chaos and confusion in the street last night with only a handful of our customers in possession of a functioning app passport.
"Around 50-60 others had a photocopy or screenshot of the wrong vaccination information or other spurious evidence of vaccination. Despite this we successfully checked all attendees for same day LFTs {lateral flow tests] to protect the health and safety of our customers and staff. What a shambles!"
The Scottish Conservatives, who oppose the scheme, have called for an "indefinite delay" in order to avoid a "weekend of chaos".
Scottish Labour said the launch of the app had been a "complete shambles".
The Scottish government, however, insisted the vaccine passport scheme was an important tool as part of a package of measures to control the spread of the virus.
A legal challenge to the scheme from the NTIA was unsuccessful when a judge ruled on Friday that it was "an attempt to address legitimate issues" and that the petitioners had failed to demonstrate that it was "disproportionate, irrational or unreasonable".
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