Kiosk software
Kiosk software development for a self-service kiosk people actually use
A screen at the reception desk, in the shop or at the workshop door. Visitors tap, choose and they are done. Behind the screen, everything lands in your own systems.
A screen that takes over one task
A kiosk is not a website on a big screen. The person in front of it has no mouse, no time and little patience for reading.
Good kiosk software asks one question per screen, with buttons the size of a thumb, and keeps working when the wifi drops for a moment. The screen takes over a task that happens at the desk today: checking in, announcing an appointment, collecting an order or choosing a product. What the visitor enters goes straight to where your team needs it.
Three screens at the desk, and what happens behind them
1 / 3
What brings you in?
- Collect an order
- Advice
2 / 3
Your appointment
- Name: Lotte Maes
- At 2:30 pm with Karim
3 / 3
Take a seat
- Number A12
- Karim will come and get you
What happens behind the screen
- Karim gets a notification on his phone
- The visit goes into today's register
- Waiting time per hour counts in the dashboard
Example of what we can build, with made-up names.
Five kinds of kiosk and what each one needs
The kiosk you need depends on the task. These are the forms we see most often at small and mid-sized companies.
| Kind of kiosk | Where it stands | What the software has to do |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor check-in | At the reception of an office or workshop | Ask name and company, notify the host, print a badge or queue number, keep the register |
| Time clock for your team | At the entrance of the workshop or depot | Log in with a name tile and a code, record the start and end of a shift |
| Pickup point | In the shop or at the warehouse | Read an order number or QR code and call the right person |
| Advice kiosk | In the shop, between the shelves | Ask questions, suggest a product, hand over the result on paper or by email |
| Information kiosk | In a waiting room or at a trade fair | Show information, let people fill in a form, collect sign-ups |
A self-ordering kiosk in a Belgian restaurant is a different story. It hangs on the registered cash system, and that is not something we build. For check-in at the desk we have a separate page on a visitor management system. For a time clock, see the time tracking app.
What good kiosk software does differently
One question per screen
No menu, no scrolling. Every step has a clear back button and a clear next button.
Reset after silence
After half a minute without a touch the screen clears. The next visitor sees nothing of the last.
A locked device
The device opens only your software. No browser bar, no settings, no other apps.
Keeps working offline
If the network drops, the kiosk keeps the input and sends it as soon as the connection is back.
Languages with one tap
Dutch, French and English as buttons on the first screen, on the same data.
Managed remotely
Texts, opening hours and choices change from an admin screen, without sending someone to the kiosk.
A real kiosk in a paint shop
The example above uses made-up names. A kiosk we actually built, a paint advisor for Multi Paint, is described in the Procolor AI case. It shows how a customer in the shop gets to a choice on their own.
A second lesson comes from a platform we built for a Belgian transport company. Drivers log in there with a tile showing their name and four digits, no password. The same principle works on any shared screen: someone walking up to a kiosk does not remember a password. The full story is in the DA Logistics case.
How we build a kiosk
- Watching the deskWe spend half a day watching what visitors ask and how long it takes. That gives the three or four screens the kiosk needs.
- A clickable design on the real deviceYou test the design on the tablet or stand you plan to use, with people who have never seen it before.
- Build and connectWe build the screens, the admin screen and the link to your calendar, register or schedule.
- A week next to the deskThe kiosk runs while the desk is still staffed. Whatever visitors miss, we adjust before the real start.
Hardware: tablet, stand or a screen you already own
The software is the work, the hardware is a choice. We build kiosk software as a web application that runs on a locked tablet or touchscreen, so you are not tied to one brand.
| Setup | Suits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Tablet in a floor or desk stand | Reception, pickup point, time clock | A stand with a lock and a fixed power cable |
| Touchscreen stand with a built-in PC | Shop, trade fair, busy entrance | More expensive, but sturdier and easier to see |
| Existing screen with a touch frame | Waiting room, showroom | Viewing angle and height for wheelchair users |
| Badge or receipt printer | Visitor badge, queue number | A printer the browser or a small service can reach |
Because it is a web application, the same software can run as a PWA on your staff's phones. If the kiosk really has to be in an app store, we look at app development. Unsure whether to buy a package or build your own? Read build vs buy software.
Integrations that make a kiosk useful
A kiosk that passes nothing on is an expensive form. The value is in what happens after the tap.
- Calendar or booking systemThe kiosk knows who is expected at 2:30 pm. A booking system for your website and the kiosk share one calendar.
- SchedulingWith a time clock, the hours go into your staff scheduling software.
- Your own packagesCustomer data or orders from your ERP or webshop, through API integration services. What that means technically is explained under API integration.
- NumbersVisitors per hour, waiting time and the most chosen button, in a custom dashboard.
- An assistant that answersAt an advice kiosk an AI chatbot can handle the open questions, within the limits you set.
Privacy on a shared screen
A kiosk stands in public. Never show a list of names the next visitor can read, keep only what you need and delete visitor data after a period you decide. That belongs in the design, not in a setting added later.
When a kiosk is not the best choice
Not every desk benefits from a screen. Three situations where we suggest something else first.
Few visitors. With five visitors a day, a tablet at the desk with a form is enough, or a link the visitor gets beforehand. A kiosk pays off where the queue at the desk costs real time.
The question is always different. A kiosk works for repeated tasks. If people come with a different question every time, a well-run reception helps more, perhaps with an AI chatbot on your website that handles the simple questions in advance.
Visitors are known before they arrive. Someone who books an appointment can fill in their details beforehand and show a QR code on arrival. Then the kiosk is only a scanner, which makes it simpler and cheaper.
In those cases the gain is often in a better web application behind the desk, not in a screen in front of it.
What kiosk software costs and what drives it
A kiosk with three screens and a calendar link is a different project from an advice stand with a product catalogue and an assistant. The price depends mostly on four things.
| Factor | Small | Larger |
|---|---|---|
| Screens and choices | Three screens, one path | Several paths, per kind of visitor |
| Integrations | None, or a calendar | ERP, webshop, scheduling and printer |
| Languages | One | Three, managed per language |
| Admin | Fixed texts | Admin screen for texts, hours and choices |
Work out your own case with the software development cost calculator. How custom projects are priced in general is in the guide on custom software development cost.
Questions about kiosks
Can a kiosk stand outside?
Yes, with a stand built for weather and sun. That is a hardware choice; the software stays the same. Watch the screen brightness in direct sunlight.
What if someone cannot use the kiosk?
There is always a way to a person: a button that calls someone from your team. A kiosk takes over routine, not people.
Can we start with a tablet and move to a stand later?
Yes. Because the software runs in the browser, it moves with you to a bigger screen. Only the layout of the buttons changes.
How do we keep the kiosk safe and running?
The device sits locked in a stand, the software restarts by itself after a power cut, and your admin gets a notice if the kiosk sends nothing for an hour. Wiping the screen stays manual work.
Want to know whether a kiosk fits your desk? Get in touch.
Web application
How VBS helps you with this
We build software in the browser for your whole team, on every computer and phone, around the way you work.
- Roles and permissions per person
- Links to your accounting and your email
- Releases without downtime, with backup and rollback
How we approach it is on our page about Web application.
Which question do visitors ask your desk most often?
Tell us what happens at your reception or in your shop. We sketch which screens a kiosk needs and what it passes on.
Rather get in touch right away?