A visitor management system that knows who is inside right now

The reasons differ per company, and they decide what the system should ask.

• SafetyDuring an evacuation you need to know who is in the building, including people who are not on the payroll. That matters most in a workshop or warehouse.
• ReceptionThe colleague who expects someone gets a message the moment the visitor arrives. Nobody waits ten minutes at the desk.
• Safety briefingsIn a production area a visitor or contractor often has to read and confirm the rules first. That works on the screen, with a record of who confirmed what.
• AccessSomeone who stays longer gets a badge or a code. The system knows until when it is valid.

Do not confuse this with the legal attendance registration on Belgian construction sites. That covers who works on a site and runs through the government. A visitor register is about who walks into your building. For your own team's hours there is the time tracking app.

A visitor register holds personal data, so the GDPR applies. Ask only what you need, and decide how long you keep it.

A retention period of a few weeks is enough for most companies. After that the system deletes the data by itself. What the GDPR means for your website is in the guide on a GDPR-compliant website. A privacy policy belongs with it too; read whether you need a privacy policy.

Just as important is who can read the register. Reception sees today's visitors. The safety officer sees who is inside now, also remotely. A colleague sees only their own visitors. An admin can look up older visits, and every lookup goes into a log.

A first-time visitor should be done in half a minute. That is why we keep it to four screens.

1. Welcome and language. One big word, three language buttons and the question whether you have a QR code. Anyone who signed in beforehand scans and skips to the last screen.
2. Who you are and who you visit. Name and company, with a keyboard big enough for a thumb. You pick the colleague from a list that filters as you type, without showing the full staff list.
3. The rules. Only when your zone requires it: three or four short rules with an icon, and a button to confirm.
4. Done. The badge comes out of the printer and the screen says who will collect you. After ten seconds it returns to welcome.

For regular visitors, such as a contractor who comes every week, the system remembers the company and the colleague. Then it is one tap on the name and a confirmation. How the same kind of screen works elsewhere is on the kiosk software development page.

Free apps and paid packages for visitor sign-in exist, and for many offices they are enough. Your own system pays off when the register has to work with what you already run.

That trade-off is also the subject of build vs buy software. Estimate what your own system would cost with the software development cost calculator and the guide on custom software development cost.

A visitor register gets stronger when it knows what happens elsewhere.

• Your calendarA visitor who booked through your website booking system is in the register before they arrive.
• Your intranetThe notification arrives where your colleagues already work, on the intranet.
• SchedulingContractors who come on a fixed day are in your staff scheduling software.
• Your own packagesThrough API integration services with your ERP or access system; what an API integration is, is explained in the glossary.
• NumbersVisitors per day and per department in a custom dashboard.

We build it as a web application. The tablet at reception and the safety officer's phone use the same software, as a PWA without an app store.

Is a visitor register mandatory?

Not in general. You do need to know who is inside during an evacuation, and some sectors or clients ask for a register in their safety rules. A register is then the simplest way to show it.

Does it work with several entrances or sites?

Yes. Each entrance gets its own tablet, the register is one whole. The evacuation list shows who is inside per building.

What about suppliers who only drop something off?

They get a shorter path: name, company, where they deliver. No badge, no rules, but in the register while they are inside.

What if the tablet fails?

The visitor signs in through the QR code on the door, on their own phone. The register stays the same, and the tablet picks up the missed sign-ins once it is back online.

Can visitors sign in in their own language?

Yes, with a language button on the first screen. The register itself stays in your office language.

Can contractors use the same register?

Yes, with their own path. A contractor who works in your building for a few days signs in once, confirms the rules for their zone and gets a badge that stays valid until the last day. Each morning one tap on the name is enough. The safety officer still sees who is inside per zone, and the register keeps the confirmation of the rules per visit.

How long does building one take?

A register with sign-in on a tablet, a notification and the evacuation list is a small project. Integrations with your access system or ERP add time, because they depend on what those packages allow.

Want to know what fits your reception? Get in touch.