Host approval from the phone
A visitor without a pass waits at the gate while the host is asked on the phone. The host approves or rejects from the link, the app or the back office. If nobody answers in time, reception or the guard decides, and an alternate host covers for anyone away.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The guard calls the host's desk, nobody picks up, and the visitor waits at the gate for twenty minutes.
- Visitors are let in because the guard could not reach anyone, and nobody knows who agreed.
- A visitor comes for someone on leave, and the gate does not know whom to ask instead.
- The host only learns that their guest has arrived when the guest walks into the office.
How it works
- The guard registers the walk-in and presses Arrived. The host and their alternate host are asked by push and email, and by SMS or WhatsApp where set up. The message carries a link to answer.
- The host opens the link, the host portal or the Host app and sees who is waiting. They add a note for the gate if needed and press Approve or Reject.
- The guard is told at once and lets the visitor in or turns them away. The visit keeps who decided, when and the note.
- If nobody answers within the timeout (10 minutes to start with), the visit is marked Escalated. Reception is asked, or, if you chose it, the guard may decide after calling the host and noting what was said.
- When the visitor is checked in, the host and the alternate host are told that their visitor has arrived.
Everything it does
Ways to answer
- The phone page of approvals (/vms/approvals) from the link in the notification: one tap to approve or reject, with a note
- Visitors > My Visitors > Visits in the back office, for staff with a login
- Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visits, filter Waiting for Host, for reception
- Home on the host portal and At the gate for you in the Host app (Growth)
- The approvals page of the portal, with everything waiting in any SmartMy product
When the host does not answer
- Host Approval Timeout (minutes): 10 to start with; checked every 2 minutes
- When the Host Does Not Answer: Escalate to Reception (the default) or Guard Decides (after calling the host)
- Escalate to Reception: reception and the VMS managers of the Entity are asked to decide
- Guard Decides: the guard may approve or reject only after the escalation, and must write what the host said on the phone
- A visit with no host user is escalated at once
- The visit carries the flag Escalated, and the history shows it
Alternate hosts and absence
- The alternate host on a visit is asked together with the host
- Away from, Away Until and a note: while a host is away, their alternate sees and answers their waiting visitors and requests
- The alternate is told when they are named
- Reception can fill in a host's absence on the host's form
- With SmartMy HRMS: Host Employee on a visit or pass fills the host, their login and department; the employee's manager becomes the alternate host
- With SmartMy HRMS: on a day of approved full-day leave, the waiting visitor goes to the alternate host only
Who never needs approval
- Visitors with a pass, or a cab or delivery the host pre-approved
- Visitor types the chain lets in at once: Delivery and Government / Inspection come that way, and you choose others
- Every decision is kept on the visit: Decided By, the time, the note and whether the guard decided
Who uses it
HostApproves or rejects their visitors, adds a note for the gate, names an alternate while away.
Alternate hostDecides for the host while they are away, or together with them.
Reception (VMS manager)Decides for any host, and decides escalated visits.
GuardRegisters the walk-in, lets in or turns away as told, and decides after an escalation where the site allows it.
VMS administratorSets the timeout and what happens when nobody answers.
Where you use it
- Web: the phone page /vms/approvals, opened from the link in the email or notification
- Web: Visitors > My Visitors > Visits and Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visits
- Web: the host portal, Home and Away (Growth)
- The SmartMy VMS Host app: Home, At the gate for you (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- The SmartMy VMS Staff app: My approvals for reception and managers
- Not by a voice call from the system: the guard phones the host; the product does not dial
What you control
Settings
- Host Approval Timeout (minutes): 10
- When the Host Does Not Answer: Escalate to Reception
- Visitor types that come in without approval: set on the chain Visitor at the gate
- Alternate host and away dates: per host, empty to start with
Approvals
- Visitor at the gate: one chain per Entity; the host and alternate host by default, reception can answer for them. Add levels such as a security officer after the host
Notifications
- Visitor Waiting for Approval: to the approvers of the level the visit waits at, by push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- Visitor Approval Escalated: to reception when nobody answered in time, by push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- Visitor Arrived: to the host and the alternate host when the visitor is checked in, by push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- Host: Named Alternate Host: to the colleague named as alternate, by push, email and in-app
- Push, WhatsApp and SMS go where your account has them set up. Each person can switch off a channel, such as email, for themselves. In-app notices always arrive
Works with
SmartMy HRMSHosts picked from the employee list, the manager as alternate host, and visitors sent to the manager on days of approved leave (Growth).
Questions
Does the host need the app to approve?
No. The notification carries a link to a phone page where one tap approves or rejects. The host portal and the Host app come with Growth; on Starter, staff answer from the link or in the back office.What happens if the host is in a meeting and does not answer?
After the timeout, 10 minutes to start with, reception is asked to decide. If you chose Guard Decides, the guard may decide after phoning the host and noting what was said.Who decides when the host is on leave?
The alternate host the person named under Away. With SmartMy HRMS, the employee's manager is the alternate, and on days of approved full-day leave the visitor goes to them alone.Can we add a second approval, such as security, after the host?
Yes. Add a level to the approval chain Visitor at the gate. The visitor waits until every level has approved.Is there a record of who let a visitor in?
Yes. Each visit keeps who decided, when, the note, and whether the guard decided after an escalation.Related features
VISITORS AND CHECK-INWalk-in registration with check-in and check-outThe guard or reception registers a visitor without a pass on one form. It has mobile, name, photo, whom they see, the kind of visit and what they brought. Every visit keeps its gate, its arrival, check-in and check-out times, and a four-digit gate pass number the visitor uses to leave.HOST APPROVALHost app and host web pageEveryone who receives visitors gets a page in the browser and the SmartMy VMS Host app. They approve visitors, invite guests, pre-approve cabs and deliveries, and collect parcels with a pickup code. They also name an alternate while away and raise complaints to the building office. Office staff also chat with each other inside SmartMy.ACROSS SMARTMY VMSApproval chainsVisitors at the gate, visit requests, exit passes, meeting requests, gate passes and work permits each go to the right people. You set the order, without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.ACROSS SMARTMY VMSNotificationsSmartMy VMS tells the right person the moment something happens: a visitor waiting, a guest arrived, a gate pass approved, a round missed, an emergency. Each event has its own recipients and channels: app notification, in-app, email, SMS and WhatsApp.HOST APPROVALMeeting requests at the front deskSomeone at the desk asks to meet a staff member without an appointment. The staff member meets them now, asks them to wait, or gives a later time with a gate pass. They can also decline with a reason or hand over to a colleague. Every answer reaches the visitor.VISITORS AND CHECK-INVisitor types with their own rulesEach kind of visitor, such as a guest, a vendor, a contractor or an interview candidate, has its own rules. They cover photo and ID, how long they may stay, which gates they may use and whether they may register at the kiosk. Whether a walk-in of that type waits for the host is set in the approval chain.
See it on your own gate.
Tell us how many gates you have, who comes through them and how visitors are approved today. We will show you SmartMy VMS set up that way.