Returning visitors found by mobile number
Each visitor is kept once per entity, by mobile number. When they come again, the guard types the number and the name, company, photo and ID on file come back. So do the number of visits and whom they saw last time.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- A vendor who comes every week is made to write the same details in the register each time.
- The same person appears under three spellings, so nobody can say how often they came.
- The guard takes a new photo and a new ID copy at every visit, and the queue grows.
- When someone asks when a visitor was last here, the answer means paging through old registers.
How it works
- On a walk-in, the guard types the visitor's mobile number first, on the gate screen, the guard page or the Guard app.
- A visitor who came before is found. The screen says Known visitor with the number of visits, the last visit and whom they saw.
- The name, company and email fill in, with the last kind of visit and the last vehicle number. A photo on file counts, so the guard does not take another unless they want to.
- An ID proof on file also counts for visitor types that need one. The guard sees only the masked number.
- The guard checks the details, picks whom they see today and presses Register walk-in. The new visit is added to the same visitor's history.
Everything it does
How a number is matched
- Only the digits count, and the last 10 are compared, so +1 415 555 0123 and 415 555 0123 are the same person
- Numbers of any country are accepted: 6 to 15 digits
- The gate screen looks a visitor up once 10 digits are typed
- One visitor per mobile number in each entity; a second profile with the same number is refused
- An archived visitor is brought back when they come again
What comes back
- Name, company, email and photo
- ID proof type, with the number masked (all but the last four characters hidden)
- Number of visits and the date of the last one
- The last visitor type, vehicle number and person visited, offered on the walk-in form
- A warning when the visitor is blacklisted, where the blacklist is in your plan
The visitor's record
- Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visitors lists every visitor, newest visit first
- Each visitor shows mobile, email, company, photo, ID proof, vehicle number, visit count and last visit
- Visits on the visitor's form opens all their visits
- A known visitor keeps their name; a missing email or company is filled in from the new visit
At a shared gate
- A gate that serves several entities also finds visitors of the entities it serves
- The visit is recorded in the entity of the person visited; the photo and ID on file are copied there
Who uses it
GuardTypes the mobile number and confirms the details of a returning visitor.
Reception / ManagerLooks up visitors and their past visits, corrects a visitor's details.
AdministratorSets how long photos and ID images are kept for visitors who stop coming.
Where you use it
- Web: the gate screen and Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visits (the mobile number finds the visitor)
- Web: Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visitors, with each visitor's past visits
- Web: the guard page at /guard, Walk-in and Visitor history
- The SmartMy VMS Guard app: Walk-in and History (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- The kiosk: a visitor who registers again with the same number is the same visitor
What you control
Settings
- Country of the entity: its dialling code is used for numbers typed without one
- Delete Photos / ID Images After (days): 0 to start with, which never deletes them
Approvals
- Visitor at the gate: a returning visitor is asked for like any walk-in; a known face does not skip the host's answer
Notifications
- Visitor Arrived: to the host and the alternate host when the visitor is let in, by app push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
Questions
Does a returning visitor need a new photo each time?
No. A photo on file counts for visitor types that need one. The guard can still take a new one, which replaces the old photo.What if the visitor changed their number?
A new number is a new visitor. Reception can update the mobile on the old visitor's record instead, so the history stays together.Does a regular visitor still need the host's approval?
Yes, as a walk-in. To let a regular in without a call, give them a pass, or a recurring pass where your plan has it.Can we remove old photos and ID scans?
Yes. Set Delete Photos / ID Images After (days) on the Visitors tab of the entity. Photos and ID images of visitors not seen for that many days are removed every day. It is 0, never, to start with.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.VISITORS AND CHECK-INVisitor photo and ID proofDecide per visitor type whether the gate must take a photo and note an ID proof. The gate cannot let the visitor in without them. The full ID number and the ID image are seen only by guards, reception and administrators; everyone else sees the number masked.PASSESVisitor passes with a code and QRReception issues a pass for an expected visitor: a six-digit code and a QR, for one entry or several, valid between two times. The visitor gets it by email with the QR inside and an Open your pass page. They are let in at the gate by code, QR or mobile number without anyone phoning the host.PASSESRecurring passes for regular visitorsA vendor or trainer who comes every week gets one pass for set weekdays, daily hours and gates. No new pass is needed for each visit. The gate checks the day and the hour every time they come.RECORDS AND REPORTSVisitor log and visit reportsEvery visit is kept in one log. Search it by name, mobile, visit number, host, gate or vehicle, and export it to a spreadsheet. Ready analyses show visits and passes by day, type, purpose, host, gate and, with SmartMy HRMS, department.RECORDS AND REPORTSChange history and photo retentionEvery change to a visit, visitor, pass, gate, parcel, alert or exit pass is recorded with who made it and when. Once a visitor has left, only an administrator can correct the visit, with a reason. Visitor photos and ID images are deleted by themselves after the number of days you set.
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.