Walk-in registration with check-in and check-out
The 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.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The paper register at the gate is hard to read, and nobody can find last Tuesday's visitor in it.
- The register says who came in, but not when they left or through which gate.
- A visitor walks in with a laptop and walks out with two, and nothing was written down.
- Reception calls upstairs for every visitor, and the queue at the gate grows.
How it works
- The guard presses + Walk-in on the gate screen or in the Guard app, or reception clicks New under Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visits.
- The guard types the mobile number first. A visitor who came before is found and filled in; a new one is typed once.
- The guard takes the photo, picks whom they see from the To see list, and chooses the visitor type and purpose. Then they add people, company and vehicle number.
- Under the extra section the guard adds the ID proof, items carried, badge number, a note for the person visited and a gate note.
- The guard presses Register walk-in. If the visitor type needs an answer, the visitor waits and the host is asked. Otherwise the visitor is checked in at once and the host is told.
- On check-in the visit gets a gate pass number such as GM-2381. To leave, the visitor gives that number, shows the badge, or the guard presses Check Out on the Inside list.
Everything it does
What the walk-in records
- Visitor: mobile (6 to 15 digits, any country), name, company, email
- Visitor type and purpose from your own lists, and purpose details as free text
- Whom they see: a person from the staff directory or a staff login; a name typed that matches nobody is kept in the purpose
- Persons: the visitor plus those with them (1 to start with)
- Vehicle number, stored without spaces in capitals (TN01AB1234)
- Items declared (laptop, tools, bags), checked again at exit
- Badge number, a note for the person visited and a gate note for the gate only
Times, gates and states
- States: Draft, Waiting for Host, Approved, Inside, Checked Out, Rejected, Cancelled
- Arrived at Gate, Check-in and Check-out times, Gate In and Gate Out, and the time inside
- Gate Out is the gate of check-out; when none is given it is the gate of entry
- Visit numbers come from a sequence per entity
- A visit can be cancelled while it is a draft, waiting or approved
The gate pass number
- Four digits, unique among the visits of the entity that are inside, given at check-in
- Printed after the entity's Gate Pass Prefix (up to four letters); empty, the prefix is the entity's initials
- Typed in the gate box or at the kiosk to check the visitor out
Checks before entry
- The photo and the ID proof the visitor type asks for (a known visitor's photo and ID on file count)
- The gates the visitor type may use
- The blacklist, where it is in your plan
- A refusal shows on the screen in plain words, for example Take the visitor's photo
Corrections
- After check-out, only a VMS administrator can change the times, gates, visitor or type, and must fill in Correction Reason
- Every change is kept in the visit's history with who made it and when
Who uses it
GuardRegisters walk-ins at the gates they are in charge of, checks visitors in and out.
Reception / ManagerRegisters walk-ins at every gate, approves on behalf of hosts, sees every visit.
AdministratorSets the visitor types, purposes, gates and prefix, and corrects visits after check-out.
HostIs asked to approve, or told when the visitor is let in.
Where you use it
- Web: Visitors > Gate > Gate Screen (+ Walk-in) and Visitors > Gate > Visitors > Visits (New, Arrived, Check In, Check Out, Cancel)
- Web: the guard page at /guard, Walk-in
- The SmartMy VMS Guard app: Gate tab, Walk-in (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- The kiosk: visitors register themselves as walk-ins where you run one
- Not on paper: there is no printed register to fill in; the visit list can be exported
What you control
Settings
- Gate Pass Prefix: empty to start with (the entity's initials are used)
- Visitor types and purposes: six types and six purposes come ready, all changeable
- Host Approval Timeout: 10 minutes; When the Host Does Not Answer: Escalate to Reception
- Auto Check-out Time: 21:00 (0 switches it off)
Approvals
- Visitor at the gate: one level to start with, the host and the alternate host; Delivery and Government / Inspection visitors come in at once. Add levels under Visitors > Configuration > General > Approval Chains.
Notifications
- Visitor Waiting for Approval: to the host and the alternate host, by app push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- Visitor Arrived: to the host and the alternate host when the visitor is let in, by app push, WhatsApp, SMS, email and in-app
- Visitor Approval Escalated: to reception when the host does not answer in time
- 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 HRMSEmployees are picked as the person visited, and their manager stands in when they are on leave.
Questions
How long does a walk-in take?
For a known visitor, the mobile number fills in the name and the last kind of visit, vehicle and host. The guard checks and presses Register walk-in. A new visitor needs the name, a photo where the type asks for one, and whom they see.Can we record what a visitor carries in?
Yes. Items Declared on the visit holds what they brought, such as a laptop or tools, and the guard checks it again at exit.What if the visitor forgets to check out?
Anyone still inside at the Auto Check-out Time (21:00 to start with) is checked out by itself. The visit is flagged Auto Checked Out, so the gate can confirm it.Can a guard change a visit after the visitor has left?
No. After check-out only a VMS administrator can change the times, gates, visitor or type, and must give a reason. The change stays in the visit's history.Is walk-in registration in the Starter plan?
Yes. Walk-ins, check-in and check-out with times and gates, and the visit details are in every plan.Related features
VISITORS AND CHECK-INReturning visitors found by mobile numberEach 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.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.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.VISITORS AND CHECK-INWho is inside now, with automatic check-outOne list shows everyone on the premises at this moment, with whom they came to see, the gate and how long they have been inside. Visits still open at your closing time are checked out by themselves and flagged, and anyone past their visitor type's maximum stay is marked Overstay.HOST APPROVALHost approval from the phoneA 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.GATE, KIOSK AND GUARD TOOLSGuard screen and Guard appOne screen shows the guard who is expected, who is waiting and who is inside. One box takes a pass code, a QR, a mobile number or a name. It runs in a browser on any computer, tablet or phone, and as the Guard app.
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.