Visitor management guide
Replacing a paper visitor book: what to look for in a digital sign-in system
A digital sign-in system should do four things a paper visitor book cannot: show a fire marshal who is still inside, keep each visitor’s details out of sight of the next, tell the host their visitor has arrived, and give you a record you can actually search.
Check those first. Then look at the practical points that decide whether it works at your reception: what happens when the wifi drops, how people who forget to sign out are handled, and what it costs once the tablet and badge printer are included.
In shortThe evacuation list is the reason to change. If a system cannot put a live list of who is signed in onto a marshal’s phone at the assembly point, it has not fixed the biggest weakness of the paper book.
Where a paper visitor book falls short
Paper is cheap, familiar and never needs charging. Its problems show up at the moments that matter: when the alarm sounds, when someone asks who visited last month, and when a visitor reads the page while signing in.
| What happens | Paper visitor book | Digital sign-in |
|---|---|---|
| In an evacuation | Stays at reception, or is carried out and read in the rain | A live list of who is still signed in, on the marshal's phone |
| Privacy | Each visitor can read the names above theirs | Each visitor sees only their own details |
| Telling the host | Reception phones round the building | The host is notified when the visitor signs in |
| Signing out | Often forgotten, and nobody notices | Open visits are listed, flagged and closed |
| Site rules and inductions | A separate form, if anyone remembers | Read and accepted on screen, recorded against the visit |
| Finding a past visit | Turning pages, if the handwriting is legible | Kept with every answer the visitor gave |
| Cost | A few pounds a book | A yearly subscription, plus a tablet |
What to look for when replacing a paper visitor book
Ten things to check, in roughly the order they matter, with the question worth putting to any supplier.
-
An evacuation list that leaves the building
This is the main reason to replace a paper book. When the alarm sounds, a marshal at the assembly point needs to see who is still signed in, on a phone, without going back for the book.
Ask the supplier: Can a marshal see the on-site list on their phone, and are staff on it too?
-
Privacy at the desk
Visitors should see their own details and nobody else's. This is the most common reason paper books cause data protection questions.
Ask the supplier: What can a visitor see on the screen when they sign in?
-
Pre-booking and walk-ins
Expected visitors should be quick: a QR code emailed in advance and scanned on arrival. Walk-ins still need a simple route on the tablet.
Ask the supplier: Can you pre-book a visit and email a QR code, and can walk-ins be switched off if you only want expected visitors?
-
Host notifications
The host should hear their visitor has arrived without reception phoning round.
Ask the supplier: How is the host told, and can it be set when the visit is booked?
-
Your own questions and site rules
A good system asks what you need to know, such as vehicle registration or whether a contractor has had an induction, and can stop a sign-in when an answer means someone should not be let in yet.
Ask the supplier: Can a particular answer block a sign-in until a manager has seen it?
-
Badges
If you issue visitor badges, check they print as part of signing in rather than being written by hand.
Ask the supplier: Which label printer does it work with, and who supplies it?
-
Working without wifi
Reception wifi drops. The tablet should keep signing people in and catch up afterwards, without losing anyone.
Ask the supplier: What happens to sign-ins made while the tablet is offline?
-
Forgotten sign-outs
An accurate record depends on people signing out. Look for a list of open visits and a way of closing ones left open overnight.
Ask the supplier: What happens to a visitor who never signs out?
-
Several entrances, one list
If people can arrive at more than one door, every tablet should feed the same on-site list.
Ask the supplier: Do two tablets at two entrances show the same list?
-
The full cost
Some suppliers charge per site, per visitor or per tablet. Work out the cost for your year, including the tablet and printer.
Ask the supplier: Is the price flat, and what hardware do we need to buy?
Getting accurate visitor records
A digital system is only as accurate as its sign-outs. Most of the errors in visitor records come from people who leave without signing out, not from people who never sign in.
Three things keep the record honest. Put the tablet where people pass on the way out, not only on the way in. Give reception a list of everyone still signed in, so they can sign out the person they just saw leave. And make sure visits left open overnight are flagged or closed, so the morning’s fire list does not include yesterday’s contractor.
Busy receptions and more than one entrance
At a busy front desk, speed comes from pre-booking. Visitors who are expected scan a QR code and are signed in within seconds, which leaves the tablet free for walk-ins. Returning visitors should not have to answer the same questions every time.
If people can arrive through more than one entrance, a tablet at each door is only useful if they all feed one list. Otherwise you have replaced one book with two systems that disagree.
Paper visitor books and GDPR
No UK law bans paper visitor books, and none requires a visitor book by name. The data protection concern is narrower: an open book shows every visitor the names, companies and hosts of the people who signed in before them. Our guide to visitor management compliance in the UK sets out what the law actually requires, what to record and how long to keep it.
A digital system helps because each visitor sees only their own details. Your organisation is still the data controller for the visitor record, so you decide what to ask and how long to keep it.
When paper is still good enough
Not every site needs software. A small office with a handful of visitors a week, all known to staff, may manage with a book kept out of public view and taken out by whoever leads the evacuation. If that is you, we would rather say so.
Paper starts to fail when you have contractors on site, more than one entrance, visitors arriving when reception is not staffed, or a fire risk assessment that asks how you account for people who are not employees.
How Visitor Connect handles it
Visitor Connect is Computime’s visitor sign-in, part of Syncro Connect. Pre-booked visitors scan a QR code, walk-ins sign in on the tablet, the host is notified and a badge prints on a paired label printer. Visitors go straight onto the live on-site list that Fire Connect marshals work from, alongside your staff. The tablet keeps signing people in if the wifi drops.
Running a school? Our school visitor management guide covers the safeguarding side. With Access Connect, a visitor can also be given a door card that stops working when they sign out.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for when replacing a paper visitor book with a digital system?
Start with the evacuation list: the system should show a fire marshal, on a phone at the assembly point, who is still signed in. Then check that visitors cannot see each other's details, that hosts are told when their visitor arrives, that it keeps working if the wifi drops, and what it costs once the tablet and badge printer are included.
How do I log visitors at reception without a paper book?
Put a tablet at reception running visitor sign-in software. Expected visitors scan a QR code they were emailed, walk-ins sign themselves in on the screen, and the record is saved straight away. Reception can still sign someone in or out from a computer when the tablet is not to hand.
How do I get accurate visitor records using a digital sign-in system?
Make signing out as easy as signing in, and deal with the people who forget. A good system lists everyone still signed in, lets reception sign people out, and flags or closes visits left open overnight, so yesterday's visitor is not still on today's fire list.
Which visitor management systems suit a busy reception?
Look for QR check-in for pre-booked visitors, so most arrivals take seconds, and for returning visitors being able to skip questions they have already answered. If you have more than one entrance, check that every tablet feeds one list rather than each keeping its own.
Is a paper visitor book a GDPR problem?
It can be. No law bans paper visitor books, but an open book shows each visitor the names and companies of everyone who signed in before them, which is hard to justify under UK GDPR. Our guide to visitor management compliance explains what the law actually requires.
Is a visitor book a legal requirement in the UK?
No UK law requires a visitor book by name. The duty comes from fire safety and health and safety law: you need to be able to account for everyone on site in an evacuation, and a visitor record is the practical way to do that.
Do visitors need to download an app?
Not with Visitor Connect. Pre-booked visitors are emailed a QR code to scan at the reception tablet, and walk-ins sign in on the tablet itself.
What happens if the wifi goes down?
With Visitor Connect, the tablet carries on signing people in and sends the records through when the connection returns. Anything it cannot match up automatically is listed for reception to check.
Can digital sign-in print visitor badges?
Yes. Visitor Connect prints a badge automatically when someone signs in, once a label printer is paired with the tablet.
Will visitors find it slower than signing a book?
A first-time walk-in will spend a little longer than scribbling a name, because they answer your questions properly. Pre-booked visitors scanning a QR code, and returning visitors skipping questions they answered recently, are usually quicker than the book.
How much does visitor management software cost?
Visitor Connect is £495 a year excluding VAT, flat, whatever your headcount or number of visitors. It runs on your own tablet, which Computime does not supply, and it can run on Syncro Connect without time and attendance.
When is a paper visitor book still good enough?
For a small site with a handful of visitors a week, all known to staff, a book kept out of public view and taken out in an evacuation may do the job. Once you have contractors, several entrances or visitors arriving when reception is not staffed, paper starts to fail at the moment it matters.
See Visitor Connect for yourself
Start a free trial of Syncro Connect, with no card needed, or read how Visitor Connect handles the sign-in, the host alert and the fire list.
