How visits work
Walk-ins and invited guests, visitor types, approvals, check-out and the statuses a visit moves through.
Agoo is in early access. This page describes the feature as it ships to early-access organisations; screens are illustrative.
A visit is one person coming to one of your sites, usually to see a host. It can also be for several people, for a team, or for no one in particular, when reception receives them (see Who a visit is for). Every visit in Agoo, whether it started on the kiosk, from an invitation or from a booking, follows the same lifecycle and ends up in the same place: Console → Visitors.
Two ways a visit starts
| Invited (expected) | Walk-in | |
|---|---|---|
| Created by | A host or receptionist, ahead of time; automatically from a booking; or the visitor, asking to visit | The visitor on the kiosk or on their phone from a check-in poster, or a receptionist or guard on their behalf |
| Visitor gets | A pass by SMS, WhatsApp or email, with a QR code, map pin and calendar file, which they can add to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet | A badge (printed or on screen) at check-in, or their visit page on their phone |
| At arrival | Scans the pass at the kiosk or gate; details are already filled in | Answers the questions for their visitor type |
| Host approval | Not needed: the host created or accepted the visit (a request waits for the host's yes before its pass goes out) | Needed if your check-in rules say so |
| Starts as | Expected | Awaiting approval, or straight to Checked in |
Invited visitors are quicker at the desk and give reception a list of who to expect. Walk-ins are normal too, and Agoo handles them without fuss. Returning visitors are recognised by their phone number, so their name and company fill in for them.
Visit statuses
| Status | Means | Moves to |
|---|---|---|
| Expected | Invited or booked, not arrived yet. | Checked in, Awaiting approval, Cancelled, No-show |
| Awaiting approval | Arrived, waiting for the host (or security) to let them in, or for someone to take them when nobody has yet. A host's "Ask them to wait" doesn't change it. Also a request from your public "request a visit" page, waiting for the host's go-ahead. | Checked in, Denied, Cancelled; Expected when the host approves a request before the visitor arrives |
| Checked in | On site now. Shows in the live register and in roll calls. | Checked out |
| Checked out | Has left. The visit is complete. | (final) |
| Denied | The host or security declined, or the front desk turned the visitor away. The visitor is told politely. | (final) |
| Cancelled | The host, reception or the visitor cancelled before arrival. The pass stops working. Also a waiting visitor the front desk booked in for another time: the visit says what replaced it. | (final) |
| No-show | The visitor didn't arrive within their visit's time window. | (final) |
Every change is recorded on the visit's timeline, with who did it, when, and on which device: invited, pass sent, arrived at the Lobby, approved by Kwame Mensah, badge printed, checked out at the Main gate. Open any visit in Console → Visitors to see it.
Visitor types
Each visit has a visitor type. Every organisation starts with six built-in types: Meeting, Interview, Delivery, Contractor, Event and Other. You can rename them, turn off the ones you don't use, and add your own, such as Parent pickup at a school, Vendor at a bank or Service at a church. Each type has its own:
- form: the questions the visitor answers, and whether you capture a photo or ID,
- documents: your privacy notice, and any NDA, waiver or site rules they sign (Documents to sign),
- rules: whether the host must approve, who visitors may say they're here to see (Who a visit is for), and its passes' default days, hours and gates (Pass rules),
- badge: what's printed on it.
A type that's turned off can't be chosen for new visits; visits already recorded keep it. Built-in types can be renamed or turned off, but not deleted.
Visitors can choose a type when they pre-register only if you've opened it for pre-registration; it's off by default. They then answer only the questions asked of the visitor, never the fields your staff fill in.
The built-in types never count towards your plan's custom-forms limit. Each type you add counts as one custom form (Starter 3, Growth 15, Pro and Enterprise unlimited; Free has the built-in types only), and turning a type off frees its place.
You set up visitor types and their forms in Console → Settings → Forms. See Forms and fields.
Approvals
When a visitor arrives, Agoo tells the host by a notification in the Workspace app first, then by WhatsApp, SMS or email, in the order you choose, if the notification doesn't reach their phone in time. If approval is needed, the host can Approve or Decline from the notification's buttons, from the link in a message without signing in, in the Console, or in the Workspace app on their iPhone, iPad or Android phone or tablet, even offline. From the arrival notification, the host can also tell reception I'm coming or Ask them to wait. If they don't answer in time, reception is shown. Delegates, who would be asked first, are planned.
When a visit is for several people, everyone on it is told, and the visitor type says whether anyone may answer or only the lead. A visit for a team is answered by whichever member takes it first. A visitor nobody has taken yet waits under Needs someone, where the front desk asks someone, takes the visit, books the visitor in for another time or turns them away. See Who a visit is for.
You decide when approval is needed, per site, in Console → Settings → Sites → (site) → Check-in rules. A watchlist match always holds the check-in for security, whatever the rules say. See Host approvals.
Check-out
Visitors can check out at the kiosk, with a guard, at reception, with I've left on their pass or visit page, or automatically at the end of the day. Accurate check-outs matter: the live register and the roll-call list are only as good as them. See Check-out.
Where to manage visits
| Where | Who | For | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Console → Visitors | Receptionists, security, admins | Needs someone, Expected, On site and History tabs; inviting; manual check-in and out | Any web browser |
| Visitor pages | Visitors; hosts answering by link | Passes (details and documents before arrival), requests to visit, self check-in from posters, booking pages and booking changes, "I'm safe", approvals by link | Any phone's browser |
| Kiosk app, kiosk mode | Visitors | Self check-in, pass scanning, check-out | iPad, iPhone and Android |
| Kiosk in a browser | Visitors | Self check-in, pass scanning, check-out, on a front-desk computer; online only | A computer's web browser |
| Kiosk app, guard mode | Guards | Gate check-in, pass scanning, vehicles | iPad, iPhone and Android |
| Workspace app | Hosts, reception, security | Inviting, approving, your own visitors and the ones your team has; for the desk, today's list, Needs someone, check-in and check-out offline, walk-ins, scanning passes, holds and the emergency alert | iPhone, iPad and Android |
Kiosk check-in
The visitor's journey, screen by screen.
Self check-in from posters
Visitors check in on their own phone.
Invitations and passes
Invite guests and send a QR pass.
Request a visit
Let people ask to visit from your page.
Host approvals
Approve, ask to wait or decline, from anywhere.
Who a visit is for
Several hosts, a team, or no one in particular.
Front desk and guard mode
Manual check-in, the live register and the gate.
Details and documents before the visit
Answers, the privacy notice and signed documents on the pass.
Signed passes and offline checks
Passes a kiosk checks with no network.
Guest and staff Wi-Fi
Give visitors your Wi-Fi while they're checked in.
WhatsApp replies from visitors
Answer visitors' messages in the Console and the app.
Home and reports
Today at a glance, any period's visits, and exports.