Visits (Visitor Management)

Visits (Visitor Management) is deskbird's user-friendly solution for welcoming guests to modern workplaces. It streamlines the process of scheduling, check-ins, document signing, badge printing, and notifications—ensuring a smooth, tailored experience for employees, receptionists, and visitors alike.

Settings for Visits
Visit type templates
Document signing
Create and manage visits
Receptionist role and visitor dashboard
Visitor badges
Visitor portal
Notifications and reminders
Kiosk Mode for Visitor Management

1. Settings for Visits

You can access these settings via Admin > Visits > Settings.

The settings page shows at a glance which offices have Visitor Management activated, which offices have at least one kiosk mode enabled, and allows you to assign a default host and receptionists per office.

For each office, open the configuration by clicking the ⚙️ gear icon.

There you can manage:

Visitor data privacy: Set the duration before visitor data is automatically anonymised.
Default host: Assigned when visitors self-check in and don't know their contact person.
Visitor receptionists: Who can view and manage all visits at that office.

At the top of the page, Badge settings opens the company-wide configuration for printed visitor badges — see Visitor badges below.

2. Visit type templates

Visit types let you tailor the experience to different kinds of guests — for example a Contractor, an Interview candidate, or an Auditor — without organizers having to re-enter the same details every time. You can access them via Admin > Visits > Visit types.

Each visit type template has its own:

Name (max 16 characters) and Description (max 140 characters) – help organizers pick the right type when creating a visit.
Assigned offices – make the template available to Specific offices only, or to all offices. Only active offices can be selected: offices that are closed indefinitely are not shown in the Assigned offices dropdown.
Instructions for visitors – a rich-text field (bold, italic, underline, links) that's shown to visitors whenever this template is selected, so the same welcome message, Wi-Fi details, or arrival guidelines don't need to be retyped for every visit.
Documents – any document(s) visitors must review or sign for this visit type. See Document signing below.

💡 Visit type templates are selectable wherever a visit can be created: the web app (including from a room booking), Kiosk Mode self-check-in, and the Outlook add-in.

💡 Existing companies were migrated automatically — any previously used types (Business, Internal, Recruiting, Maintenance, Other) became editable visit type templates with the same name. New companies start with a single default template, General Visit, which can be renamed, edited, or duplicated.

Notifying visitors when a visit type changes

When the Name or Instructions for visitors of a visit type template are changed, visitors with upcoming visits linked to that template may still be holding outdated information. After saving the changes, a prompt asks whether an email should be sent to the affected visitors. Confirm to notify them, or dismiss the prompt to save the changes without sending anything.

💡 Only visitors with upcoming visits that use this visit type are notified. Past and completed visits are not affected, and emails are only sent to visitors for whom an email address has been provided.

3. Document signing

Within a visit type template, you can require visitors to read or sign documents as part of check-in — for example a safety briefing or an NDA. Documents are managed in the Documents section of the visit type's Visitor experience panel.

Click + Add and choose a document type:

Requires signature – build a document from scratch using deskbird's editor. Give it a Title, optionally toggle on Show company logo on the header, and write the Content using the rich-text editor (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, numbered/bulleted lists, links). Visitors must sign this document before check-in is complete.
Preview only – upload an existing PDF for visitors to read. No signature is required.

Each attached document appears in the list with a Preview link and a ⋮ menu to Delete it. Use the drag handle on the left of each row to reorder documents.

💡 Visitors can review and sign documents in advance through their Visitor portal, or at the kiosk during check-in.

💡 When signing, visitors see a disclaimer that the electronic signature is intended to be as valid as a handwritten one, to the extent allowed by applicable law. Signed documents are stored against the visit record and can be reviewed later for audit purposes.

4. Create and manage visits

Users and receptionists can create visits from the Visits section by selecting + Create visit. They can set a title, organizer, date & time, visit type, and add visitor names and emails. Selecting a visit type automatically applies that template's instructions and any required documents, so they don't need to be set manually for every visit. An invitation email is sent automatically if an email address is provided, containing a link to the visitor's personal Visitor portal. Refer to the For users section for step-by-step guidance on creating and managing individual visits.

Add a visit from a room booking

Visits can also be created directly while booking a meeting room, so organizers don't have to set up the room booking and the visit separately. In the room booking panel of the web app, the Visitor management section (below Conference link) offers + Add a visit. This option is only shown in offices where both meeting rooms and Visitor Management are set up.

Start a meeting room booking as usual and fill in the booking details.
Under Visitor management, click + Add a visit.
Under Select an option, choose Create new visit or Link to existing visit (an existing visit on the same day and at the same office).
For a new visit, check the Visit title — it is pre-filled with the meeting title and can be edited.
Under Visitors, search by name or email and press Enter to add each visitor. Only the selected attendees will be asked to check in.
Choose the visit type under Select visit type.
Click Add to booking, then Confirm booking to save the room booking together with the visit.

The visit then appears on the Visits page like any other visit, with a Linked booking reference to the room booking, and visitors receive the usual invitation email if an email address was provided.

⚠️ Adding a visit from a room booking is currently available for one-off room bookings in the web app only. Recurring booking series and the mobile app are not supported yet.

Available visit actions

For each visit, the three-dot menu (⋮) offers:

Edit visit – Change details.
Duplicate visit – Create a copy with the same details.
Print all visitor badges – Print a badge for every visitor of the visit in one go (receptionists and admins only, see Visitor badges).
Mark as completed – Close the visit after it is finished.
Download documents – Download the documents attached to the visit.
Delete visit – Permanently remove it. You can choose to notify visitors about this.

💡 Visits can also be exported as .xlsx files for reporting purposes.

💡 Visits are automatically completed at midnight based on the office's timezone if left open, and multi-person visits are completed automatically once the last guest checks out.

5. Receptionist role and visitor dashboard

Users with the Receptionist role (assigned via Admin > Visits > select an Office > Receptionists) have access to the visitor dashboard.

From the dashboard, receptionists can:

Check-in / Check-out visitors with one click.
Print badge (via the printer icon) – print a physical badge for the visitor, before arrival or during check-in. See Visitor badges.
Edit time entries (via the clock icon) – update check-in and check-out times.
Edit visitor (via the pen icon) – change name, email, or company.
Remove a visitor (via the bin icon) – if all visitors are deleted, the visit is removed. You can choose to notify the visitor about this.
Notify the host (via the lilac Notify button, available if the host has the MS Teams integration active) to alert the organizer when the visitor(s) have arrived.

On-site visitor list

Receptionists and admins can instantly view a list of all visitors currently on-site by clicking the Onsite now indicator at the top of the Visits page. This opens a side panel showing every visitor who has checked in but not yet checked out, along with their check-in time. The list updates in real time — visitors appear or disappear from it the moment they check in or out, whether that happens at the kiosk, on the receptionist dashboard, or through the host.

💡 To keep the list accurate without manual follow-up, hosts and receptionists are automatically notified when a visitor checks out (see Notifications and reminders).

💡 The on-site list can be exported, which is useful for evacuation or emergency headcounts where knowing exactly who is in the building matters.

Visit visibility

Visit visibility depends on the user's role:

Receptionists can view all visits for the office they are assigned to.
Global administrators have access to all visits across all offices.
Regular users can only see the visits they have created themselves.

6. Visitor badges

Reception can print physical visitor badges directly from Visitor Management — no handwritten stickers or separate tools needed. A badge belongs to one visitor for one visit and helps everyone on-site quickly see who the visitor is, who they are visiting, and what kind of visit it is.

A badge can show:

the VISITOR heading and the visit type
the visitor name and company
the host
the visit date
a unique Badge ID

Badge settings (admins)

Admins configure badges via Admin > Visits > Settings > Badge settings. One badge design applies to the whole company — it cannot be set per office. Size, margins, and print quality are determined by the printer settings, not by deskbird.

Status – The Enable badge printing for visitors toggle switches badge printing on or off for the entire company. It is on by default. When it is off, all printing entry points (the Print badge icon per visitor and Print all visitor badges in the visit menu) are hidden; the saved badge design is kept and applies again as soon as printing is re-enabled.
Orientation – Choose Portrait or Landscape.
Content – Toggle which information is displayed: Visit type, Visitor name & company, and Host.
Text color – Enter a hex value or use the colour picker. The colour applies to all badge text except the badge heading and the visit type label.
Visitor name – Adjust the Font size of the visitor's name with − / +.

The Live preview on the left updates with every change. Use Print test badge to print a sample with mock data and check the result on your printer, then click Save.

Printing badges (receptionists and admins)

Badges are printed from the Visits page. Hosts and organizers cannot print badges.

Single badge – Expand the visit and click the printer icon (Print badge) in the visitor's row. This works before the visitor arrives or during check-in.
All badges of a visit – Open the visit's ⋮ menu and select Print all visitor badges.

Printing opens the browser's standard print dialog and uses the connected printer.

💡 Printing a badge does not check the visitor in and does not create a visit — check-in still happens via the Check-in button, the kiosk, or the host.

💡 If a badge is lost or damaged, simply print it again. The reprinted badge gets a new Badge ID and the previous Badge ID becomes invalid. A found badge can be traced back to its visitor by searching the visitor list for the Badge ID.

7. Visitor portal

When a visit is created with a visitor email, that visitor receives a tokenized link to their own Visitor portal — no account or login required.

Confirming details

The first time a visitor opens the link, they're asked Is this you? and shown their Email, First name, Last name, and Company, pre-filled from the visit. They confirm or correct these fields, tick a consent checkbox for the privacy policy and data processing, and select Continue.

Home and visit details

The portal's Home tab shows:

Visit details – date, time, and the assigned office/address.
Instructions – the visitor instructions configured on the visit type used for this visit.
Visitor code – a 4-character code visitors enter on the kiosk tablet to check in.
Host – the host's name, photo, and email, with a note that the host will be notified once the visitor checks in.
If documents are pending, a banner prompts the visitor to Review them before the visit.

Documents tab

The Documents tab (badged with the number of pending items) lists every document attached to the visit type, each marked Pending or signed, with a Signature required tag on documents that need a signature. Opening a signature-required document shows a progress indicator and an Add signature step: the visitor reviews a typed rendition of their name as the signature, along with a timestamp and a disclaimer that the electronic signature is intended to be as valid as a handwritten one to the extent allowed by applicable law, then confirms to sign.

💡 Hosts and receptionists don't have access to the Visitor portal — it's visitor-facing only.

8. Notifications and reminders

Visitor notifications (email)

Visitors can receive automated emails containing visit details and updates:

Visit scheduled – Sent when the visit is created (only if an email was added).
Visit cancelled – Sent when a visit or visitor is removed.
Visit changed – Sent if key details (title, date/time, organizer, type) are updated.
Visit reminder – Sent 24h before the visit.
Visit type updated – Optional. When the name or instructions of a visit type are changed, the person making the change can choose to notify visitors with upcoming visits that use that visit type.

💡 Emails are only sent to visitors where an email address has been provided. The organizer's language settings define the email language.

Host notifications (Microsoft Teams and email)

Hosts are notified about visitor activity through both Microsoft Teams and email. This dual-channel approach ensures hosts are informed even if they don't have the Teams app installed or miss the Teams message.

Visitor has arrived – When a visitor checks in (from the kiosk or the web app), the host receives a notification via both Microsoft Teams and email. From the dashboard, a receptionist can also trigger this notification manually by clicking the Notify button. The host can acknowledge by clicking I'm on my way — either in the Microsoft Teams notification or directly from the email. This response is reported back to the visitor dashboard so reception knows the host is coming.
Visitor checked out – When a visitor checks out, whether from the kiosk, the receptionist dashboard, or automatically at the end of the visit, the host is notified via Microsoft Teams and email, so the on-site list stays accurate without anyone needing to check manually.
Visit end reminder – When a visit reaches its scheduled end time and visitors are still checked in, the host automatically receives a reminder via Microsoft Teams and email. This reminder includes a Check-out all visitors action, allowing the host to quickly check out all remaining visitors in one step and keep visit records up to date.

9. Kiosk Mode for Visitor Management

In Visitor Management Kiosk Mode, companies can let pre-registered guests self-check in and allow walk-in visitors to register their visit directly on-site. Hosts are automatically notified via Microsoft Teams or email, and a default host can be assigned per office for seamless communication. If the visit type requires any documents, visitors can review and sign them directly on the kiosk screen as part of check-in. All visitor activities are synced in real-time with the deskbird Visitor Dashboard, providing a unified view of all check-ins and ongoing visits.

Detailed information can be found here: Kiosk Mode for Visitor Management