Visits (Visitor Management) is deskbird's user-friendly solution for welcoming guests to modern workplaces. It streamlines the process of scheduling, check-ins, and notifications—ensuring a smooth experience for both employees, receptionists, and visitors.
- Settings for Visits
- Create and manage visits
- Receptionist role and visitor dashboard
- 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.
2. Create and manage visits
To schedule a new visitor:
- Go to Visits in the main menu.
- Select + Create visit (top right corner).
Enter visit details
On the Create visit page, you can set:
- Title – Enter a clear name for the visit (e.g. Maintenance appointment).
- Organizer – Pre-filled with your name, but can be changed.
- Date & Time – Choose the date and set start and end time.
- Type – Select Business, Recruiting, Maintenance, Internal, or Other.
- Instructions for visitors – Add directions (e.g. "Use the green door next to the parking area").
Add visitors
- Add visitors by name and/or email. At least one field is required.
- 💡 Email is required if you want reminders and updates to be sent automatically.
- You must add at least one visitor before creating the visit.
Send invitations
Once all details are entered, you'll be asked whether to send the invitation email to visitors. This email includes visit details and updates.
Manage existing visits
For each visit, open the three-dot menu (⋮) to:
- Edit visit – Change details.
- Duplicate visit – Create a copy with the same details.
- Mark as completed – Close the visit after it is finished.
- 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.
3. Receptionist role and visitor dashboard
Users with the Receptionist role (assigned via Admin > Visits > Receptionists) have access to the visitor dashboard.
From the dashboard, receptionists can:
- Check-in / Check-out visitors with one click.
- 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 in the office 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.
💡 Keeping visitor check-outs accurate ensures the on-site list reflects reality. This is especially important in situations like emergencies, where knowing 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.
4. 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, instructions) are updated.
- Visit reminder – Sent 24h before the visit.
💡 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.
- 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.
5. 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. 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