Visitor management System Buying Guide
Brand your Visitor Management Kiosk the way you want and impress your visitors.
Finding the right Visitor Management System what should i look for?
5 things to consider when buying a Visitor Management System
The cost, ease of use and reporting are three of the key items asked for.
1/ Ease of Use when people say they want ease of use they mean they want a really easy system to use. Some of the historical visitor management systems built in old SQL databases are so complex the end user needs to spend hours learning the most basic functionality. Once you have completed your basic training session you should be able to start receiving visitors into your software immediately. Ease of use also includes clever tools that save users time the more they use the software.
2/ Reporting once you start to collect visitor information you will want to report on the data. Reporting should be very easy to use include graphical and detailed views plus give you the ability to add custom filters so you can drill down deeper into your data. Saving reports to be used again and again along with scheduling reports for automated sending by email are further items you must look for in your visitor management system.
3/ Expansion Modules when looking for a visitor management system you may not be thinking about or understand the potential that a visitor management system can bring to your business. Examples of additional modules that you can upgrade to after going live with your visitor management system could include contractor management, induction management, work order management, asset management, ID card management, car parking management, meeting room management, communities management. You may not be thinking about any of these additional modules today but you should select a system that can be expanded in the future if needed.
4/ Cloud based or server install with today’s technology this is no longer a question that needs to be considered. Until cloud technology became available all visitor management software systems were installed on servers. The single biggest issue with the information being installed on the server is that in the event of an emergency you actually may not be able to access the evacuation management system. Cloud technology has solved this problem by allowing you to walk outside of the building with any smart device giving you instant access to evacuation management systems and data
5/ Cost the cost of some systems on the market today are complicated and add up very fast. You can be charged for every visitor management kiosk that you set up, if you need 5 visitor management kiosks you may pay 5 additional license fees. You can be charged for every user that has access to the system, some people call this bums on seats if you need 10 users to have access you may pay 10 additional license fees. Other fees we have seen include workstation fees where you might have four workstations that require access to the software, you may have to pay for additional license fees. This type of pricing becomes complex, confusing and costly.
What should I pay for a Visitor Management System? A large organisation should pay for the number of locations that are using the software. Each location should have access to all the modules they require with unlimited employees, unlimited kiosks, unlimited contractors, unlimited users with a single location based fee. Smaller locations should simply pay less.
What features should I look for in a Visitor Management System?
On the surface you may think that visitor management systems are all very similar. You can’t see the cleverness built in to some visitor management systems by looking at a website or going over the pricing. The best way to choose a visitor management system today is to pick your top 2 or 3 systems and ask for a 30 to 40 minute demonstration of the software. Completing a demonstration of the visitor management system from multiple companies will give you the answers to your questions. One system should stand out matching your requirements.
Book in a demonstration of WhosOnLocation Visitor Management software
Should I look at Visitor Management apps from the app store?
I researched apps last year after receiving a call from one company asking me why they should not choose an app to manage 80 locations across Australia, I was told “the price seems to be to good to be true” so I went out and bought several online apps to understand the capabilities.
One of the main issues with apps is there are so many being written by people who can write apps but do not understand the deeper requirements of visitor management including evacuation management. Nearly all the apps allow a visitor to sign in & out some sending an email some sending an email and SMS. This is where the functionality stops.
A good visitor management system may include several apps as part of the program. Here are some examples these additional apps are part of the WhosOnLocation Visitor Management software package….
WolMobile – allow remote employees and contractors to sign in and out of a remote location
SiteGuard – Give mobile access to security staff to check people and vehicles on the spot
MobiEvac – a Mobile evacuation tool putting all the information for your location into the hands of the floor wardens
Read more about my research after I purchased some visitor Management apps
What should I avoid in a Visitor Management System?
You should not pay for extra users with today’s technology this is just ripping you off. You should not pay for adding more visitor management kiosks with today’s technology this is just ripping you off.
Clunky Excel looking databases, there are quite a few of these out there still some of them are very good programs but they are so complex they take weeks or months to implement and can typically cost 4 to 5 times more than a solid cloud solution.
What should I expect in my visitor management system?
Electronic Visitor management is more than just signing in a visitor, much more than replacing a visitor management book. What should you expect in your visitor management system
- better internal communication
- active directory integration
- visitor safety
- visitor compliance
- employee safety
- employee compliance
- asset protection
- contractor safety
- contractor compliance
- induction management
- evacuation management
- evacuation reporting
- live dashboard reporting
- clever visitor arrival notifications
What type of Visitor Management kiosk should I use?
I have written many documents on visitor management kiosks over the years. One of my most recent documents goes into quite a bit of detail around the types of visitor management kiosks that are available and what you can do with them. It’s important to know simple things like an iPad while sexy does not have any USB ports. There are several peripheral devices that are popularly used in Visitor Management and Contractor Management that plug into a USB slot. When considering a visitor management kiosk we should also take care to consider what other items we may add to the kiosk in the future.
You can read my detailed article on visitor management kiosks here
My Top 4 Visitor Management Systems
1 – WhosOnLocation
Who’s on location is a cloud based visitor management system that is easy to deploy to a single location or multiple locations. Includes several main modules including visitor management, contractor management and induction management.
Additional modules include asset management, document management, evacuation management, car park mamnagement and more. Use only the modules you need.
Starting at $20.00. Per month
Positives – very active developers providing enhancements from regular customer feedback.
Multiple modules, use the modules you need, easy to use, deploy live in less than one hour
Price -outstanding pricing for features
Dashboards – providing live statistical information about one or many locations.
Availability – world wide
Negatives – only cloud based
Book in a demonstration of WhosOnLocation Visitor Management software
2- Hall Pass
Positives – integrates with sex offender list (USA only)
Negatives – very old platform, heavy focus on schools
3- Visitor Rego
Includes onsite only installation. Basic visitor management with very limited contractor and no induction module.
Starts at around $2,000 before including hardware
Availability – New Zealand and Australia
Positives
Negatives – every component costs more, need an additional licence this will cost more, limited functionality compared to other products on the market.
4 – PassagePoint by STOPware
Very comprehensive very expensive visitor management solution. Has been around for decades and is built on a very old platform.
Starts at around $3000 before including hardware, you will need plenty of money to deploy this system including annual support plans.
Positives – very comprehensive system as has been built over the past 15 years. integrates with sex offender list (USA only) Multilingual
Negatives – very expensive, very old, takes a lot to learn how to use the system.
