A courier at ten, a client at two, a contractor who came to look at the heating and may or may not have left. In a small office nobody sits at reception all day, and by five it's hard to say who is still in the building. A visitor log answers that: who came, who they came to see, and when they arrived and left. Here's what one needs, and how to run it on an iPad at reception with Front Desk Cat, our front-desk app for iPhone and iPad.
What goes in an office visitor log
- Name.
- Company, for clients, couriers and contractors.
- Who they're here to see, so you know who to fetch.
- Time in and time out. The time out is what makes it a visitor log rather than a guest list. Without it, you can't tell who's still here.
- Only if you'll use them: a reason for the visit, a car registration if you have parking, a phone number.
Ask only what you need. Rules about keeping people's details differ from place to place, so check yours.
Set up a Visitors book
Open Front Desk Cat. It asks "What are you running today?": tap Sign-in book. The app remembers the choice and opens straight into it next time.
Under New sign-in book, tap Visitors. It asks for Company and Here to see, and people sign out, which is what an office log needs. Tap the settings button at the top right of the book to adjust it:
- Under Name, the book's name prints at the top of every list. The front desk line shows under Welcome, so you can write something like "Please sign in, then take a seat."
- Under Ask for, besides the name, switch on Reason for visit, Vehicle, Phone or Email if you need them.
- Leave People sign out on.
Put the iPad at reception
Open the book and tap Front desk. The screen shows the book's name, a big Welcome, your line (Please sign in. unless you write your own), the time and date, and two buttons: Sign in and Sign out.
A visitor taps Sign in, types their name, company and who they're here to see, and taps Sign in. They see "Thanks," with their first name and the time they signed in, and the screen goes back to Welcome on its own. Visitors never see anyone else's name or the list. If someone walks off halfway through, the form clears and goes back to Welcome after about a minute and a half without typing.
To leave the front desk, press and hold Exit. To have a code asked before leaving, set one in the book's settings under Code to leave the front desk (4 digits, one code for all your books). To keep the iPad in Front Desk Cat altogether, turn on Guided Access in the Settings app, under Accessibility.
You can also sign people in yourself: in the book, tap Sign in. Forgot someone earlier? Turn on Signed in earlier and pick the time.
Sign visitors out
On the way out, a visitor taps Sign out at the front desk and types their full name exactly as they signed in (capitals, accents and extra spaces don't matter). If it doesn't match exactly one person who's in, nobody is signed out and the screen asks them to type it exactly or ask at the desk. Typing a few letters never shows who else is in.
At your desk, tap Sign out on someone's row under Here now. Signed out the wrong person? Touch and hold their row and tap Undo sign-out. Tap any sign-in to fix a name, a detail or a time.
See who hasn't signed out
At the top of the book are two numbers: signed in today and here now. Below them, Here now lists everyone signed in and not yet out, newest first, with their time in and how long they've been here. That includes anyone from an earlier day who never signed out. People who have gone are under Left today (just Today once nobody is in).
Before you lock up, look at Here now. Anyone still on it either forgot to sign out or is still in the building. Once you've checked, tap Sign everyone out. The app asks first, then everyone still signed in gets the current time as their time out.
Front Desk Cat keeps a list of who signed in and when. It isn't a security, safety or visitor-management system, and it doesn't check who anyone is.
Export the end-of-day log
Tap Print & share at the bottom of the book and pick The list. Choose Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days or Every day. Each day starts on a new page, with the date and how many signed in at the top, plus how many weren't signed out, if any. The columns are #, NAME, your details, IN and OUT. Then:
- Print the list opens the print options.
- Share PDF opens the share sheet.
- Share as a spreadsheet (CSV) gives one row per visit: Date, Name, each detail, In and Out.
Paper is Letter or A4, and there's no watermark. For one earlier day, open it under Earlier days and tap the printer. To find a visitor from last month, use Search names and details at the top of the book.
In the book's settings, under Keeping, choose how long the log stays: Keep every day (the starting choice), Keep 30 days, Keep 90 days or Keep a year. Older days are then deleted from the device on their own, so print or share them first if you need them.
Other front-desk jobs
Want a paper sheet on a clipboard as a backup? See how to make a sign-in sheet. Front Desk Cat also does waivers signed on an iPad and a lost and found for whatever visitors leave behind.
What it costs
The sign-in book is free: unlimited books, people and days, the front desk, blank sheets, and any day's list as a PDF or a spreadsheet. There's no sign-up, no account, no subscription, no ads and no watermark. Front Desk Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase with extras for every job. In the sign-in book those are Signatures, Your own questions and Your logo. The App Store shows the price. More on the Front Desk Cat page.
Everyone you take in is kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share, save or print it.
Quick answers
What should an office visitor log include?
Name, company, who they're here to see, time in and time out. Add more only if you'll use it.
Can I export a visitor log to a spreadsheet?
Yes. Tap Print & share, pick The list and the days, then Share as a spreadsheet (CSV). It's free.
Try Front Desk Cat
Try Front Desk Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/front-desk-cat