Guest Pass FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Guest Pass.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Guest Pass Overview.
Setup
What do I need to configure before Guest Pass does anything useful?
Four settings control how the app behaves out of the box. Auto-Approve Visitors is off by default, so every new visit waits as Pending until someone approves it. Let hosts approve their own visitors is on by default, so the visit’s host is asked to decide it (by a one-tap email link, an Inbox ask, or the visit’s page) — approvers can always decide it too. Enable Guest Self-Registration is off by default, so only employees can register visitors. Enable Visitor Watchlist is on by default, so visitors are screened at both approval and check-in.
At minimum: enable the app in Admin → Apps → All Apps, set up who can access it in Admin → Access Management, review the three User Permissions pickers in Guest Pass settings, and have someone pre-register a test visitor to confirm the approval and notification flow works.
I turned on self-registration but guests are stuck waiting — what happened?
That is by design: a guest who registers through the public page always starts as Pending, and nothing approves them automatically — not Auto-Approve Visitors, and not a host’s own auto-approve preference — because anyone can fill in that form and nobody has vouched for the visit yet. The visit waits for a person to decide it. When Let hosts approve their own visitors is on, the host they picked gets a one-tap approve / decline link and an Inbox ask; approvers can always decide it from Pending Approval. If guests are waiting too long, check that the hosts they pick are reading those asks, or that your approvers are working the queue.
Permissions and access
Who can approve or reject visitors?
The people named by Who can approve a visitor? in Guest Pass → Settings → User Permissions (default: managers and above; you can pick a group or named people instead). Business admins and Guest Pass app admins can always approve. They decide any pending visit from Pending Approval.
When Let hosts approve their own visitors is on, a visit’s own host can also approve or decline that one visit — from the one-tap email link, their Inbox, or the visit’s page. A visit that was declined or cancelled and then edited back to pending is decided by an approver, not its host.
Why can’t an employee see the Visitors tab or the dashboard?
An employee with basic app access sees only My Visitors (visits they host or registered) and Host Preferences. The rest of the menu follows who they are:
- Dashboard and the Visitors lists (All Visitors, Expected Today, Checked In, Import Visitors) — the front desk: Who can run the front desk? (default: managers and above), plus anyone holding the Guest Pass “Contributor — records only” grant. Managers and above also see the Dashboard, even outside the front desk.
- Pending Approval — approvers: Who can approve a visitor? (default: managers and above).
- Security Dashboard, Reports and Analytics — managers and above (fixed).
- Real-Time Status, Access Logs, Digital Badges and Watchlist — Who can open the security records? (default: admins and Guest Pass app admins).
- Settings — admins and Guest Pass app admins (fixed).
The three pickers are in Guest Pass → Settings → User Permissions. Business admins and Guest Pass app admins always see everything.
Day-to-day
How do visitors check in?
Two ways. A visitor can scan their badge QR code at an unattended kiosk or tablet to self check in. Alternatively, the front desk can check them in from the Visitors lists or the visitor’s detail page, on desktop or phone. Either path records the actual arrival time and tells the host, when arrival notices are on. Watchlist screening runs again at check-in even if the visitor was already screened at approval.
What happens when a visitor is approved?
The system generates a QR-code digital badge automatically, sends the visitor an approval email with a link to their badge and a calendar invite (.ics file), and notifies the host. The badge works until the visit’s expected departure plus 24 hours by default (configurable in settings under Badge Expiry (Hours)). The visitor’s status moves from Pending to Approved, and they can now be checked in.
Can a host auto-approve their own visitors without an admin turning it on for everyone?
Partly. Each host can turn on Auto-approve known visitors in their Host Preferences, independently of the app-level Auto-Approve Visitors setting. It approves a visit for them only when all of these hold:
- they have hosted this visitor before — an earlier visit with the same email that was checked in;
- they may approve their own visitors — Let hosts approve their own visitors is on, or they are an approver;
- the visitor does not match the watchlist and does not need an escort;
- the guest did not register themselves on the Guest Pass public page (those always wait for a decision). A guest who books a meeting with the host through Appointment Scheduler counts as the host’s own registration.
How does watchlist screening block a visitor?
The watchlist is checked at both approval and check-in. If an active, unexpired watchlist entry matches the visitor by name, email, or phone, the action is blocked and the visit is held for security review. Only people with security-records access are told the name and risk level of the matching entry; an approver or receptionist without it is told only that the visit is held for security review. At a self-service kiosk, the visitor sees only a general check-in refusal and is never told they were flagged. You can disable screening entirely by turning off Enable Visitor Watchlist in settings.
Can I change a visitor’s details after they are registered?
It depends on who you are and where the visit stands:
- The visit’s host, or the person who registered it, can edit it while it is Pending, Declined, or Cancelled. Editing a declined or cancelled visit sends it back to Pending for an approver to decide. Once it is approved, checked in, checked out, or expired, they can no longer change it.
- People with security-records access (Who can open the security records?) can edit any visit at any status.
- Running the front desk does not by itself let you edit other people’s visits. Only the front desk can move a visit to another host.
Editing an approved visit does not email the visitor; use Resend Notifications on the visit page (or ask the front desk to) to email them their updated badge and calendar invite — where your organization sends email.
When something looks wrong
“My visitor was supposed to be auto-approved but they’re stuck on Pending”
Several things keep a visit pending. With the app-level Auto-Approve Visitors on: the visitor matches an active watchlist entry, the guest registered themselves through the public page, or Let hosts approve their own visitors is on and the person who registered the visit is not its host. With a host’s own Auto-approve known visitors preference: the host has not hosted this visitor (same email) at a visit that was checked in, the visitor needs an escort or matches the watchlist, or the host may not approve their own visitors (Let hosts approve their own visitors is off and they are not an approver). Check the visitor’s detail page for a watchlist hold, and the host’s Host Preferences if they expected their personal auto-approval to apply.
“I never got notified when my guest arrived”
Check three things. First, confirm that Notify on Visitor Arrival is on in Guest Pass settings. Second, check your Host Preferences — if you turned off “Visitor arrives and checks in”, or switched off a channel (email, SMS, push, in-app), you won’t hear on that channel. Quiet hours never hold back an arrival; they only keep non-urgent notices off text and push, and there are none unless you set them. Third, verify that your business-level email notifications are enabled, since Guest Pass email alerts respect the platform email setting.
“A visitor’s badge says Expired but they haven’t arrived yet”
A badge covers its own visit however far ahead it was approved: it keeps working until the visit’s expected departure plus the Badge Expiry (Hours) setting (24 hours by default). So a badge reads Expired before arrival only when its Valid Until was shortened by hand, or it reads inactive because it was revoked — someone with security-records access opens it under Digital Badges and sets a later Valid Until, or activates it again. A visit, not a badge, can also read Expired: the hourly no-show sweep marks a visit Expired when it is still pending or approved after its expected departure has passed, and deactivates its badge at the same time. An expired visit cannot be reopened — pre-register the visitor again for their new date.
“A visitor I checked in hours ago still shows as on-site”
A checked-in visitor stays in that status until someone explicitly checks them out — from the visitor’s detail page, the Visitors list, or a mobile check-out action. If the visitor was expected to leave and has not been checked out, the host receives an overdue-checkout alert. These alerts repeat every 4 hours for up to a day after the visitor was due to leave. A check-in still open seven days after the visitor was due to leave is closed automatically. To resolve it, check the visitor out manually.
“My visitor can’t scan their badge at the kiosk”
The badge must be active and within its validity window. If it has expired or was revoked, someone with security-records access opens it under Digital Badges and sets a later Valid Until, or activates it again (Regenerate refuses an expired or inactive badge). Also verify the visitor is in Approved status — only approved visitors can check in. Visitors in Pending, Declined, Expired, or Cancelled status cannot scan in.
Licensing and limits
Does Guest Pass require a licence?
No. Guest Pass is pay-as-you-go. It is available to every tenant in Admin → Apps → All Apps with no license to purchase and no per-seat fee. You are billed per visitor check-in. Enabling it costs nothing until visitors actually start checking in.
Are there limits I should know about?
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Party size per registration | 1 to 50 |
| Badge access levels | 1 (Basic Access) to 10 (Emergency Access) |
| Badge expiry | The visit’s expected departure plus 1 to 168 hours; default 24 hours |
| Visitor photo size | 5 MB maximum (JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WebP) |
| Purpose of visit | Up to 1,000 characters |
| Watchlist reason | Up to 2,000 characters |
| Host default visit duration | Up to 168 hours (1 week) |
| Watchlist risk levels | Low, Medium, High, Critical |
How long are visitor records kept before they are purged?
The Data Retention (Days) setting controls this. The default is 365 days (30 to 2,555). A nightly retention job permanently deletes visitor records — along with their badges, photos, and access logs — older than the configured window. If you need records for compliance, increase the retention period before they are purged. Deleted records cannot be recovered.
Badge and notification details
What badge formats can I give visitors?
Every approved visitor receives a QR-code digital badge; their approval email links to it, so they can show it on their phone or print it. Staff can download the QR image as PNG or SVG or print a badge PDF, and — where Apple Wallet is set up for your organization — people with security-records access can issue an Apple Wallet pass (.pkpass) from the visit page. Google Wallet is not supported. People with security-records access can revoke, reactivate, or regenerate badges individually or in bulk from Digital Badges.
More help
- Guest Pass Overview
- Ask AI — the Guest Pass Agent can register a visitor, look up visits, approve or decline the ones you may decide, check visitors in or out if you run the front desk, and answer Guest Pass questions from these articles.