First kiosk live in 5 minutes

This guide walks you from a blank account to a checked-in test visitor. You need an iPad running iPadOS 16 or later and a Wi-Fi network your reception area can reach.

Step 1 — Sign up

Go to app.visitorflow.com/signup and create your account. The 14-day trial includes every Professional feature — no credit card required.

Step 2 — Create your workspace

After email verification the onboarding wizard launches. Fill in:

• Workspace name — usually your company name (e.g. “Acme Logistics”). Appears on kiosk and visitor badges.
• Plan — choose Starter, Professional, or Enterprise. You can upgrade at any time.
• Default locale — the language the kiosk displays. You can add more languages per site later.

Step 3 — Add your first site

A site is a physical location — a warehouse, office, or cross-dock. Each site gets its own kiosk(s) and visitor log. Fill in:

• Site name — e.g. “HQ” or “Monterrey DC”.
• Address & timezone — used for auto check-out at midnight and audit-log timestamps.
• Out-of-hours window — the kiosk shows a different message outside your operating hours.

Step 4 — Add your first host

Hosts are the people visitors come to see. They receive arrival notifications and can manage their own preferences from the host mobile app.

You can add hosts three ways:

• Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 import — one click, syncs automatically.
• CSV upload — name + email, one row per host.
• Manual — add one person from the Hosts page.

Add yourself as a host so you can receive the test notification in step 6.

Step 5 — Pair your first iPad

Three options depending on your hardware:

Option A — iPad with the VisitorFlow app (recommended)

1. Download VisitorFlow Kiosk from the App Store.
2. Open the app and tap Pair with workspace.
3. In your dashboard, go to Settings → Kiosks → Pair new kiosk and copy the 6-digit code.
4. Enter the code on the iPad. The kiosk registers immediately.

Option B — Web kiosk (no download)

Open kiosk.visitorflow.com in Safari on the iPad and use the same 6-digit pairing code. Add the page to your Home Screen and enable Guided Access for a true kiosk lock-down. Detailed steps: Pair an iPad.

Step 6 — Send a test pre-registration to yourself

Pre-registrations let hosts invite visitors before they arrive. The visitor gets an email with a QR code they can scan at the kiosk for instant check-in.

1. Go to Pre-registrations → New.
2. Enter your own email as the visitor email.
3. Select yourself as the host.
4. Set the expected arrival to a few minutes from now.
5. Click Send invitation.

Check your inbox for the visitor invitation email — it contains the QR code you will scan in the next step.

Step 7 — Verify check-in works

On the paired iPad, tap Visitor → I have a QR code and scan the code from your invitation email. You should see:

• The kiosk display “Welcome” screen with your name.
• A notification sent to your host email (yourself) within seconds.
• Your visit appearing in the dashboard's live visitor list.

Common gotchas

Kiosk does not appear in Settings → Kiosks after pairing

The 6-digit pairing code expires after 10 minutes. If the kiosk shows “Invalid code”, generate a fresh one and try again. Also check that the iPad has an active internet connection — the pairing handshake requires it.

Host did not receive the arrival notification

Check two things:

1. Email sending domain — if your workspace uses a custom email domain, verify the DNS records are in place. See Custom domains or contact support.
2. Notification preferences — in the host profile, confirm that “Email on arrival” is enabled. Hosts can also choose Slack, Teams, or push instead.

Visitor QR code is not recognised

The QR code is single-use and tied to the expected arrival window (±2 hours by default). If the visitor arrives outside the window or the code was already scanned, generate a new pre-registration.

What's next?

• Pair multiple iPads — one per entrance, different flows per site.
• REST API — push pre-registrations from your TMS or CRM automatically.
• Webhooks — react to every visit event in your stack.
• Printable onboarding checklist — a leave-behind for your reception team.