🔎 At a Glance
Continue on Phone lets a guest check in on their own phone instead of at your check-in device. The guest scans a QR code on the check-in device's welcome screen, completes the check-in form in their phone's browser, and, if you print badges, their badge prints at your front desk. They do not need to install an app or create an account.
This article is for Admins in Guest Management who want to shorten the queue in a busy lobby, and for front desk staff who explain the QR code to guests. It covers how the QR code works, what the guest sees on their phone, what happens after they submit, and how Continue on Phone differs from pre-registration.
For an overview of the Guest Management System and on-site check-in, refer to Introduction to Coram's Guest Management System.
To invite guests before they arrive, refer to Pre-registering Expected Guests.
⚡ Key Takeaways
One QR code for each check-in device: The QR code belongs to the check-in device, not to a guest. Every guest at that device scans the same code.
The same form as the check-in device: The guest's phone asks for what your check-in device asks for, and enforces the same required fields.
For guests who arrive without an invite: A guest who registered in advance uses their own check-in code instead.
The badge still prints at your front desk: A phone cannot print, so when badges print automatically, Coram sends the badge to the check-in device the guest scanned.
For detailed information, keep reading below.
Overview
When several guests arrive at once, your check-in device becomes a queue. One guest at a time types their details, takes a photo, and scans an ID while everyone else waits.
Continue on Phone removes that wait. The check-in device shows a QR code on its welcome screen. A guest scans it with their phone's camera, and the check-in form opens in their phone's browser. When they submit, Coram creates their visit just as if they had checked in on the device: the same screening, the same host notification, and the same badge.
Continue on Phone is for guests who arrive without an invite. A guest who registered in advance already has their own check-in code, and uses it at the check-in device instead. To learn more, refer to Pre-registering Expected Guests.
Note: Your check-in devices need the latest version of the Coram Guest app to show the QR code.
How the QR Code Works
The QR code sits at the bottom of the check-in device's welcome screen in portrait, and to the right in landscape, with the words Scan with your phone to check in. It identifies the check-in device, and through it your organization and the device's location. It does not identify a guest, so every guest at that device scans the same code.
The check-in device shows a new QR code every 30 seconds. Each code works for 30 minutes from when it appeared, so a guest who scans just before the code changes still has time to finish. A guest who takes longer than 30 minutes needs to scan the code again and start over.
If a check-in device goes offline, its QR code disappears after about 30 minutes and comes back when the device reconnects. A code also stops working when its check-in device is removed from Coram.
Note: A guest who opens a code that has stopped working sees This link isn't active and Scan the QR code on the kiosk again, or check in at the front desk. If the code stops working part-way through the form, they see This link is no longer active. Scan the QR code on the kiosk again, or check in at the front desk.
If a guest who registered in advance scans the Continue on Phone code by mistake, they check in as a walk-in. Their invite is not used.
What the Guest Sees
The guest works through the same steps your Check-in Form settings set for the check-in device. A step you have set to Hidden does not appear, and a step you have set to Required must be completed before the guest can continue. To learn more, refer to Setting Up and Configuring Guest Management.
Every screen between the welcome and the confirmation shows a step counter and a progress bar. A Restart control asks the guest to confirm, then clears their answers and returns them to the start.
Welcome. Your logo and your welcome message, with a Check In button.
Get started. Depending on your settings, the guest enters their email address, mobile number, or both. When both are Optional, the guest can enter either one, or tap Skip.
Provide your details. The guest enters their full name, plus their company and any other contact details you collect. The mobile number field offers the same countries as your check-in device.
Choose your host. The guest searches for the person they are visiting by name or email address, then selects them.
Take a photo. The guest takes a selfie with their phone's camera.
Scan your ID. The guest points their phone's camera at their document, or enters the details by hand.
Custom questions. One question per screen, if your organization uses them. To learn more, refer to Adding Custom Questions to Guest Check-In.
Review and sign. The guest agrees to Data Authorization (privacy and consent), which is always required. If you use a legal agreement, the guest opens it with Read, taps I agree, and signs in the Sign here pad. When the agreement is Required, the guest cannot continue without both. When it is Optional, they can continue without signing.
Confirmation. The result of the check-in. See After the Guest Submits below.
Steps you have set to Optional show a Skip button on the contact, host, photo, and ID steps, so a guest can move past them on purpose. On the photo and ID steps, Skip goes away once the guest has captured something.
Returning Guests
If the guest has visited in the last six months and enters the same email address or phone number on the Get started step, Coram shows the profile it found, for example We've found a profile that matches your email. Coram fills in their name and company, so they only need to check them. Their photo and ID are not reused: the photo and ID steps appear as usual, and the guest signs your legal agreement again.
After the Guest Submits
What the guest sees on their phone depends on the result of screening:
Result | What the guest sees |
Checked in | Welcome, [first name]!, then You're all checked in. Your guest pass is being printed. If automatic badge printing is turned off, the second sentence does not appear. |
Held for approval | Approval pending, then Your check-in is being reviewed. Please await further instructions. |
Below the message, the guest sees a summary of their check-in: their name, contact details, and photo, their company and host if they gave them, and, when they are checked in, the time they checked in.
Important: The Approval pending screen does not update, and Coram does not message the guest when an Admin decides. Tell the guest the outcome yourself.
Badge Printing
A phone cannot print. When a guest is checked in and Auto-print badges on check-in is turned on, Coram sends the badge to the check-in device the guest scanned, and it prints on that device's printer. A guest who is held for approval gets no badge until an Admin approves them. Their badge then prints on the check-in device they scanned.
If that check-in device is offline when the badge is sent, nothing prints, and Coram does not try again, even though the guest's phone says their pass is being printed. Use Print Badge in the guest log to print it. To learn more, refer to Setting Up and Configuring Guest Management.
Screening and Notifications
Coram screens a Continue on Phone check-in exactly as it screens a check-in on the device: against your blacklist and, if you use them, with your background check (which includes document verification) and face check. Your background check settings decide which records hold a guest for approval.
If screening holds the guest, their visit appears under Needs Approval in the guest log, and your Admins are notified in the usual way. The guest's phone never shows why they were held. The host the guest chose is notified when the guest is checked in, or when an Admin approves a held guest.
To learn how approval works, refer to Guest Screening and Background Checks.
If Something Goes Wrong
Most mistakes are caught on the step itself, for example Enter a valid email address or Company is required. The guest fixes the entry and continues.
If the check-in cannot be submitted, the guest sees Something went wrong. Please try again. Their answers are kept, so they can try again without starting over. If they see Too many people are registering right now. Please wait a minute and try again., they can check in on the check-in device instead.
Unlike the check-in device, a phone does not keep a check-in to send later when the connection drops. A guest who cannot submit can check in on the check-in device instead.