Host approvals
How hosts approve, ask a visitor to wait or decline by push, WhatsApp, SMS link or email, and how delegates and timeouts keep nobody stuck at reception.
Agoo is in early access. This page describes the feature as it ships to early-access organisations; screens are illustrative.
When a visitor arrives, their host hears about it straight away, wherever they are. If your rules say the host must approve, the host answers from the alert itself: no app to open, no phone call to reception.
When approval is needed
You decide, per site, in Console → Settings → Sites → (site) → Check-in rules:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Walk-ins need approval | Always, only for certain visitor types, or never (the host is just told). |
| Invited guests need approval | Usually off: the host already invited them. Turn it on for high-security sites. |
| Wait for the host | How long the host has to answer, for example 5 minutes. |
| Then ask | Reception: the visit is flagged at the top of On site. Delegates come later. |
Requests from your public "request a visit" page can need the host's approval before a pass is sent. Approving a request before the visitor arrives doesn't check anyone in: the visit becomes expected, the visitor gets their pass with the news, and when they arrive the host isn't asked again. Approving a visitor who is already at reception checks them in.
A watchlist match always holds the check-in for your security team, never the host, whatever the rules say. Your site's security leads get an alert by SMS or email (by push once the apps ship); the host isn't told about the match. See Watchlist.
What the host receives
Agoo sends the alert on the channels you set in Console → Settings → Notifications, in order, moving to the next if the first isn't opened. A common order is push first, then WhatsApp or SMS after 60 seconds.
| Channel | What it looks like | Answer with |
|---|---|---|
| Push (Workspace app) | "Ama Owusu is at reception. Coastline Consult · Meeting at 10:30 am · Lobby iPad" | Buttons on the notification |
| The same message from your WhatsApp number | Buttons in the chat | |
| SMS | "Ama Owusu (Coastline Consult) is at Ridge HQ reception, 10:42 am. Let her in: agoo.link/a/7KQ2" | The link, which opens a page with the buttons |
| The visitor's details and photo | Buttons in the email |
SMS approvals use a link, not a text reply, so they work on every network and every phone with a browser, without signing in. Each link is unique to that visit and that host, works once, and stops working after 24 hours or as soon as the visit is answered another way. The answer is recorded in the host's name.
Before the apps and visitor pages ship
Today the host gets an SMS or email. Hosts who sign in to the Console get a link to the visit there, where they approve or decline. Hosts who don't sign in are asked to tell reception, who answers for them. The one-tap approval link switches on by itself when Agoo's visitor pages go live.
The host's answer
| Button | What happens | Visit status |
|---|---|---|
| Approve | The visitor is checked in and their badge prints. The kiosk or reception tells them the host is on the way. | Checked in |
| Ask to wait | The visitor is asked to take a seat; the host can add how long ("10 minutes"). Reception sees the note. The host approves when ready. | Awaiting approval |
| Decline | The visitor is asked, politely, to speak to reception. The host can add a reason, which only staff see. | Denied |
Whoever answers, the decision is recorded on the visit's timeline and in the audit trail: who, when, and on which channel.
Just letting the host know
When approval isn't needed, the host gets the same alert without buttons: "Ama Owusu has arrived." The visitor is checked in at once.
Delegates
A delegate is someone who can approve visitors for a host: an assistant, a deputy, a colleague in the same team. Directors and heads of department should always have one.
Add a delegate
In the Workspace app, go to Me → Delegates and add one or more colleagues. An admin can do the same in Console → People → (person) → Delegates.
Choose when they're asked
- At the same time: the delegate gets every alert with the host, and the first answer counts. Good for an assistant who manages the diary.
- If I don't answer: the delegate is asked only after the site's wait time passes. Good for a deputy.
A delegate's approval is recorded in their own name, "approved by Abena Asante for Kwame Mensah".
When nobody answers
If the host doesn't answer within the wait time, the visit goes to reception (delegates are asked first once they ship). In Console → Visitors → On site, visits awaiting approval are shown at the top with how long the visitor has waited, and flagged Host hasn't answered. The receptionist can:
- call or WhatsApp the host from the visit,
- approve on the host's behalf (recorded in the receptionist's name),
- decline, if the visitor can't be seen today.
Nobody is left standing at the desk without someone knowing.
Arrival notes from the visitor
Visitors with a pass can tap Running late on it, and the host gets a short note. Hosts see these in the Workspace app with the visit.
Phases
| Feature | Delivered |
|---|---|
| Push, SMS link, WhatsApp and email alerts with Approve, Ask to wait and Decline | With the Kiosk and Workspace apps: iPhone and iPad P5, Android P6 |
| "Request a visit" page approvals | P4 |
| Delegates and escalation to reception | In stages, complete by P8 |
| Multi-step approval chains (host, then security, then facilities) | P9; custom chains on Enterprise |
Invitations and passes
Invite guests ahead of time from the Console or the Workspace app, and send them a QR pass by SMS, WhatsApp or email.
Front desk and guard mode
Check visitors in and out by hand, use the live on-site register, search and print, look after visitors without a phone, and run the gate in guard mode.