FlowmatixSolution · Contractor sign-in
Contractor sign-in that does more than take a name.
A gate book records that someone arrived. A contractor sign-in should know who they are, make sure they're inducted, tell their host, and put them on a list you can produce in a fire. Flowmatix does the last four.
Start of shift
The clipboard's fine — until it isn't
Two contractors and a courier at the gate at once. The book's inside, the pen's missing, and the new subbie has no idea he needed an induction before he could start. Nobody told his host he's here. And if you had to account for everyone on the floor right now, you couldn't.
What a real contractor sign-in does
The right form for the person
A courier answers three questions; a screened contractor answers more, and completes your induction. You build the visitor type once — the kiosk shows the right one.
One kiosk per gate
Each entrance has its own link, and the iPad already knows where it is — every sign-in tagged to the right gate, no "which location?" step.
The host knows, the office sees
The host is notified by email, SMS or a Microsoft Teams message (whichever you switch on) the moment their contractor signs in — and the office sees everyone currently on site, live.
At the gate
How the contractor sign-in system works, step by step
Each gate has its own iPad or Android tablet, open to that gate's kiosk link. There's no login and no "which site?" question — the device already knows where it is. This is what a contractor sees when they walk up:
- Why they're here. They tap Contractor — or Electrician, Cleaner, Labour hire, whatever types you've set up.
- Name, plus mobile if you want it.
- Company. Not asked, optional or required — your call per type — so the record shows who they work for, not just who they are.
- Reason and host. A reason from your list, and a type-ahead of your staff so they pick the person they're here for.
- Expected departure, if you ask for it.
- Induction and agreement. If the type requires it, they read your briefing, accept your SWMS or site rules and type their name as a signature. This step can't be skipped.
- Your own questions — any custom fields you've added to that type.
- Site declaration — your safety and privacy wording.
- Photo, if you've switched it on, taken with the tablet's camera.
- Confirm. The record is written, the host is notified if you've turned that on, and a badge is offered.
A courier might stop after the host; a contractor doing high-risk work goes the whole way. The kiosk builds the steps from the type's settings.
To leave, they search their name or mobile on the kiosk and tap their open record. Forgetters are signed out by the office or by the auto sign-out time you set per type.
Setting up a contractor type in practice
You do this once, in the visitor types editor. Most sites have their first types running in an afternoon.
What you ask
Company required, host on, expected departure on, reason required. Then add your own fields — such as licence number, white card number or insurance expiry date — as text, number, date, dropdown or checkbox, each required or optional.
What they must accept
Switch on the induction, write the briefing, add the agreement (a SWMS, site rules or an NDA) and decide whether a typed signature is required. How that works in detail is on the contractor induction page.
What happens after
Photo and badge on or off, an auto sign-out time for anyone who forgets to leave properly, and an optional welcome email on their first visit with whatever your site wants them to know.
More than sign-in
Sign-in is where induction and evidence begin.
Because the contractor is signing in anyway, that's the moment to make them complete your induction and accept your SWMS — enforced, versioned and signed (here's who has to sign a SWMS, and when to re-sign). It's also what builds the live on-site list and the one-tap evacuation roll-call. See contractor induction and SWMS sign-off, or the full product on the Visitor Management page.
What you can prove afterwards
Every contractor: who they are, when they arrived and left, what they completed, and their signature against it — timestamped, auditable, and kept to a retention period you set. Not a name in a book you have to go and find.
During the day
What the office sees while contractors are on site
The Visitors page is the live list: who's in right now, their type, which gate or location, their host and the time they arrived. Tabs pull out contractors and anyone overdue to leave, and anyone can be signed out with one click.
If the alarm goes, print the on-site list for that site — name and photo, type, company, host or location, time in, mobile, and an "accounted" checkbox for the roll-call. There's more on that on the evacuation register page.
Your own staff can use the same kiosk as a roster type — tap in, tap out — so they're on the evacuation list too, with a timesheet of their hours.
Gate book vs a contractor sign-in app
The gate book
A name and a time, if it's legible. No way to make anyone read the induction first. Every previous visitor on display to the next. In an evacuation, someone has to find the book and work out who's still inside.
Flowmatix at the gate
The right questions for each type, the induction and agreement enforced before the record exists, and the host told they're here. Records are searchable by the office and hidden from the next visitor. The evacuation list for that site prints from the on-site list in one tap.
Running dock gates with couriers and contractors mixed together? See Flowmatix for warehousing. On a works site, start with Flowmatix for construction.
Honest limits
What it doesn't do
It records what contractors tell it. A licence number or insurance date in a custom field is what they typed — nothing checks it against a register. Sight the document where it matters.
It doesn't physically stop anyone. A kiosk can't stop someone walking past it. What it guarantees is that everyone who does sign in has completed the steps you require.
It's a browser kiosk, not a native app. You add it to the home screen of an iPad or Android tablet. Badges print through the browser to any AirPrint or network printer; there's no dedicated label-printer driver.
Reporting is practical, not fancy: the live on-site list, a CSV export and roster timesheets. There's no analytics dashboard.
Induction, agreements and per-site kiosks are recent features. They're tested, but run the trial on one gate before you roll out everywhere.
Pricing
What contractor sign-in costs
Starter is $49 per site per month billed annually ($59 month to month): guided sign-in and sign-out, the live on-site list, evacuation print, badges, the site declaration and the audit trail.
Most contractor sites want Pro — $99 a month flat for up to 5 sites billed annually ($119 month to month). It adds the induction and signed SWMS agreements, per-type custom fields, host email and SMS notifications, per-site kiosks with QR codes, and the employee roster with timesheets.
Larger fleets start from $79 per site on Multi-site. Every plan comes with a 14-day free trial and no lock-in, and runs on the iPad or Android tablet you already own. Full breakdown on the pricing page.
Questions
Is it an app contractors download?
No. The kiosk runs in the browser on your iPad; a contractor signs in on your screen, or from their phone via a QR code. Nothing to install.
Several gates — several subscriptions?
No. Each gate with its own kiosk counts as a site, and Pro is one flat price for up to 5 sites — so a depot with three gates is still one Pro subscription. Beyond five, Multi-site pricing starts from $79/site/month.
Is there a cap on sign-ins?
No — unlimited on every plan.
Which plan do we need for contractor inductions?
Pro. Starter covers sign-in and sign-out, the on-site list, evacuation print and badges. Pro adds the induction and signed SWMS agreement, per-type custom fields and host notifications — $99 a month flat for up to 5 sites, billed annually.
What if a contractor forgets to sign out?
You set an auto sign-out time per type, so stragglers are cleared — couriers after an hour, contractors at the end of the day, say. The office can also sign anyone out from the on-site list with one click.
Can we record licence numbers and insurance expiry?
Yes. You can add your own fields to the contractor type, such as a licence number, white card number or insurance expiry date, and make each one required. Flowmatix records what the contractor enters — it doesn't verify it against a register, so sight the document where it matters.
Can we stop a particular person from signing in?
The watchlist can block or alert on a name or mobile number at sign-in. Everything else — screening, inductions, declarations — records and flags; the decision stays with you.
Can our own staff use the same kiosk?
Yes. Set employees up as a roster type: they tap their name to sign in and again to sign out, appear on the evacuation list, and you get a timesheet of hours and days on site.
Set up contractor sign-in this afternoon.
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