Add your staff
Staff come from the Employees list. Add people by hand, import a CSV, or sync them from a Microsoft Entra group (see integrations). The same list is the host list for visitors.
Feature
Staff sign-in and sign-out at reception.
BeckonDesk replaces the staff signing-in book at the front desk. Employees sign in and out on the same kiosk your visitors use, by tapping their name or scanning a personal QR pass. The main reason to do it is the fire roll call: staff who are signed in are listed alongside visitors and contractors. You also get a simple daily timesheet by site. It is for facility managers, office managers and health and safety leads at sites where staff come and go through reception.
How it works
Set up in four steps.
Turn on the Staff button
In Settings, Kiosks, switch on the Staff button for each kiosk where staff should sign in. It is off by default, so visitor-only receptions stay simple.
Staff sign in and out
On the kiosk, a member of staff taps Staff, types a few letters of their name and taps it. They are signed in; doing the same on the way out signs them out. Or they scan their staff pass with "Scan your pass", which does the same thing.
Check the timesheet
Admins open Staff time to see who was on site each day and when, by site, and download it as a CSV.
Staff passes
A QR card or phone pass that says nothing about the person.
- Print or email. In Staff time, Staff passes, print QR cards for everyone at once, or email each person a link to their own pass. On a phone, they can add the pass page to the home screen or take a screenshot.
- No personal data on the pass. The QR holds a random code. The pass page shows no name or details, so a lost card tells the finder nothing.
- Reissue when lost. Make a new pass for that person and the old one stops working straight away.
- Scanned at the kiosk only. The pass is read by the kiosk's camera. Opening the pass on a phone does not sign anyone in by itself.
Fire roll call
Staff on the same list as everyone else.
When an evacuation starts, the roll call lists every visitor and contractor who is signed in, and every member of staff who signed in at a kiosk. Fire marshals mark people safe or missing from the admin app, any kiosk, or their own phones after scanning a QR code. Staff who did not sign in at a kiosk are not on the list, so the roll call is only as complete as your sign-in habit. See evacuation roll call.
To keep yesterday's forgotten sign-outs off today's roll call, anyone still signed in after 16 hours is taken off site automatically.
Timesheet
First in, last out and time on site, per person per day.
- One row per person per day. Days follow your workspace's time zone. Time on site adds up every completed spell, so signing out for lunch and back in again is counted correctly.
- Any range up to two months. Choose dates (up to 62 days at a time) and a site, or all sites.
- CSV export. Columns: date, name, department, first in, last out, hours, and a note that reads "No sign-out" where someone forgot.
- Forgotten sign-outs. A spell left open for 16 hours ends with the person taken off site and the day marked "No sign-out". That spell counts as no time, rather than a 16-hour day.
- Who can see it. Admins see the timesheet and manage passes. An admin limited to certain sites sees only the people at those sites.
- Retention. Staff attendance is deleted automatically under your workspace's data retention setting (365 days by default).
What it is not
Be clear on the limits before you roll it out.
- No badge readers. BeckonDesk does not read RFID or NFC cards and does not take sign-ins from door or turnstile readers. Staff sign in on the kiosk only.
- No PIN. Like a paper signing-in book, the kiosk trusts the person who taps a name. A staff pass makes it quicker, not more secure.
- Not a payroll system. There are no shifts, break rules, overtime, approvals or payroll connections. The timesheet records time on site.
- No remote clock-in. Staff cannot sign in from their phone or from home; every sign-in happens at a paired kiosk.
- Connection needed. Staff sign-in and sign-out need the kiosk to be online.
Frequently asked
Does staff sign-in work with RFID cards or access-control badge readers?
No. Staff sign in on the BeckonDesk kiosk, by tapping their name or scanning their personal QR staff pass with the kiosk's camera. BeckonDesk does not read RFID or NFC cards and does not take sign-ins from door readers.
Do staff need a PIN or an app?
No. There is no PIN and nothing to install. The staff pass is a QR code that can be printed on a card or kept on a phone as a web page or screenshot.
What happens if someone forgets to sign out?
After 16 hours they are taken off site, so they do not appear on the next roll call, and that day is marked No sign-out on the timesheet. The open spell counts as no time rather than a 16-hour shift.
Can I use the timesheet for payroll?
It gives you first in, last out and time on site per person per day, as a CSV. It does not apply shift rules, breaks or overtime, and it does not connect to payroll systems, so treat it as a record of time on site.
Get staff onto the roll call.
Start a 30-day trial with every feature and no card, turn on the Staff button on a kiosk, and print a few passes. Staff sign-in is included in the single plan at $79 per location per month.