Check-in at an office is a smaller problem than it looks. A person arrives, says who they are and who they are here for, and waits. Everything a check-in system does is an attempt to make that thirty seconds shorter and to leave a record behind it. The main decision is whether the visitor does it themselves or whether somebody at the desk does it for them, and that depends on your lobby rather than on the software.
What happens in the thirty seconds
The visitor is identified, the host is told, the badge is issued if the building uses them, and the record is created. In a staffed lobby the receptionist can do all four while talking. In an unstaffed one the screen has to, which is why the form has to be short and the instructions have to be visible from the door rather than only on the screen itself.
Self check-in works when arrivals are expected
Self check-in software succeeds where most arrivals are planned and the visitor knows who they are seeing. It struggles where the lobby is full of deliveries and walk-ins, because those need a judgement rather than a form. Count a week of arrivals and split them; the ratio tells you whether to put a screen at the door or a person behind the desk with a screen beside them.
The front desk check-in system as a queue problem
At a busy door, check-in is a queueing problem before it is a software problem. Two tablets are usually cheaper than a better product. So is moving the tablet to where people stop. So is removing two fields from the form. Look for the queue before you look at the feature list, because the queue is what visitors will remember.
Recording arrival is not the same as recording presence
A check-in tells you somebody arrived. Whether they are still here needs a check-out, and check-out is where every office system is weakest. If the reason for the purchase is the evacuation list, spend your attention on the departure half of the record rather than on the arrival half everyone demonstrates.
Questions people ask about office check in system
Should visitors check themselves in?
Where arrivals are mostly expected, yes: it is faster and the record is more accurate. Where the lobby is mostly walk-ins and deliveries, keep a person.
How many tablets does a busy reception need?
Enough that nobody waits behind somebody typing. Two cheap tablets beat one expensive product at a door with a morning rush.
What if the host is not at their desk?
The notification should reach a phone, and there should be a fallback: a second contact or a message to the desk. Ask how the product handles no reply.