🚪 Vendor Check-In QR Codes & Instant Email Alerts — Now Per Building

If you manage multiple commercial buildings, you know the gap: vendors and contractors arrive, do their work, and leave — and half the time you find out by accident. Someone mentions it at the end of the day, or you see an unfamiliar vehicle in the parking lot camera feed. There is no reliable, low-friction way to know who came in, when, and why.

This update closes that gap. You can now generate a permanent vendor check-in QR code for any building, print it or display it at the entrance, and get an instant email notification every time someone checks in.

How It Works for the Vendor

The vendor walks in, sees the QR code posted at the front desk or lobby entrance, and scans it with their phone camera — just like scanning a restaurant menu. No app, no account, no friction.

A simple check-in form opens in their phone browser. They enter their name, company, and reason for the visit, then tap Submit. The whole thing takes about 30 seconds.

That submission fires a cloud function that sends an instant email to every address you have configured for that building. The email includes the vendor name, company, purpose, timestamp, and a direct link to the full log for that building on your web dashboard.

Setting It Up

In the app, tap the Site Info button on any building. Scroll down to the Vendor Check-In section. Add the email addresses you want notified — type an address and press Enter or tap + ADD. Each address appears as a purple chip. Tap × on any chip to remove it.

Then tap GENERATE CHECK-IN QR. The app creates a stable, permanent check-in URL for that building (it only runs once — the same ID is reused every time after). It opens the QR Label Creator pre-loaded with the check-in link and "VENDOR SCAN HERE TO CHECK IN" already set as the label text.

From there, you have all the same label options as equipment QR tags: choose your label size, toggle your company logo, switch to black-and-white for easier printing, and export as PDF or PNG. Print it and stick it up.

Per-Building Configuration

Every building gets its own unique check-in URL and its own email notification list. The rooftop access QR for Building A goes to the facilities manager. The main lobby QR for Building B goes to the property manager and the security desk. The HVAC room QR for Building C goes only to the maintenance coordinator.

You configure each one independently in the app or from the web dashboard Building Info panel. Both places show the same email list and the same check-in URL, and changes sync instantly.

Web Dashboard

The full vendor check-in log for each building is accessible from the web dashboard at equipment-tracker.com. Log in, open a building, and the Vendor Check-In section shows the complete history: every submission with name, company, purpose, and timestamp in chronological order.

The email list is editable from the dashboard too — add or remove addresses without touching the app.

Sync & Backup

The check-in ID and email list are stored locally in your device database, synced to Firestore as part of building info, and included in ZIP exports and imports. If you restore your database from a backup, the check-in configuration comes back with it — the same permanent URL, the same email list.

This update also fixed a long-standing sync issue where facility_type, checkin_id, and checkin_emails were being silently dropped during cloud pull restores. Those fields now round-trip correctly through every backup and sync path.

Jonathan Curtis

HVAC Technician & Founder · Equipment Tracker Pro

Jonathan Curtis is an HVAC technician and the founder of Equipment Tracker Pro. He built the app to solve real problems he encountered in the field — including the frustration of not knowing when vendors and contractors were on-site.