Businesses looking for a system to manage who comes on to their site usually find two categories of software, visitor management and site access management. People often use the terms interchangeably, but the two are built for different settings and do different jobs.
Pick the wrong category for your worksite and you end up with a system that does not do what you need, or you pay enterprise prices for features you will not use.
What visitor management software does
Visitor management software was designed for corporate offices, hotels and other front-of-house settings. Reception staff use it in place of the paper visitor book.
Typical visitor management features include:
- Digital sign-in with name, company, and host details
- Automatic notification to the host when their visitor arrives
- Visitor badge printing
- Pre-registration for expected visitors
- A log of all visitors for the day
Visitor management suits places where most people coming in are guests, clients, delivery drivers or contractors on brief visits, and where the main concern is knowing who arrived and who they are visiting.
What site access management software does
Site access management is designed for operational worksites such as construction sites, warehouses, manufacturing plants, farms, orchards and industrial facilities. Many of the people coming on site are workers (contractors, subcontractors, labour hire), and the business has significant health and safety obligations to them while they are there.
As well as sign-in, site access management includes:
- Compliance gating, which checks inductions and certifications before allowing entry
- Live occupancy tracking, a real-time list of who is on site for use in an evacuation
- Contractor pre-registration, which collects compliance details before day one
- Automatic sign-out, which removes people from the occupancy list at end of day if they forget to check out
- Compliance records, time-stamped logs you can export for WorkSafe audits
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Visitor management | Site access management |
|---|---|---|
| Digital sign-in | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| QR code check-in | Some systems | ✓ Yes |
| Host notification | ✓ Yes | Not typical |
| Induction compliance gate | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Certification verification | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Live evacuation list | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Automatic sign-out | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| HSWA 2015 compliance support | ✗ Not designed for this | ✓ Yes |
| Typical setting | Corporate office, reception | Construction, industrial, logistics, farming |
| Typical pricing model | Per location / per user | Flat monthly fee |
Choosing the right one for your business
Start with who is coming on to your site and why.
You need visitor management if:
- Your site is primarily a corporate office or commercial building
- The people arriving are mostly guests, clients, or delivery drivers
- Your main goal is knowing who arrived, at what time, and who they're visiting
- You don't have significant H&S compliance requirements at the point of entry
You need site access management if:
- Your site is a construction site, warehouse, factory, farm, orchard, or industrial facility
- Contractors, subcontractors, or labour hire workers regularly access your site
- You need to verify inductions or certifications before allowing entry
- You need a live evacuation list to meet your HSWA 2015 obligations
- You have a duty of care to people who are not your direct employees
Enterprise visitor management systems
Many NZ businesses searching for "visitor management software" end up looking at enterprise platforms. These are built for large corporations with dedicated IT teams, custom integrations and enterprise pricing, and are designed for high-end commercial buildings or global companies with complex requirements.
An operational worksite in New Zealand has little use for most of those features, and the cost is hard to justify. SiteKey was built for NZ operational sites, with a flat monthly fee and setup that takes days.
Site access software for NZ worksites
SiteKey gives a working site QR check-in, compliance gating and live evacuation lists for a flat monthly fee.
See how SiteKey worksCommon questions
What is the difference between visitor management and site access management? +
Visitor management records guest arrivals at a reception and is designed for corporate offices. It issues visitor badges and notifies hosts. Site access management is built for operational worksites and includes compliance gating (verifying inductions and certifications), a live evacuation list, contractor pre-registration, and automatic sign-out. The main difference is that site access management enforces compliance at sign in.
Do I need visitor management or site access management for my NZ worksite? +
If your site has contractors, subcontractors, or workers with varying compliance requirements, or you need an accurate evacuation list and induction records under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, you need site access management. Visitor management suits corporate office receptions where the main job is recording guest arrivals and notifying hosts.
Can visitor management software handle contractor compliance? +
Most visitor management systems are not designed for contractor compliance. They usually lack compliance gates, induction verification, certification tracking, and the live evacuation lists that operational sites need under HSWA 2015. If you need these features, use a site access management system.
Is SiteKey a visitor management or site access management system? +
SiteKey is a site access management system built for operational NZ worksites. It includes QR check-in, induction compliance gates, live evacuation lists, and contractor pre-registration, with flat monthly pricing and no per-user or per-scan fees.