PowerApps in Action, see a demo of BE-Visit app!

 As consultants, we always used to travel a lot and visit many different companies. While every company and every visit is unique, there is one thing which I have to do at almost every company before an appointment even starts – register my visit. I walk up to the reception, introduce myself, and then the following things happen:

• I sign in by writing my first name, my last name, my time of arrival, etc. on a sheet of paper.
• I often receive safety instructions to sign (particularly at manufacturing companies)
• The receptionist calls my contact to let them know that I have arrived.
• At the end of the visit, I have to sign out on the same sheet of paper mentioned previously.

Not only is this a very tedious and analogue process, but in times like these, front office staff might also have an interest in having all the information about who visits and at which point in time in advance.

 Therefore, I built a small visit management/handling app on the basis of the Microsoft Power Platform. This app enables visitors to a company to easily register upon arriving via an app, as well as enabling the company to easily create, manage, and keep track of its employees’ visits.

The following demonstration builds upon the Common Data Service or Dynamics 365 for Sales (CRM). Due to the Power Platform's multitude of connectors, however, this scenario can be realised with a variety of different data sources while also enabling adaptation and individualisation when needed.

A visit is created like a normal appointment in Dynamics 365 for Sales; there is only one additional field marked “Visitor”, which has to be set to "Yes".

Subsequently, Dynamics 365 for Sales automatically sends a calendar invite, along with a check-in code to the visitor. When the visitor then enters my building, they are able to register on a tablet which runs a check-in app.