Getting started with BeaconVisit

1. Create your account

Register for BeaconVisit using your email address and complete the initial account setup.

During beta, access may be subject to approval before your account becomes active.

2. Connect your calendar

BeaconVisit reads your existing calendar so you do not need to maintain appointments in two different systems.

Once connected, BeaconVisit can identify appointments that may be suitable for check-in support.

See Connecting your calendar for more detail.

3. Review your appointments

If you have qualifying appointments, BeaconVisit sends a daily summary each morning, normally between 8am and 9am.

The summary allows you to check that:

• the right appointments show Check-in Enabled (identified for check-in support)
• appointments you do not need BeaconVisit to support can be reverted using Disable Check-in
• appointments not automatically identified (shown as No check-in) can be opted in using Check-in Allowed, which changes them to Check-in Enabled
• your check-in reminder will be sent at the appropriate time for Check-in Enabled appointments

This gives you an opportunity to review the day before your appointments begin.

4. Set up your escalation contacts

You decide who BeaconVisit should contact if you do not check out from an appointment.

Escalations can use multiple stages, so you can decide both who is contacted and in what order.

For example:

• Stage 1 could notify a professional colleague
• Stage 2 could notify your manager
• Stage 3 could notify a friend or family member

You can also use different contact methods at different stages.

BeaconVisit does not begin escalation immediately when the appointment ends. The first escalation cannot be triggered until at least five minutes after the expected appointment end time.

See Escalation contacts and stages for more detail.

5. Check in before a visit

If an appointment is Check-in Enabled, BeaconVisit normally sends a reminder around 15 minutes before the appointment starts.

You can check in directly from the reminder or open the BeaconVisit app and check in manually.

When you check in, BeaconVisit records your location at that point. This is used if an escalation is later required.

6. Check out when the appointment ends

BeaconVisit sends a single check-out reminder when the appointment reaches its expected end time.

It does not continue sending repeated reminders.

From the app, you can:

• check out
• extend the appointment by 15 minutes
• extend the appointment by 30 minutes

If you extend the appointment, the expected end time moves accordingly and the escalation timing is reset from the new end time.

This is useful where an appointment simply runs longer than expected.

7. If you do not check out

If you remain checked in after the appointment ends, BeaconVisit follows the escalation stages you have configured.

The timing of each stage is based on the delays you have chosen.

For example:

• the appointment ends
• after the configured delay, Stage 1 is sent
• if you still have not checked out, the next configured stage can follow
• further stages can continue in the order you defined

If you extend the appointment, the escalation clock is reset against the new appointment end time.

For example, if an escalation has already been sent and you then extend the appointment, the new end time becomes the reference point. If you still do not check out after that new end time and the configured delay passes again, escalation can continue.

Once you successfully check out, the active incident is closed.

BeaconVisit is not a monitored call centre or emergency service. Its role is to follow the escalation process you have configured and bring a missed check-out to the attention of the people you trust.