# Contractor sign-in for commercial buildings > Contractor sign-in for commercial buildings: what to record, how to replace the paper book and how to know who is on site when something goes wrong. Guides | Published 2026-10-25 | 5 min read Source: https://properlex.com/resources/contractor-sign-in-for-commercial-buildings Contractor sign-in for a commercial building is a record of who is on site, who they work for, why they are there and when they arrived and left. To make it useful, capture a few fixed fields on every visit, make signing in quick enough that people do it, and keep the record somewhere you can read it from anywhere, including during an incident. This guide covers what to record, why the paper book falls short, a simple set-up in five steps and a checklist for the first month. It also explains how a sign-in record connects to emergency contact. ## What should a contractor sign-in record? Keep the form short. A long form is skipped, and a skipped form is worse than no form because it looks like a complete record when it is not. Capture these fields on every visit: | Field | Why it matters | | --- | --- | | Name and company | Tells you who is in the building and who employs them | | Mobile number | The way to reach the person if you need them to move or stay put | | Who they are seeing | Shows who asked for the work and who to call about it | | Reason for the visit | Separates a routine service from an urgent call-out | | Area or level | Narrows down where to look in an incident | | Time in and time out | Shows who is on site now, and gives you a history for safety and invoices | ## Why does the paper sign-in book fall short? A paper book is better than nothing. It has limits that show up at the worst moment. - It lives at one door, so contractors who come in another way never sign it - Handwriting is hard to read, and phone numbers are often wrong - People sign in and forget to sign out, so the list of who is still on site cannot be trusted - It cannot be searched, so finding last month's visits means turning pages - If the building is evacuated, the book is usually inside it ## Why does a contractor sign-in record matter in an incident? Contractors are occupants too. In an evacuation, people on site need to be accounted for, and contractors are often the ones missing from the count. Under the [Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fire Safety, Evacuation Procedures, and Evacuation Schemes) Regulations 2018](https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2018/0096/18.0/LMS46332.html), an evacuation procedure must provide for occupants to be evacuated to a place or places of safety. [Fire and Emergency New Zealand](https://www.fireandemergency.nz/building-fire-safety/evacuation-schemes/) publishes guidance on evacuation schemes for building owners. Check the current wording for your own buildings. A live record answers the first question in any incident: who is in the building right now. Without it, the answer is a guess. ## What do health and safety duties say about contractors? In New Zealand, businesses that share a workplace or work in a contracting chain have duties to each other. WorkSafe's guide, [PCBUs working together: advice when contracting](https://registers.worksafe.govt.nz/dmsdocument/5355-pcbus-working-together-advice-when-contracting), says that businesses must consult, cooperate and coordinate with the others they share duties with. WorkSafe's position on [visitors at work](https://registers.worksafe.govt.nz/dmsdocument/4409-worksafe-position-on-visitors-at-work) gives recording a visitor's presence as an example of a practical step, and describes it as a sensible measure rather than a fixed rule for every visit. Read both documents for your own situation, and take advice where you need it. A sign-in record is not the whole of those duties. It is one piece of evidence that you know who is on your site and how to reach them. ## How do you set up contractor sign-in in five steps? 1. **Decide who must sign in.** Include contractors, delivery drivers who enter beyond reception, and visitors. Write the rule down. 2. **Choose one place to sign in.** Use a tablet at reception, or a QR code at each entrance, so there is no way in that skips it. 3. **Keep the form to the fields above.** Aim for under a minute per visit. 4. **Require sign-out.** Ask contractors to sign out on leaving, and have someone check the list at the end of each day. 5. **Tell contractors before they arrive.** Include the sign-in link in the booking confirmation so it is not a surprise at the door. ## How can contractors sign in without an app? Use a link that works in a phone's browser. Contractors then sign in as they arrive, with nothing to download. Properlex, the relationship platform for property, does this: vendors sign in and out from their portal, and visitors sign in at a kiosk link for each property, shown on a tablet or as a QR code. Property managers see a live list of who is on site at each property, with a timestamped history of every visit. See [vendor and visitor sign-in](https://properlex.com/features/vendor-visitor-sign-in). ## How does sign-in connect to emergency contact? A sign-in record tells you who is on site. A contact list tells you how to reach the people responsible for them. You need both. If the contractor on site is not answering, you need the backup contact at their company, and you need to know that number is right. Our guide to a [contractor contact list for facilities managers](https://properlex.com/resources/contractor-contact-list-for-facilities-managers) covers how to keep those details current. When something goes wrong, [emergency notification for tenants](https://properlex.com/resources/emergency-notification-for-tenants) explains how to send an SMS and email together to the right people and read delivery status for every recipient. Properlex also lets you [publish after-hours and security contacts](https://properlex.com/features/property-contacts) to the parties you choose. ## First-month contractor sign-in checklist - The rule on who must sign in is written down and shared with contractors - Every entrance has a sign-in link, tablet or QR code - The form captures name, company, mobile, who they are seeing, reason, area and times - Booking confirmations include the sign-in link - Someone checks the list for missing sign-outs each day - The on-site list can be opened from a phone during an incident - Each contractor's backup contact is recorded and has been confirmed ## Frequently asked questions ### What is contractor sign-in? It is a record of every contractor who enters a building, with their name, company, mobile number, who they are seeing, why they are there and the times they arrive and leave. Its purpose is to show who is on site, now and in the past. ### Do contractors have to sign in to commercial buildings? There is no single rule for every building, so set your own and write it down. In New Zealand, WorkSafe describes recording a visitor's presence as a practical step and expects businesses that share a workplace to consult, cooperate and coordinate. Check the guidance for your own situation. ### What is the best way to sign contractors in? The best way is the one people actually use. A link that opens in a phone's browser, shown as a QR code at each entrance, is quick and needs no app. A tablet at reception works for visitors. Whatever you choose, require sign-out as well. ### How do I know who is on site in an emergency? Keep a live sign-in list that you can open from your phone, and make sure every entrance uses it. With Properlex, the list shows who is at each property now and who has signed out. ### Do contractors need to download an app to use Properlex? No. Vendors sign in from the Properlex portal in their phone's browser. Accounts created from your invitation are free for the contractor, and plans for property managers start from $49 per month. To see how much time your team spends keeping contact details right, use the free [contact admin cost calculator](https://properlex.com/contact-admin-cost-calculator). [Book a demo](https://properlex.com/get-started)