Vendor check-in verification: proving a technician was really on site

Most multi-site operators work with a long roster of vendors, and each of those vendors serves many customers who all want check-ins done differently. The result is usually that the check-in gets skipped, and facility and maintenance teams can't confirm anyone was on site.

• App fatigue. Technicians already juggle a different app for every customer, so a new check-in app gets skipped.
• Phone trees prove a call, not a visit. A keypad IVR records that someone called in with a work order number. It can't tell where the caller was standing. And calls from the store's phone rarely happen, because staff are busy or the phone isn't in a convenient spot.
• No record of the work. A status change to "complete" says nothing about what was done, which parts were used or what still needs a follow-up.
• Every site and vendor is different. When each vendor uses its own process, there's no single standard to audit against.

A visit is verified when four facts are captured at the time of the visit, not reconstructed later from an invoice.

Like any phone-based location check, this depends on the technician allowing location access. If they decline, the visit is marked unverified and shows only the approximate area the phone number is registered to. If the location is outside the site's radius, the visit is flagged off site.

Each method has a place. A geofencing app is strong when every technician runs it; the trade-off is adoption, especially with subcontractors and smaller vendors.

1. The technician calls one number. The same number for every site and vendor. Caller ID identifies the technician and pulls up their open work order.
2. Their location gets verified. A one-tap text confirms they're at your site before the clock starts. Nothing to download, nothing to log into.
3. They check out by talking. The technician calls back and describes the work, and spryggAIVR turns it into a completion report.
4. It syncs to your system. Status, verified time on site and the report go to your CMMS, a spreadsheet, an inbox or Slack.

Whatever tool you use, check that each visit record can answer these without a phone call to the vendor:

1. The work order and site
2. The technician and their vendor company
3. Check-in time, and whether the location was verified, flagged off site or unverified
4. Check-out time and total time on site
5. Work performed, parts used and any follow-up needed
6. Photos of the completed work
7. Where the record was sent (the CMMS work order, an inbox or a channel)

Two groups need it most. Multi-site operators (retail, restaurants, medical and similar) use it to confirm that every vendor actually showed up before they approve the invoice. Facilities maintenance companies use it to give each client the same proof of presence, whatever CMMS that client runs.