What is a visitor management system?
A visitor management system replaces the paper visitor book at your gate. Residents or tenants invite guests with an access code before they arrive, and the guard scans the visitor's driver's licence or ID and the vehicle's licence disc at the boom. Each entry becomes a digital record for that site, which managers can review after an incident.
Zamatrack's Worxit platform does this with two modules. Visitor Management handles invites, access codes and notices for residents and tenants. Visitor Access Control handles the boom: scanning licences, ID cards and discs, photographing vehicles and limiting where each visitor may go. Zamatrack has a regional office in Durban North.
This page is about Durban sites. For the wider estate picture, read our estate visitor management guide.
Which Durban sites use a visitor management system?
Durban has every kind of gate, from coastal estates in Umhlanga and Durban North to complexes in Westville and Pinetown, office parks, and industrial and logistics sites in the south of the city. What changes from site to site is who comes through the gate and which features you switch on.
| Site | Who comes through the gate | Worxit features to use |
|---|---|---|
| Estates and gated communities | Guests, domestic workers, contractors and deliveries | Resident invites with access codes, future-dated invites, licence and disc scanning, global notices, emergency button |
| Sectional title complexes | Guests and contractors, often at one gate with one guard | Invites with access codes, a live view of who is on site, facilities bookings for shared areas |
| Office parks and multi-tenant buildings | Meeting guests, couriers and contractors | Tenant invites, access limited to a building or floor, global notices to tenants |
| Industrial sites and warehouses | Truck drivers, contractors and collections | Licence and disc scanning, vehicle photo and number plate, notes per entry, access limited to approved zones |
How does licence and disc scanning work at the gate?
When people ask for a visitor management system with an ID scanner, this is the part they mean. In Worxit Visitor Access Control, a gate entry works like this:
1. Scan
The guard scans the visitor's South African driving licence (SADL) or ID card, and the vehicle's licence disc, with a 2D scanner.
2. Check
SADL photo verification adds a photo check at the gate, to reduce fraud and mistakes.
3. Record
The guard adds a photo of the vehicle, the number plate and any notes, such as the unit or department being visited.
4. Control
Access can be limited to certain locations or buildings, so a contractor cleared for the plant room cannot wander the site. Visitor access cards can be issued and managed too.
5. Review
Each visit is kept in the site's visitor history, ready for an audit or an investigation.
The guard needs a device with a 2D scanner. The P100s Rugged Tablet, for example, has one built in, plus NFC for patrol tags. What the licence barcode holds and how expired licences are handled is covered in our SADL scanning guide.
How do residents invite visitors and share access codes?
Worxit Visitor Management puts a guard app and a client app for residents and tenants in one system:
- Invites with access codes. A resident creates an invite with a secure access code and shares it with the guest. At the gate, the guard validates the code and logs the entry.
- Future-dated invites. Visits can be set up ahead of time, including recurring visits for regular contractors and service providers.
- Arrival notices and on-site view. Residents are notified when their visitor arrives, and staff can see who is on site.
- Global notices. Management sends one message to everyone, for example about a planned water or power interruption.
- Emergency button and facilities bookings. Residents can raise an alert to security and management, and book shared facilities such as a clubhouse.
Guards spend less time phoning units, and every visit sits in one history. For biometric or facial recognition readers at estate gates, see our guide to HID biometrics for estates.
What does POPIA mean for visitor data at your gate?
A visitor's name, ID number, licence details and photo are personal information under section 1 of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The "responsible party" is whoever decides why and how it is collected, typically the body corporate, HOA or company that runs the site. A guarding company or software supplier processing the data for it is an "operator".
Software can support these duties, but it cannot take them over. The rules that matter most at a gate:
| Rule | POPIA | What it means at the gate |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | s 13 | Collect visitor information for a specific, defined and lawful purpose, such as controlling access and investigating incidents. Write that purpose into the site rules. |
| Minimality | s 10 | Collect only what is adequate, relevant and not excessive for that purpose. If a field adds nothing to the purpose, leave it out. |
| Notice | s 18 | Before collecting, tell visitors what you collect, who you are, why, whether it is voluntary, what happens if they refuse, and that they may complain to the Information Regulator. A clear sign at the gate is one practical way to do this. |
| Retention | s 14 | Do not keep records longer than the purpose needs, unless a law, a contract, a lawful need of your organisation or the visitor's consent allows it. Then delete, destroy or de-identify them so they cannot be rebuilt. |
| Security | s 19 | Take reasonable technical and organisational steps against loss and unlawful access, for example personal logins for guards, limited export rights and locked-down gate devices. |
| Operators | s 21 | If a guarding company or software supplier processes visitor data for you, a written contract must require it to keep the same safeguards. |
| Breaches | s 22 | If visitor data may have been accessed by someone unauthorised, notify the Information Regulator and the visitors concerned as soon as reasonably possible. |
This is a summary of the Act, not legal advice. Read the Protection of Personal Information Act on gov.za and the Information Regulator's website, and take advice on your own site rules.
Do you also need patrol checkpoint tags?
"Tags" means two things on a Durban site. Resident gate tags open a boom; patrol checkpoint tags prove a guard walked the perimeter. The NFC tags in Zamatrack's store are patrol tags. For visitors who need a credential, Visitor Access Control can issue and manage visitor access cards instead.
Each tag has an NTAG213 chip (13.56 MHz) in an IP67, UV-stabilised casing, with a screw hole and 3M adhesive backing for fences and gates. A guard taps it with a compatible phone, radio or rugged device, and Worxit logs the checkpoint with the time and GPS position. Scanning works offline. Tags are R30 per tag, ex VAT.
See Guard Patrol Solutions, buy NFC patrol tags, or compare tag types in NFC vs QR Code Patrol Systems.
Can the same platform handle time and attendance?
Yes, with Worxit Time & Attendance. Staff clock in with facial recognition or NFC at access points, on-site locations or approved mobile zones, which stops one worker clocking in for another. Breaks, shift summaries and time worked are reported by location, and a live view shows who is on duty at each site. Staff are enrolled on a phone or in batches.
Facial recognition uses biometric information, which POPIA treats as special personal information (section 26). It may only be processed on a ground in section 27, such as the employee's consent. For payroll and overtime, read our biometric time and attendance guide.
What should you ask a supplier before you choose?
- Which devices read the licence and disc barcodes, and can the same device read patrol tags?
- What happens at the gate when the network or the power goes down?
- Can a visitor be limited to one block, building or zone?
- Who can view and export visitor records, and how long are they kept?
- Will the supplier sign an operator agreement under section 21 of POPIA?
- Is there a local office you can call or visit?
Where is Zamatrack's Durban office?
Zamatrack's regional office is in Glenashley, Durban North. Call us or request a demo to see invites, licence scanning and the visitor history working together. The Durban team can visit your site to look at the gate set-up before quoting.
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Unit 16, Almil Centre, 47 Ashley Avenue
Glenashley, Durban North, 4051
Phone
0861 987 987Office hours
Monday - Friday
08:00 - 17:00 SAST
Frequently asked questions
What do guards need to scan driver's licences at a Durban gate?
A device with a 2D scanner. Worxit Visitor Access Control uses one to read South African driving licences, ID cards and vehicle licence discs. The P100s Rugged Tablet, for example, has a 2D scanner and NFC built in.
Is it legal to scan a visitor's driver's licence under POPIA?
POPIA sets conditions rather than a simple yes or no: a specific, lawful purpose (section 13), no more data than that purpose needs (section 10), a notice to visitors before you collect (section 18), secure storage (section 19) and no longer retention than necessary (section 14). Get legal advice on your site's rules.
How long can we keep visitor records?
POPIA does not set a fixed number of days. Section 14 says records must not be kept longer than the purpose needs, unless a law, a contract, a lawful need of your organisation or the visitor's consent allows it. Then delete, destroy or de-identify them.
Can residents invite visitors before they arrive?
Yes. In Worxit Visitor Management, a resident or tenant creates an invite with a secure access code, including future-dated and recurring visits. The guard validates the code at the gate, and the resident is notified on arrival.
Can a visitor be limited to one building or zone?
Yes. Worxit Visitor Access Control can restrict visitors, contractors or vehicles to specific zones, floors or buildings, based on the reason for the visit.
How much does a visitor management system cost?
Zamatrack lists the Visitor Management System (VMS) licence at R1,300 per month, ex VAT. NFC patrol tags are R30 per tag, ex VAT. Gate devices and set-up depend on the site, so ask for a quote or a demo.
Does Zamatrack have an office in Durban?
Yes. Zamatrack's regional office is at Unit 16, Almil Centre, 47 Ashley Avenue, Glenashley, Durban North, 4051. Call 0861 987 987, Monday - Friday, 08:00 - 17:00 SAST.
See it working at a Durban gate
Request a demo to see resident invites, licence and disc scanning, and the visitor history for one site, from the guard's phone to the manager's dashboard.