The guard tour app nobody has to install.
Most guard tour apps start the same way: get everyone to download it, make each of them an account, and hope tonight's fill-in does too. Here, officers point their phone's camera at a checkpoint's QR code. It opens in the browser, asks their name or PIN once a shift, and logs the visit. That's the whole setup.
No app to install
Why no app matters more than it sounds.
The hard part of a patrol system isn't the software. It's getting every officer, temp and volunteer onto it, and keeping them there.
Being a web page has limits too: it can't detect a fall or run in the background, and alerts reach you by email rather than a push notification.
- Temps, fill-ins and volunteers
- Anyone you send can patrol tonight. No app store, no invite email, no password reset.
- Officers' own phones
- Nothing installed. The browser asks for the camera in patrol mode, and for location if you use location stamps.
- A mix of old and new phones
- If the phone's camera can read a QR code, it can patrol. iPhone or Android.
- Updates to chase
- There aren't any to install: everyone is on the current version, because it's a web page.
- Wanting it to feel like an app
- Patrol mode can be added to the home screen, where it opens full screen, straight to the scanner.
How it works
Set up in minutes, from your phone.
No readers, no wands and no app to roll out. If your people can take a photo, they can scan a checkpoint.
- 01
Stick up the codes
Each checkpoint gets a QR sticker, or an NFC tag that holds the same link.
- 02
Point the camera
The phone's own camera reads the code and opens the checkpoint in the browser.
- 03
Type a name once
The first scan of a shift asks their name or PIN. Every scan after that logs on arrival.
An example route
What a hourly rounds route looks like.
Nothing on this route needs an app: not the officers walking it, and not the client reading the report.
Checkpoints
In walking order- ME01Main entrance
- Doors locked?
- LD02Loading dock
- Dock doors down?
- SB03Stairwell B
- Exit clear?
- SR04Server room
- Door latched?
- No alarms?
- RA05Roof access Photo required
- Door closed and latched?
Hourly rounds
Every day · around the clock · every hour
Missed checkpoints are emailed as each round ends, by name.
A round not started is emailed 20 minutes in, while there's time to act.
A Problem on any checklist needs a note, and is emailed to you as an incident.
What you get
Everything the record needs. Nothing to learn.
QR codes or NFC tags
Print stickers on any printer, or write the same link to NFC tags the phone can tap.
Offline patrol mode
After the first scan, a full-screen scanner in the browser that keeps working with no signal.
Signed visits, no accounts
Officer PINs sign every visit, with no usernames or passwords to manage.
Alerts without an app
Missed checkpoints, late rounds, incidents and SOS land in your email.
Reports without logins
Clients and boards read the daily report from a private link. No accounts for them either.
SOS in the browser
One tap on the checkpoint page or in patrol mode sends an urgent alert with location.
Plus everything else in PatrolBadges: NFC tags, PINs, incident reports, offline scanning, CSV export and four sticker layouts. See all features
Pricing
Free to start. Priced by the checkpoint after that.
Free for 5 checkpoints. Pro is $9 a month for 10, then $1 each. There are no officer accounts, so there are no per-officer fees.
Free for up to 5 checkpoints. Pro is $9 a month for your first 10 checkpoints, plus $1 a month for each one after that. Officers, routes and scans are unlimited on both. No per-user fees, hardware, contracts or setup costs.
$9 for your first 10 checkpoints, plus 10 × $1.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
The quickest answer is to try it: add your checkpoints and scan one from your phone in about two minutes. No card. Or ask us.
Is there a guard tour system that doesn't need an app?
Yes. With PatrolBadges, officers scan a checkpoint's QR code with their phone's camera, which opens it in the browser and logs the visit. There's nothing to download and no account to make: the first scan of a shift asks their name, or their PIN if you use PINs. Owners use a web dashboard, and clients read reports from a link.
How does it work without an app?
Each QR code holds a link to its checkpoint. The phone's camera recognizes it and opens the page in the browser, which starts a shift on that phone the first time. Every scan after that is recognized as the same officer and logged the moment the page opens, until the shift ends.
Does it work on both iPhone and Android?
Yes, on any phone whose camera reads QR codes, which is nearly every iPhone and Android in use today. Patrol mode, the in-browser scanner for scanning one checkpoint after another, needs a current browser with camera access.
Can officers scan without signal?
Yes, in patrol mode. After the first scan of a shift, officers can keep scanning from its camera screen, and every scan is saved on the phone first, then sent with the time it really happened once there's signal.
What can't a browser do that an app can?
Detect a fall or a "man down", run in the background, or send push notifications. For people working alone, there's an SOS button and a welfare check that emails you when someone goes quiet instead. If you need man-down sensors, a dedicated app is the better fit.
Do owners or clients need an app?
No. The dashboard is a website, and clients or boards get the daily report by email with a private link to view it.
Send tonight's officer a sticker, not an install.
Add your checkpoints and scan them from your phone, right off your screen. No card, and sign up only when you're ready to keep it.
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More ways to use PatrolBadges
- Guard toursSecurity patrols with a QR code at every checkpoint and alerts when one's missed.
- Fire watchRounds every 30 minutes while the alarm or sprinklers are down, logged for the fire marshal.
- HOA & apartmentsNightly rounds of gates, garages and amenities, with a report the board can read.
- Construction sitesAfter-hours rounds of the gate, containers, fuel and equipment, proven with a scan at each.
- WarehousesAfter-hours rounds of dock doors, yards and fence lines, with a checklist at each stop.
- Church safety teamsDoor and building checks by a volunteer safety team, before, during and after services.
- Vacant propertyInspections of empty buildings on the schedule your insurer sets, with photos at every stop.
- Facility roundsDaily walks of the boiler room, risers, generator and roof, with a checklist at each stop.
- Night checksOvernight hall and door checks in group homes, shelters and dorms, with safety for staff working alone.
- Restroom cleaningA QR code in place of the clipboard on the door, with a checklist and a photo at every clean.