HelpWhat your visitors seeThe free tracking link

The free tracking link

The moment someone joins, they get a live tracking link — a web page that shows their place and updates on its own. It is free, needs no app and no account, and does not depend on them having given you a phone number or an email.

Everyone Where: Public — no sign-in 15 min read

This is the safety net under everything. WhatsApp and email are best-effort extras; the tracking link and the lobby TV always work, whatever those switches say.

Free, and it needs no phone number

Joining opens the page automatically — nothing to install, nothing to sign up for. It follows the visitor through every stop of a journey, so a person moved from reception to a treatment room keeps the same page.

A visitor can get free updates from this page. When your business has WhatsApp updates on, the page shows Get WhatsApp updates. It opens WhatsApp with a message ready, and pressing Send turns updates on. The visitor then gets exactly two fixed messages for the visit: one now, and one when it is almost their turn. Replying STOP switches them off for that visit. If the business does not offer updates, the page says nothing about them.

Text updates are not offered yet. turnda has not opened text messages in any country, so the page does not show Get text updates to anyone today. The tracking page, the lobby TV and email (if the visitor left one) carry the news. See Countries for text messages.

It is a link for that visit, not a permanent page. A visit nobody has touched for about a day is closed automatically, and the page shows the ended screen instead of a live position.

While their visit is live, the page also has a Share my place button, so a visitor can send their place to someone they trust. See Share my place.

What it shows while they wait

The page is built around one number — theirs — and one sentence saying how close they are. The sentence changes as the line moves.

1Waiting
“3 people ahead of you” — a bar underneath fills as that number falls
2Nobody ahead
“You're next up” — no wait estimate, nothing left to estimate
3Called
“It's your turn!” — number at full size, phone buzzes if it can. If staff called them to a counter, it also says where: “You've been called — please go to Room 2. If the call named no counter, it keeps the plain words: “You've been called — please come to be served.”

Each version of the sentence is deliberate.

Two other versions of the waiting sentence

What it says	When
“2 appointments before you”	Everyone ahead is an appointment that has not arrived yet. The moment one of those appointments checks in, they count as a person again — the sentence becomes “2 people ahead of you”.
“You're in the line” / “We can't show your exact place right now, but you haven't lost it.”	Occasionally the exact position can't be worked out. Rather than show a false “0 people ahead”, the page says this instead.

If staff move a visitor to another line or location, the same link keeps working. The page shows “You've been moved to:” with the new line (and the location, when the business has several), so nobody is left wondering where they went. A location that has since been deleted is never shown.

“Your spot is on hold” — know this before you use hold. If staff pause someone, their page hides the position entirely and shows a hold message instead. From the visitor's side, a hold looks like being set aside — a hold you forget about is a person sitting quietly with no number.

What the screen says	When
Your spot is on hold / Staff have paused your number for a moment — they'll call you shortly. No need to rejoin.	Staff pause the visitor.

The wait estimate — “About 20 min to go” — appears while somebody is ahead, once you have switched on “Show estimated wait on tracking links” for the line (it starts off). On a long, thin estimate it says “More than …” instead of inventing a precise figure. When the estimate rounds down to nothing it says “Any moment now” — never “About 0 min”.

Under all of it sits one fairness line — “Your number can sometimes move if an appointment or urgent case is called — your place is safe.”

Why this sentence matters It is why a visitor watching their position go from 3 to 4 asks nothing at the desk.

The running-late banner appears on every waiting visitor's own phone as well as the TV.
On a multi-stop journey, a stop strip reads “Stop 2 of 3”.
The browser tab itself is labelled with their number and standing (for example “A002 · you're next”), so a visitor with ten tabs open can find this one without opening them all.

A visitor who gave no contact details is told to keep the page open. “No number given, so we can't send you a reminder. Keep this page open, or take a screenshot, so you don't lose your place.” Shown only while the visit is live, and only when there is certainly no contact.

How the wait estimate is worked out

It is simply how many people are ahead × how long one person takes. The second half is where the work is, and there are two ways it can be answered.

	Enough history for this hour	Not enough history yet
How it's worked out	Learns your line's own rhythm, by day of week and hour	Falls back to a flat average — the service length you set, or the line's overall pace

A learned number only ever comes from your own business's history.

The estimate never changes who gets served next. It is a display, worked out from the order your serving rule has already decided. The same figure is used on the console, the TV and the visitor's own page — the three never disagree.

If they lose the page

Closing the tab is the one real risk with a link-based line. Under the heading “If you lose this page” sits an 8-character code shown in two groups of four. One tap selects the whole thing.

Open your join page again.
Tap Already in the line? Enter your code. A small link under the join button, closed by default.
Type the code into Your code and press Find my place. They land back on their own page with their original number and position — they do not re-join.

What the screen says	When
That code doesn't match anyone in this line. Check it and try again, or ask a member of staff to find you.	A wrong code — and, on purpose, the same answer for a code from another business or an ended visit. Telling a stranger which of those it was would let them go fishing for other people's codes.
A lot of people are using turnda from this venue's internet connection right now. Wait a minute, then try again.	Wrong guesses are limited: after 30 wrong codes or wrong links from one internet connection within 15 minutes, every lookup from that connection is refused for a while, right code or wrong. Someone who really lost the page waits a few minutes, or asks the desk to find them. A whole queue guessing from your shared wifi can trigger it.

What to say at the desk “Open the join page again, tap 'Already in the line?', and type the code from your first screen.” If they never noted it, find them by name on the Queue and carry on — the code is a convenience, not the only route.

Leaving the line

A waiting or on-hold visitor can take themselves out with Leave the line. It takes two taps — the first asks “Leave the line and give up your place?” with Stay and Yes, leave. Stay sits on top and Yes, leave underneath it, and Yes, leave does not respond for a brief moment after the question appears — so a double-tap on the first button cannot accidentally remove them.

The button stays for a short while after staff call the number. A called visitor who is still walking up can change their mind and leave from their own page. How long that window lasts is the line's walk-up time (a line setting). Once it has passed, the button is replaced by a sentence saying they are being served, and from then on leaving is the desk's to do — you clear them on the Queue.

Very occasionally, if their number is called in the second between their two taps, they see “Couldn't leave the line — please ask a staff member.” — the same story, arrived a moment too late.

Worth encouraging Every person who leaves on their own is a no-show you never have to call, wait for and clear.

When the visit ends

A visit can end in more than one way, and the page says which. One cheerful sentence used to cover all of them, so a visitor who missed their turn was thanked for coming — this was a real complaint.

What the screen says	When	Desk sentence + way back?
This visit has ended. Thanks for coming!	Served — with a green tick. Nothing further, it is finished properly.	No
You were marked as not arrived, so your place in the line has been given up.	Marked as not arrived. No thank-you, because they did not come.	Yes
You've left the line.	They left themselves. “You chose to leave, so you've given up your place. Changed your mind? Join again below, or ask a member of staff.”	Yes
You've been taken out of the line.	Your staff took them out.	Yes
This line has closed.	The line closed.	No — nothing else at all.
[Line name] has closed for today, so your visit was closed. Please come back when it is open. (and, when it is known: It opens again at …)	The line closed for the day while they were still waiting.	No — they come back when it opens.
This visit was closed. If you're still here, speak to a member of staff — they can put you back in the line.	The visit was closed without a recorded outcome (for example by an end-of-day clean-up).	Yes
Your visit was closed because it stayed on hold for too long.	The hold timer ran out (a line setting).	No
Your visit was not completed because [line name] was closed. Please come back or speak to the staff.	A stop on their journey closed before they got there.	No — they speak to staff or come back.

The way back, on the four endings that have one (the four marked Yes above): “If you're still here, speak to a member of staff — they can put you back in the line.” with a Join the line again link.

Staff can send the link again

If a visitor lost the message, staff select them on the Queue and press Re-send tracking link. It goes to the phone or email the visitor gave and the page shows “Re-sent the tracking link”. It is a live visit's link, so it is the same link, not a new one.

What staff see	Why
The tile is greyed out: “No phone or email on file”	The visitor gave no contact, so there is nowhere to send it. They can follow the link already on their screen, or staff can read out their code or show the QR.
“Nothing sent — this visitor follows on WhatsApp, so the link is not re-sent.”	Read it out or show the QR code instead.
“Nothing sent — confirmation messages are switched off for this line's channel.”	Switch the message on in the line's message settings if you want re-sends to go out.
“That ticket number isn't waiting any more.”	The visitor has already left, been served or been cleared, so there is no live link to send. Nothing is sent.
“Re-sends left this hour: N of M”	Shown in the visitor's Contact & messages panel — re-sends are limited per hour so a visitor is never flooded.

“This line has closed” is the one ending with nothing on it — know when a visitor meets it. You cannot close a line with people still in it — turnda refuses until you finish or clear them. The moment you do close it, every cleared visitor's way back disappears too, so tell the room out loud rather than relying on their screen.

What the screen says	When
This line still has 3 visitors in it — finish or clear them first, then you can archive it.	You try to close a line that still has people in it.
You've been taken out of the line.	A visitor is cleared while the line is still open — with a way back.
This line has closed.	The line is closed — every phone changes instantly, with no “speak to staff” and no rejoin.

A finished visit can also do two more things

If you have turned it on	What the visitor sees
Ratings for the line	“How was your visit?” with five stars and a Send rating button.
A review link, with the review ask on	An “Enjoyed your visit? Leave us a review” button that opens your public listing.

Whose page it looks like

This is your page, not turnda's. Your logo and business name sit at the top, exactly as on the join page. Your colour, text size and heading choice for the Tracking page in Visitor pages all apply here too.

The only turnda mark on it is the small “powered by turnda” footer that every visitor page carries.

This page asks the visitor for nothing at all — no name, no number, no tick box — so it carries no privacy notice.
It is built to be used without looking at it.
The number and standing are read out by a screen reader the moment they change.
The phone buzzes at the same moment.
The browser tab is labelled with their number.
Leave the line is a full-size target.

Offline, slow and stale

Business wi-fi drops, phones go into tunnels, and the one thing this page must never do is tell somebody they lost their place because of it.

What the screen says	When
You're offline / Showing your last known place. We'll update as soon as you're back.	The phone is offline. The number stays on screen, clearly labelled as last-known.
Reconnecting… / your place is safe. This will keep trying.	We cannot reach the business for a moment.
Live updates are limited right now — this page refreshes every few seconds.	Live updates are limited. Clears itself when the live feed comes back.
Just a moment / You're being moved to the next step. This page will update on its own.	Between two steps of a journey — one stop has closed and the next has not opened.

“Updated just now” / “Updated 3 min ago” This small line with a coloured dot keeps counting up even while offline — a frozen number saying “just now” is worse than a stale one that admits it.

“We couldn't find this ticket”

One screen means the link itself is not recognised — “This link has ended” with “We couldn't find this ticket number. It may have ended.” and a Try-again button.

This is not what a slow connection looks like. It is shown only when the address matches no visit at all — a link typed by hand, or a visit that has since been removed. A genuine network problem shows “Reconnecting…” instead.

What to do If a visitor shows you this mid-wait, check the link they used and add them again if something was lost.

How long the link keeps working

A tracking link belongs to one visit, not to the person — so it lasts as long as that visit does, and no longer. There is nothing for you to switch off.

Situation	What happens
Someone who joins and never comes back	The visit is closed automatically after 24 hours of nothing happening, and the link stops showing a place.
Someone who was called, is being served, or is on hold	Closed automatically if nobody finishes it. A called or served visitor is closed 2 hours after the call by default (the forgotten-visitor timer) and one on hold after 4 hours by default (or never, if the line is set that way); both are line settings. A visit still open after 72 hours is left for staff to finish and its clock starts then.
Their name and contact details	Erased 48 hours after that clock starts, on every visit whether it ended well or not — see how long turnda keeps visitor details.

So “my visitor's link stopped working” is almost never a fault. Same day means something else is wrong — check the address they used. A day or more later means the visit simply closed, working as intended. A visitor who needs to be seen again joins again.

The gotcha most businesses hit. Nothing on this page calls anybody — it only reports. A visitor watching “2 people ahead” for twenty minutes usually means nobody at the desk has pressed Call next.

What the tracking page does for the visitor

Small things the visitor sees, and what they mean.

What happens	What it means
The wait time	It learns the line's own rhythm by weekday and hour, so Saturday afternoon is not judged like Tuesday morning. With too little history it falls back to a flat estimate. The Queue, the lobby TV and this page all use the same figure. It changes only what is shown, never who is next.
The person they asked for is not in	The page says the next available person will call them.
They left and changed their mind	They can join again from the same page.
The signal drops	The page says the place is safe and keeps trying. It shows the last known place and updates when the signal is back.
Live updates are weak	The page refreshes every few seconds instead, and says so.
No way to message them	If they gave no contact, the page warns that no reminder can be sent and asks them to keep the page open.
The browser tab	The tab title shows the number and how many are ahead.
They are called	The phone plays a sound and vibrates, if the page is open.
They lose the page	When they join they are shown a short eight-character recovery code. Typing it on the join page brings their place back.