Some shops put a tablet in the customer waiting area so people can check themselves in instead of waiting for a front-desk operator. SalesThumb has one real kiosk surface today: a front-desk check-in page. It doesn't have a configurable "kiosk mode" with multiple selectable surfaces, an exit PIN, or notification suppression — here's what actually ships and how to set it up.
What the front-desk kiosk does
- Shows today's appointment list on a single screen
- Customer taps their name, then confirms the last 4 digits of the phone number on file
- A match marks the appointment checked in; a mismatch shows an error and lets them retry
- The appointment list auto-refreshes every 60 seconds so it stays current through the day
There's no status board, signature pad, photo gallery, or booking-page "surface" to pick between — check-in is the one kiosk view. There's also no in-app exit PIN or notification-suppression setting; the tablet just displays this one page.
Step 1 — Find your kiosk link
Your check-in kiosk lives at /kiosk/<your-shop-slug>. You can get the link two ways:
- Settings → Storefront Widgets, on the QR Code tab — generates a QR code labeled "Customer check-in kiosk" that opens the page directly.
- Settings → Integrations → Front Desk Kiosk — shows the same URL to copy/open manually.
Step 2 — Open it on the tablet
Open that link in the tablet's browser (or add it to the home screen for a more app-like feel) and leave it open. There's no separate SalesThumb-side "kiosk mode" toggle to switch into — the page itself is the kiosk.
Step 3 — Lock the tablet down at the OS level
Since SalesThumb doesn't provide an in-app lock, use your tablet's own OS feature to keep customers from navigating away:
- iOS: Settings → Accessibility → Guided Access → On, then triple-click the Home/Side button while the kiosk page is open to start a locked single-app session with its own passcode.
- Android: most tablets have an equivalent "Screen pinning" or "App pinning" setting under Security.
This is a device-level lock, independent of SalesThumb — set your own passcode and keep it separate from any shop PIN.
Step 4 — Mount + secure the device
Physical security matters. Recommendations:
- Tablet enclosure with a lock (Heckler Design, Compulocks, etc.) — $80-150
- Mount it to a counter or wall at customer-height (~42")
- Power cable threaded through the mount so it can't be unplugged
Step 5 — Test it
Walk up to the kiosk as if you were a customer. Confirm:
- Today's appointments show up correctly
- Tapping a name and entering the correct last-4 phone digits marks it checked in
- A wrong last-4 shows an error and lets you retry
- The device-level lock (Guided Access / screen pinning) actually prevents leaving the page
A related but different kiosk: clock-in
If you're thinking of a kiosk for staff, not customers, that's a separate feature: /clock/<your-shop-slug> is a per-employee clock-in/out kiosk with its own 4-8 digit PIN per team member and an 8-second inactivity reset back to the PIN screen. It's unrelated to the front-desk check-in kiosk described above.
Common patterns
- Tint shop with high walk-in volume: front desk still handles walk-in quoting; the kiosk is just for customers with a scheduled appointment to check themselves in without waiting on staff.
- PPF or ceramic shop with appointment-only bookings: customers check in on the tablet the moment they arrive, so the front desk knows who's here without anyone having to ask.
- Detail shop with a subscription program: a quick self-check-in at drop-off frees staff up to focus on the vehicle instead of manning the door.