At the desk

Serving at a desk: the Workboard

The Workboard is the screen you keep open at your desk all day. This page walks through every button on it, in the order you meet them, and what the screen does when things go wrong.

What the Workboard is for#

Line Me Up runs on one loop: Call Next, serve, Complete. The Workboard is where that loop happens. It shows one desk — yours — and only ever one large button: the next thing to do. Everything else on the screen is smaller and sits below it.

The large button changes as you go through the loop:

So a normal visit is three presses: Call Next, They're here, Complete. The screen is built to fit a phone or a counter tablet without scrolling, so the button you need is always where your thumb expects it.

The Workboard never puts a pop-up box in your way. Someone serving a customer must never be stopped by a question, so choices open as a panel that slides up from the bottom of the screen, news arrives as a strip of text inside the page, and most of what you do can be taken back with an Undo button for a few seconds instead of asking "Are you sure?" first.

Open the Workboard#

Everyone with a staff account can serve at a desk. How you get there depends on your role.

If you are staff:

1. Sign in to the staff app at business.linemeup.in.
2. You land straight on the Workboard. It is your home screen; there is nothing else to find.

If you are an owner or a manager:

1. Sign in. You land on the Live Board.
2. If you have a desk, press Work my desk at the foot of the sidebar. On a narrow screen it shows as an icon only; on a phone it is in More.
3. To go back, press Live board in the Workboard's header. Staff do not see this link, because the Workboard is their only screen.

Along the top of the Workboard you will find, from left to right:

• Your desk's name, with the lines it serves underneath.
• The status pill — a dot and a word saying what your desk is doing: Off shift, Free, Called or Serving. If you have said you are running behind, the delay is added, for example "Free · +15 min".
• Add visit (a plus icon), only for people who may register customers — see Register somebody from the desk.
• ?, which opens help for this screen.
• The connection word: Live when the screen is receiving updates, Reconnecting… while it is trying again, and Live updates unavailable when it has fallen back to checking for changes on its own every few seconds.

Choose your desk#

There are two kinds of desk, and they behave differently when you open the Workboard:

• A personal desk belongs to one person — a doctor's consulting room, a stylist's chair. If you have one, the Workboard opens on it straight away.
• A shared desk (a counter) can be used by whoever is working it today — a reception counter, a till, a wash bay. If you have no personal desk, the Workboard asks Which desk are you at today? and shows each free counter as a large tile.

To take a shared desk:

1. Open the Workboard. The heading reads Which desk are you at today?
2. Press the tile with your desk's name. The counter you used last is shown first; the others are in alphabetical order.
3. With many desks, type part of the name in Find a desk, or press Show … more under the tiles.
4. The Workboard opens on that desk, off shift and ready to start.

Start your shift#

A desk off shift is never sent anybody. While you are off shift the screen says Shift not started and Nobody will be sent to you until you start. It still shows how many people are waiting on your lines, so you can decide when to begin.

1. Press Start my shift.
2. The status pill changes to Free, and the large button becomes Call Next.

If you ended a shift earlier today, the screen says when, and how many you served — for example "Shift ended at 1:30 pm · 12 served" — and the button reads Start my shift again.

Call the next customer#

While you are free, the middle of the screen shows how many people are waiting on your lines, in large type ("4 people waiting"), and roughly how long it will take to see them all ("~35 min to clear").

1. Press Call Next. Line Me Up picks the right next person for you — you do not choose.
2. Their card appears at the top: their token in large type (for example 011, with the rest of it, GEN-20261030-, small beside it), their name if they gave one, the line and what they came for, and how long they waited.
3. A message at the bottom of the screen tells you how they will know:
   • "Their token has updated." — they joined from their phone and are watching their ticket, which now says it is their turn.
   • "Their number is on the card." — the desk took a phone number for them; it is shown on the card.
   • "No phone for them — call it out." — nobody can see it on a phone, so say the token out loud (or let a TV display in the waiting area show it).

Who comes next is decided for you: urgent visits first, booked visits inside their time, and, if your desk serves several lines, each line in the share your manager set. People already being served at another desk, and people who have said they are running late, are passed over until they are ready. Urgent visits, priority and order explains the order in full.

Read the customer's card#

While someone is called or being served, their card sits at the top of the screen. It shows:

• The token, large, and beside it the state — Called (amber) or Serving (green) — with a clock counting up. While called, the clock counts from the call; once you press They're here it starts again from when you began serving.
• Their name, if they gave one.
• The line and the service, or simply "walk-in" or "booking" when they did not pick a service.
• A note in quotation marks, if one was added — by the desk that sent them to you, for example.
• "for: …", when this step comes before other services in a longer visit (for example a billing counter seeing "for: X-Ray, MRI").
• Smaller details: which desk sent them ("From Room 12"), a phone number typed in at the desk, how long they waited ("Waited 12 min", or "Waited under a minute"), and whether they are also in another of your business's lines ("Also in Pharmacy · waiting").

When they arrive: They're here#

1. When the person you called reaches your desk, press They're here.
2. The card's ring turns green, the state reads Serving, and the large button becomes Complete.

Under the card you may see a countdown such as "No-show in 4 min unless they arrive". That is your line's waiting time for someone who was called. In the last thirty seconds it turns amber ("No-show in 20s unless they arrive"). If it runs out before you press They're here, the person is marked a no-show for you and your desk is free again.

When they have not come: Call again or No-show#

While someone is called, two smaller buttons sit under They're here: No-show and Call again. They are the two answers to "they have not come".

Call them again#

1. Press Call again.
2. The call goes out once more: their ticket shows it is their turn again, and a TV display in the waiting area shows the call again. Nobody moves in the line.
3. The button changes to say when you did it — for example "Called again · 12:04" — so you can see it worked.

When the card has a "for: …" list, the second button reads More… instead, and Call again is the first thing inside it.

Mark them a no-show#

1. Press No-show.
2. The message "011 (GEN-20261030-011) marked no-show" appears with an Undo button, and your desk is free again.

Finish the visit: Complete#

1. When you have finished serving them, press Complete. Under the word, the button shows who is next — for example "Next up 013" — so you know who you will call.
2. The screen goes straight back to Call Next, and a message such as "011 (GEN-20261030-011) completed" appears with Undo.
3. Press Call Next when you are ready for the next person.

Complete does not call anyone by itself. You stay free until you press Call Next, so you can take a moment between customers.

When the visit has another step#

If your business has set up a process — for example a consultation that leads to the pharmacy, or a cut that is followed by colour — the large button can say where the person goes next, for example Complete → Pharmacy. When there is a choice to make, the button shows the usual answer and the other one sits beside it (or under Other outcomes… when there are several), along with Just complete for when nothing should follow. The message after you press says where they went: "011 (GEN-20261030-011) completed — on to Pharmacy".

If someone this step was "for" no longer needs one of those services, press Not doing one…, then the service, then press it again when it says Tap again to drop …. That service, and any steps after it, are dropped from their visit.

When a step must send the person back to whoever sent them, and that will take a while (a lab result, say), Report ready asks when: Now, In 30 min, In 1 h, In 2 h or Later today. Setting processes up is covered in Processes: visits with several steps.

Undo a press#

Every action on the Workboard happens the moment you press — there is never an "Are you sure?" box. Instead, They're here, Complete, No-show, a send, and End shift each show a message with an Undo button.

1. Press the wrong button.
2. Press Undo in the message at the bottom of the screen within about five seconds.
3. The visit (or your shift) goes back to how it was.

Send someone to another step#

Whoever is serving — including a doctor or a stylist — can finish their part and send the person straight on to the next services, without a trip back to reception. The button is Send to…, under the large button while you are serving.

1. While serving the person, press Send to….
2. A panel opens: Send … to…. It lists the services you can send people to, grouped by line, with how many are waiting on each. Use Find a service to search a long list.
3. Tick each service they need next. Under Their path the panel draws the order they will go in, step by step, as you tick — including which steps happen at the same time.
4. If a step needs a choice from you, pick it where it says Choose for …. You can untick a step on the path to leave it out.
5. Optionally type a Note for the next desk. It is shown on their card at the next desk.
6. Press Complete and send. Your part is completed, they join the next line, and the message reads, for example, "011 (GEN-20261030-011) sent to X-Ray" with Undo.

When someone comes back to you#

If you send someone on and their visit says they should come back to you afterwards, they appear in your Next up list marked Back to you (a clinic sees Review). Each of those rows has its own small menu.

1. Press the menu button on the row.
2. Choose Move up or Move down to change the order of the people returning to you, or Call now to call that person straight away. Call now is only offered while your desk is free.

If a returning person misses their call, they are not lost: the message says "… missed their call — back at the front of your returns", and they wait at the front of your returns again.

Read the Next up list#

Under the buttons, Next up shows the next few people on your lines, in the order they will be called. It is a list to read, not to change: staff cannot reorder it or skip anyone. If more are waiting than fit, a line underneath says how many ("4 more waiting"). When the list is empty while you are serving someone, it says Nobody else waiting.

A row can carry a few short words:

• Priority — a tag for someone who goes ahead of others.
• With another desk — they are being served elsewhere right now, so Call Next will pass over them until they are free.
• Running late · back ~… — they said they would be late; their place is kept.
• Also in … — they are waiting in another of your lines too.
• The line's name, when your desk serves more than one line.

When someone leaves the list, their row stays for a few seconds, fading, and says why: Called by a colleague, Gave up their place or Removed from the line (otherwise just No longer waiting). Nobody simply vanishes.

Respond to an urgent arrival#

When someone marked urgent joins your line, a red strip appears at the top of the Workboard — for example "Above everyone — 014 (GEN-20261030-014) is first in your line." (a clinic sees "Emergency — …") — and the device plays a short chime if the screen is open when they arrive.

1. Finish or hand over what you are doing.
2. Press Call Next. The urgent person is first.
3. Press Seen on the strip to put it away. It returns if another urgent person arrives.

Who can mark someone urgent is explained in Urgent visits, priority and order.

Take a break#

A break keeps your shift and your count of people served, but nobody new is sent to you until you are back. The reason is for your team: the people waiting are never told why. If you are the only desk that can call someone, their wait counts on the time you chose, so give one when you know it. You can take a break while your desk is free — finish with the current person first.

1. While free, press Take a break (under Call Next).
2. A panel slides up. Under Why, choose a reason. Most businesses see Break, Meal, Away and Other; a clinic sees Theatre, Rounds, Emergency call, Meal and Other.
3. Under Back in, choose 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h or Not sure (the starting choice).
4. Press the button at the bottom. It reads Pause, or with a time, for example "Pause · back ~12:30".
5. The Workboard now says, for example, "On a break · back ~12:30" (or "In theatre · back ~12:30") and Nobody new is sent to you until you are back.

To come back:

1. Press Back on shift.
2. Your desk is Free again and Call Next returns.

Say you are running behind#

When a visit overruns and everyone after it will be seen later, you can say so in one press. The waiting times customers see then include the delay. Nobody moves in the line, and no booking changes its time.

1. While on shift, press the status pill in the header (it has a small arrow).
2. A panel opens: Running behind. Choose 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 45 min or 60 min.
3. The panel closes and a message confirms it, for example "15 min behind · 6 people told". The pill now shows the delay, for example "Serving · +15 min".

When you have caught up:

1. Press the status pill again.
2. Press On time again. The message reads, for example, "On time again · 6 people told".

Everyone waiting on your lines, and everyone booked on them today, sees the delay in their waiting time, and each gets one notice about it in the app. If your line has several desks on shift, the delay is shared between them: one desk 30 minutes behind out of two adds about 15 minutes to the line.

End your shift and sign out#

To end your shift:

1. Finish with the current person, so your desk is free.
2. Press End shift (beside Take a break), or open My day · Sign out at the foot of the screen and press End shift there.
3. The message "Shift ended" appears with Undo. The screen then says when your shift ended and how many you served.

To sign out:

1. Press My day · Sign out at the foot of the screen.
2. Press Sign out. Your shift is ended for you first, so nobody is sent to a device that has been put away.

See your day: My day#

The bar at the foot of the Workboard shows your name and how many you have served today. Press it (it ends with My day · Sign out) to open My day, a panel about you and nobody else:

• How many you served, your average time per visit, and the longest wait you cleared.
• Booked in today — the booked visits on your desk's lines, with their times (only for desks whose lines take bookings).
• Open the Waitlist — everyone waiting, booked or done on your lines, to read.
• Served — each person you served, and how long it took.
• Gave up their place — people who left your lines today, and when.
• Your account, Sign out and, while free, End shift.

Register somebody from the desk#

Owners and managers, and staff who have been given the Front desk ability, see an Add visit button (a plus icon) in the Workboard's header. It lets a receptionist add a walk-in without leaving the desk screen — and works even for someone with no desk of their own. The ability is turned on per person on the Team page; see Your team, roles and leave. Staff without it do not see the button. The Front desk ability is included from the Basic plan; owners and managers can add visits on every plan.

Keep going when the connection drops#

Clinic and shop wifi drops. The Workboard is built to carry on through a short drop without losing what you did.

• They're here, Complete and No-show keep working. The screen moves on at once, and an amber strip says, for example, "Reconnecting — 1 change waiting to sync." When the connection returns, the changes are sent and the strip goes.
• Call Next is paused and reads Offline — can't call next, with the reason underneath: Calling someone needs a connection, so two desks can't be given the same person. Call again and Send to… wait for the connection too.
• If nothing is waiting to send, the strip reads Reconnecting — showing the line as it last was.

If your device is off for a while#

If you were serving or had called someone when your device lost its connection, your desk and that person are held for you for ten minutes. A desk with nobody at it goes off shift after a minute or two of silence, so people are not sent to a screen nobody is watching.

If a shared desk was released while you were away, the Workboard says so — "Your desk was released while you were away, at 11:42." — and, while nobody else has taken it, offers a button to take it straight back: Reclaim … with the desk's name.

Use the Workboard with a keyboard or a screen reader#

Every control on the Workboard is an ordinary button, so it works without a mouse or a touch screen:

• Press Tab to move between buttons, and Enter or Space to press one.
• The Next up list can take focus; use the arrow keys to scroll it.
• Every panel (Take a break, Running behind, Send to…, My day) closes with Esc or its Close button.
• A screen reader hears the clock as a sentence, for example "Called for 4 min 39 s", and the status pill as its state and what it opens.

There are no single-key shortcuts on the Workboard.

Other things you may see#

• A closed-day notice. On a date your business has marked closed, a short notice says so. The desk still works — you can still serve anyone who is there.
• A short introduction at the top while you are free: "This is your desk. Press Call Next when you are ready, and the screen walks you through serving them."
• The screen stays awake while you are serving someone, on devices that allow it, so a counter tablet does not go dark mid-visit.
• The version in small type at the very bottom. Tap it to see what changed recently.

Common questions at the desk#

Can I pick who to call?#

Not from the Workboard. Call Next always takes the right next person, so two desks never argue over the same customer. An owner or manager can call a particular person to a desk from the Waitlist — see Running several desks from one device.

The screen says nobody is waiting, but I can see people in the room.#

They may be in a line your desk does not serve, or not yet registered. Check the lines under your desk's name, and ask the front desk to add them.

I pressed Complete on the wrong person.#

Press Undo in the message straight away — it stays for about five seconds.