“Open Sesame” for Chichester College!

As 2023 draws to a close, Chichester College have had a brand new idXtra access control system installed throughout their campus. 

We have replaced their existing system across their campus, so that the premises are much more secure and receiving visitors is more efficient.

The installation was of a Paxton Net2 access control system, linked to the college MIS system in real-time. This means that new learners are added when their card is printed, and any learner that is not currently enrolled in a course within MIS is automatically invalidated and cannot enter the college.

Intrinsic to the system are its links to PaperCut (photocopier and print control system) and to VisiTapp, our flexible visitor management system.  This ensures that learners that wish to enrol onto the new access control system can do so in a self-service manner at the main reception desk. 

All users that had previously enrolled their cards in PaperCut are automatically brought through to the access control system and placed in the appropriate access group.

Thanks Chichester College, we’re glad we could help.

Safeguarding has never been easier with idXtra!

Very smart cards at Caterham School!

We were delighted to be chosen by Caterham School to upgrade and streamline their smart ID card system. 

The brief was to utilise any serviceable aspects of the existing system, updating where necessary and feasible, and to add state-of-the-art solutions to form a modern student, visitor and staff safeguarding solution. 

The project comprised of adding new ID card printing stations, with internal smart card encoding units, to print and program smart ID cards. 

The solution is streamlined and driven by live data from the iSams MIS database.  Upon card issuance, users’ credentials are sent in real-time to the cashless catering system, the visitor management system and the access control system (Paxton Net2).

This minimises the need for staff intervention and maximises security, keeping students safe all throughout the school and the associated Sports Centre. 

Thanks Caterham, we’re glad you “tapped in”!

idXtra at The Security Event 2023!

We had a blast at The Security Event 2023 in Birmingham! It was our first time exhibiting at this event, and we hope to return next year. We made lots of new connections and gave out more idXtra Business Bears!

The two Tony’s!

We had lots of interest in our Visitor Management System, VisiTapp, as it enhances safeguarding and security in any establishment. We can integrate our software with most existing Access Control systems, which makes upgrading to VisiTapp even easier.

To find out more about VisiTapp or to book a remote demo, please click here!

Working hard or hardly working? 🙂

Keep an eye on our blog and Twitter for news of our next event appearances! We hope to see you soon.

idXtra at BETT 2023!

Spring has finally sprung, and this month we were thrilled to exhibit at the BETT Show again, for the first time since the pandemic!

It was great to see so many idXtra customers at our stand, and to meet some new ones too! Thanks to everyone who came and said hello.

Sales Director, Tony Walsh (right) and
Regional Sales Manager, Tony Brock (left)

Our new eye-popping graphics made a feature on our stand, highlighting our five main systems and emphasizing how they can all work together harmoniously.

We’ve got some special show offers on, which apply to VisiTapp, EventPOS and card printer bundles. These are here for a limited time only, so act fast if you’re after a great deal!

A few lucky visitors received a special idXtra ‘Business Bear’ – how cute!

Our next appearance will be at The Security Event 2023, from the 25th – 27th April at the NEC in Birmingham. We hope to see many of you there!

Attendance Tracking Add-On for the NCC Group!

What an exciting time for the NCC! We had previously installed new ID card printers and ID design and printing software for the group, along with our “EventPOS” cashless catering system, and our visitor management solution “VisiTapp” at all campuses.  We also look after the middleware for pushing card records to the access control systems at all campuses (3 different systems).  We were therefore delighted to be asked to install our attendance tracking solution “Ad Hoc Registers”, which is a module of VisiTapp.

In the first instance the system is being used to monitor students’ extra-curricular sessions which are not timetabled in ProSolution, but form part of each learner’s Study Programme, so they need to be recorded. Previous methods consisted of pen and paper, Excel sheets and emails, but they were not consistent. This was leaving a gap in student journeys within the college group, leaving a potential loophole for students to disengage with their studies, or not complete them.

EventMarker consists of simple USB smart card readers plugged into teachers’ laptops.  For any ad hoc or non-timetabled session, the teacher simply creates the event on their laptop and gives it a description and room number.  The learners then simply tap in and their photo is shown on the laptop screen, and they are marked as PRESENT and if they arrive late they are marked as LATE. 

These marks are saved into the EventMarker database and can be reported on as required.  This system evidences all non-timetabled studies (that students are required to do) and provides management information which is invaluable to senior staff.

Thanks NCC Group, we hope you love your latest addition from idXtra!

To find out more about our systems, click on the below links!

Attendance monitoring software, EventMarker

Visitor Management System, VisiTapp

Welcome on board the United Colleges Group!

As it begins to feel like summer at last, we welcome on board a new customer to the idXtra family- the United Colleges Group! We are thrilled to welcome them and we look forward to working closely with them.

We have been chosen by the United Colleges Group to supply their new cashless catering and visitor management systems, alongside some streamlining of ID card issuance and population of the access control system.

We are installing our cashless catering system, EventPOS, at 22 locations across all of the United Colleges Group’s campuses (City of Westminster College and College of North West London). Their upgrade to EventPOS will simplify the issuing of discreet free school meals and bring several disparate systems together as one system, on a single network linked to MIS. 

Our visitor management system, VisiTapp, will enhance the security and safety of their staff, students and visitors, whilst improving their front of house image. Our VMS comes in various forms and it can be customised precisely to suit their specific requirements.

Thank you United Colleges Group, we can’t wait to upgrade you!

To find out more about our systems and services, check out the links below:

New City College group gets major upgrade!

In these summer months as the new school year rapidly approaches, many schools and colleges use this time to get upgrades to their premises.

The New City College group are no different, and this month have decided to get a major upgrade to their systems, and opted for idXtra’s cashless catering and visitor management systems.

The NCC group had our cashless system, EventPOS, installed across their six colleges and ten campuses. They chose EventPOS to manage their cashless catering across its very large estate; the system works perfectly for them as it links to MIS to deliver FSM and other bursaries in real time.

A recent and major upgrade to the EventPOS system is that it now caters for allergies and dietary preferences, meaning the safeguarding of students is greatly enhanced.

Not only did the college group opt for a new cashless system, but they upgraded their visitor management system too! We upgraded and replaced all of their systems to our VMS, VisiTapp, across all of their campuses. VisiTapp is highly efficient and reliable, and can be adapted to meet your specific requirements and preferences.

Lastly, just in time for the enrolment period, we supplied the NCC with ten new ZXP 7 card printers plus eighteen new CardExchange v10 licenses. Our card printers and software are very reliable and easy to operate, plus our printers can be hired on a daily basis!

Big thanks to the New City College group, it was a pleasure installing our systems in your premises!

For further information on our products and services mentioned here, please click on the following links:

The Headteacher magazine – Summer issue

As we enter the summer months, we are pleased to announce that idXtra will feature in the new June / July issue of ‘The Headteacher’ magazine!

We are delighted to be featured in the publication again, which is received by many primary school headteachers, school leaders, SBMs, executive heads and academy chain buyers.

Our feature in this issue focuses on our visitor management system, VisiTapp. We feel VisiTapp in particular would be of interest to primary schools, not just because of GDPR reasons but also for safeguarding and security purposes. These systems are essential as much as they are affordable; they can also really enhance the look and feel of the school’s front-of-house reception area.

VisiTapp is highly reliable, flexible and affordable, and is more efficient than the much-hyped leading brands. For more info on our VMS, visit idxtra.com/new-visitapp, and for a free demo or quotation, email info@idxtra.com or call 0800 083 6053.

Get your latest copy of ‘The Headteacher’ magazine (Volume 5, Issue 5) on June 25th.

Welcome New Customers!

In recent weeks, we have had the pleasure of welcoming some new customers to the idXtra family! We are delighted to welcome the following establishments on board:

  • Hartlepool College of Further Education – EventPOS Cashless Catering
  • Derwentside College – EventPOS Cashless Catering
  • Warley Primary School – VisiTapp Visitor Management System
  • Colchester Sixth Form College – EventPOS Cashless Catering

Our cashless catering system, EventPOS, is proving to be very popular at the moment. Now is a great time to invest in a cashless system, as it would be installed during the summer months, so it would be ready just in time for the start of the new academic year!

Bicester School, who have been an idXtra customer for a few years, have recently upgraded to our cashless catering system too.

Benefits of using a cashless system include:

  • Allergen tracking for students (the system records allergies and dietary requirements for all students, and alerts you if a student selects an unsuitable product)
  • Improved customer throughput and reduced queueing
  • Minimised cash handling
  • Improved reporting
  • Easy managing of payments (option to top-up cards online or with cash at a kiosk)
  • Built-in bursary function with discrete FSM feature
  • Ability for parents to view their child’s meal purchase history

For more info about our cashless catering system, EventPOS, please visit idxtra.com/new-eventpos.

For more info about its allergen tracking function specifically, please check out our blog post from February here.

For a free demo or quotation, please email info@idxtra.com or call 0800 083 6053!