How Tally texts work, and how you say yes or no
Tally is a construction-site sign-in and safety system. The only text messages it sends are safety notifications to workers who are signed in on a site right now. There is no marketing, no promotions, and no messages to anyone who has not given their number at a gate. Last updated 30 July 2026.
Who sends these messages
TALLY SITE SYSTEMS (Alberta Registration No. TN28376846 · CRA Business No. 798749644) operates Tally on behalf of the construction company running each site. A message identifies itself as Tally and names the site or company it concerns.
How a worker opts in
A worker signs in at a construction site by scanning the QR code on the site's gate poster with their own phone, which opens that site's sign-in page at app.sitetally.ca. The sign-in form has a field labelled “Your phone”.
The phone field is optional and it is blank by default. A worker opts in by typing their own mobile number into it and submitting the sign-in form. That single act is the consent: on the same screen, directly under the field, the form states —
Adding your number lets this site text you: a reminder if you forget to sign out, lone-worker check-ins if you work alone, and evacuation alerts. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.
A worker who leaves the field empty still signs in normally and simply receives no texts. Nobody is signed up by a supervisor, by an office, or from an uploaded list; the number is typed by the worker on their own phone, at the gate, for the site they are entering. Consent is recorded with the sign-in record — the site, the date and the time it was given.
Sites that require a phone number
A site can be set to require an answer for the phone field, so that a worker cannot finish signing in without either giving a number or tapping “I have no cell phone”. Supervisors turn this on for their own site when they need a roll call they can act on; no worker is ever prevented from signing in, because the “no cell phone” answer always works.
A number given on a site that requires one is not treated as consent to text messages, and the sentence quoted above is not shown there. The form says instead that the site needs a number for the roll call, so a supervisor can reach the worker in an evacuation or if they are working alone. Each sign-in record stores which of the two situations it was collected under, and numbers collected under a requirement are excluded from the routine messages — the sign-out reminder and the lone-worker check-in.
The one exception is an evacuation: if a site raises a muster, the alert goes to every phone number on site at that moment. A worker standing in a building being evacuated is texted whether or not their number was volunteered.
Emergency-contact numbers collected on the same form exist so a person can phone them if the worker is hurt. Tally does not send text messages to emergency contacts. If a worker who declared they were working alone stops answering safety check-ins, the alert goes to the site’s supervisors, who decide who to call.
The opt-in screen
These are the two screens a worker actually passes through, captured from a live construction site. Each site’s page opens from the QR code on that site’s gate poster, so it is not a public address that can be browsed to without a site code. Click either image to open it full size.
What messages are sent
- Sign-out reminder — when someone is still shown on site well after their shift, so the site's headcount is accurate and nobody is recorded as present overnight. Example: “Reply OUT to sign out, or ignore if still working.”
- Lone-worker check-in — when a worker has declared they are working alone, Tally asks them to confirm they are OK on the interval they chose, and escalates to their supervisor if they do not answer. Example: “Tally: check-in due at [company]. Reply OK or tap ‘I'm OK’ on the sign-in page.”
- Muster / evacuation alert — sent to everyone signed in at that site when a supervisor starts an evacuation or a drill. Example: “Tally EMERGENCY - MUSTER at [site name]. STOP WORK and go to the muster point NOW.” A drill always says it is a drill.
That is the complete list. Tally does not send marketing, offers, surveys, or messages on behalf of any third party, and worker numbers are never sold, rented or shared for anyone else's messaging.
How often
Message frequency varies. Most workers receive none in a normal week. Messages are driven by events on a site — a missed sign-out, a lone-worker check-in interval a worker set themselves, or an evacuation — not by a schedule. A worker who has declared lone-worker status receives check-ins for as long as that shift lasts. Message and data rates may apply.
How to stop them
Reply STOP to any message to opt out. Opt-outs are honoured by the carrier immediately and no further messages are sent to that number. A worker can also simply clear the phone number the next time they sign in, or ask the site supervisor to remove it.
Opting out means safety alerts stop too — including evacuation messages. That is the trade-off, and it is why the reminder texts are kept as few as they are. A worker who has opted out still sees muster alerts on the sign-in page itself if they have it open on their phone.
Reply HELP to any message for help, or contact support@sitetally.ca. The reply to HELP is: “Tally Site Systems site-safety alerts. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out. Support: support@sitetally.ca”
Privacy
A phone number given at a gate is used to send the messages above and for nothing else. Numbers on sign-in records are automatically anonymised after two years. The full policy is at sitetally.ca/privacy.
Questions about messages from Tally: support@sitetally.ca.