Attendance Punches & Geofencing
The HR module records employee attendance as a series of punches (a check-in or a check-out). Punches can be recorded by the employee from the mobile app or the web, or entered by an HR administrator on behalf of an employee. This page explains how punches work, how geofencing validates the punch location, and how to configure the rules.
At a glance​
fa-clock-o | Employee opens punch screen | Someone marks "I am here!" for attendance.
fa-file-text-o | Platform asks next action | Here is what happens at this step.
fa-map-marker | Capture selfie and GPS | Here is what happens at this step.
fa-map-marker | Geofencing enabled? | We check they are at the right place on the map.
fa-clock-o | Record punch | Someone marks "I am here!" for attendance.
fa-circle-o | Within nearest radius? | Here is what happens at this step.
fa-circle-o | Enforced for this action? | Here is what happens at this step.
fa-times | Punch blocked, show distance | Someone marks "I am here!" for attendance.
fa-file-text-o | Roll up into daily summary | Here is what happens at this step.
How Punches Work​
Each punch stores the action (checkin or checkout), a timestamp, the employee, the
assigning authority (site) the punch belongs to, and — when the device provides it — a
selfie image and a GPS location. Punches are written to a dedicated attendance store
and roll up into the employee's daily attendance summary at the end of the day.
Employees punch from a screen that first asks the platform what the next expected action is (check-in if they are currently out, check-out if they are currently in), so they never have to guess whether they are punching in or out.
Geofencing​
Geofencing restricts where a valid punch can be recorded. When enabled, the platform measures the employee's GPS coordinates against a set of reference locations and rejects punches taken too far away.
Combined reference locations​
The reference set a punch is measured against is the combination of:
- The employee's own site location — if the site (assigning authority) carries latitude/longitude coordinates, the site is used as a reference point with its own radius setting (default 200 metres).
- Every allowed location configured on the HR Config under the allowed locations list, each with its own radius setting (default 200 metres).
The platform takes the nearest reference point. A punch is inside the fence if the employee is within that location's radius, and outside otherwise.
info
If geofencing is enabled but there is no site coordinate and no configured allowed location, there is nothing to measure against — the punch is accepted and its geofence status is left unevaluated rather than wrongly rejected.
Enforcement​
Being outside the fence only blocks a punch when enforcement is turned on for that action:
- enforce-on-check-in (default enabled) — block check-ins taken outside the fence.
- enforce-on-check-out (default disabled) — block check-outs taken outside the fence.
When a punch is blocked, the employee is told how far away they are from the nearest
allowed location. The recorded geofence status of each accepted punch (inside,
outside, or not_checked) is visible in the Attendance Details view.
Leave override​
If an employee has an approved leave whose leave type permits punching, an accepted punch on that day is flagged as an on-leave override: geofence enforcement is bypassed for the punch and the end-of-day job treats the day as worked rather than as leave.
Setting Allowed Locations with "Use Current Location"​
On the HR Config screen, each allowed-location row has Latitude, Longitude and Radius (m) fields. To make entering coordinates easy, every row provides:
- Use Current Location — captures the device's current GPS position and fills the latitude and longitude for that row. While capturing, the button shows Fetching location...
- Choose on Map — opens an inline map so you can drop the point visually.
This lets an administrator standing at the site simply press Use Current Location to register the punch location accurately instead of typing coordinates by hand.
Minimum Working Hours​
The platform converts the day's punches into a Present / Half-Day / Absent status using the minimum-working-hours thresholds (expressed in minutes):
- The minimum hours for a full day — minutes required for a full day (default 480, i.e. 8 hours).
- The minimum hours for a half day — minutes required for a half day (default 240, i.e. 4 hours).
On the HR Config screen these appear as Min Working Hours for Full Day (minutes) and Min Working Hours for Half Day (minutes).
tip
Because the thresholds are stored in minutes, enter 480 for an 8-hour day rather than 8. Related rules on the same record include the maximum overtime minutes per day, auto-checkout after minutes, late mark threshold, and weekly off days.