Attendance registers and shared biometric devices were built for one office with one entrance. Today teams work across branches, construction sites, client locations and the road. A geo-fencing attendance app lets each employee mark attendance on their own phone - but only when they are actually at an approved location, and only after their face is verified. This guide explains how it works and how to roll it out.
The problem with registers and shared biometric devices
- Proxy attendance: a colleague signs or punches for someone who is late or absent.
- No coverage for field staff: sales, service and site teams never pass the office device, so their attendance is a phone call or an honour system.
- Devices fail: fingerprint readers struggle with dusty or worn fingers and need maintenance at every site.
- Manual consolidation: HR collects data from several sources before payroll can even start.
How geo-fencing works - sites, radius and exceptions
A geo-fence is a virtual boundary drawn around a location on the map. In Netmore's attendance app you:
- Add each office, branch or site with its location and a radius (for example 100 metres for an office, more for a large plant).
- Assign employees to one or more sites - a supervisor can belong to several.
- Set rules: punch allowed only inside the fence, or allowed outside with a reason that needs approval.
When an employee taps Punch In, the app checks the phone's GPS position against their assigned fences. Inside the fence, the punch is recorded with time and location. Outside, it is blocked or flagged, according to your rule.
Face match to stop proxy attendance
Location alone does not prove who is holding the phone. Face verification does: at each punch the app captures a selfie and matches it against the employee's registered face. A punch from the right place by the wrong person is rejected. Together, geo-fencing and face match answer the two questions that matter - who marked attendance and where.
Field visits with GPS proof
For sales and service staff, attendance is only half the picture. Visit logging lets them check in at each customer location with time, GPS position, photos and notes. Managers see the day's route and visits without a phone call, and reimbursement of travel claims can be based on actual visits.
From punch to payroll: attendance, leave and overtime
Because the app is part of the Netmore HRMS, attendance does not need to be exported anywhere. Punches are matched to shifts, late-coming and early-going rules apply, approved leave fills the gaps, and overtime is calculated per your policy. At month end, payroll reads the finalised attendance directly - the step that used to take days now takes minutes.
Rolling it out to staff in a week
- Day 1-2: add sites and geo-fences; import employees and assign them to sites and shifts.
- Day 3: employees install the Android app (iPhone users use the mobile browser) and register their face once.
- Day 4-5: run alongside your current method; fix fence radius or rules where genuine punches were flagged.
- Day 6-7: switch over, and share a one-page guide for new joiners.
Explain the purpose to staff clearly: location is checked only at the moment of punching, not tracked all day. That transparency is what makes adoption smooth.
Frequently asked questions
Does a geo-fencing attendance app track employees all the time?
No. Location is checked when the employee punches in or out, and during visit check-ins if you enable visit logging. It is not continuous tracking.
Can employees mark attendance on iPhone?
Yes. The Android app is available for Android phones, and iPhone users mark attendance through the smartphone browser with the same geo-fence and face checks.
What if a genuine employee is just outside the geo-fence?
You choose the rule: block the punch, or allow it with a reason that goes to the manager for approval. Fence radius can be adjusted per site.
Does it work without internet?
A connection is needed to verify and record the punch. In low-network areas, set slightly larger fences and allow approval-based exceptions.