The Timesheet Mobile smartphone app for iPhone and Android can now automatically punch your workers in and out of jobs, when they enter and leave designated geofence locations.
There are 4 options for Autopunch:
- Off
- Auto
- Scheduled
- Work Day AutoPunch
1. Off
With this option, Autopunch is disabled, and workers will have to manually punch in and out, when entering and leaving a geofence. Use Punch Prompt to remind workers to punch in and out.
2. Auto
With this option, the employee will be automatically punched in on the app, when entering the geofence at any assigned location and punched out when they leave, during specified working hours. See Assigning Jobs and Tasks and Services.
In the image above, make note of the selection, Geofence Autopunch, which is set to "Auto" and Workday
Start Time and Workday End Time, which is set to "9 am and 5 pm". Autopunch will be active within the time interval that is set here.
3. Scheduled
If a worker is scheduled at a geofence location, they will be automatically punched in, when entering the job location and automatically punched out when leaving, without needing to take any further action. Geofence Autopunch works in conjunction with your worker's schedule to automate the punching in and out process. To learn more about Timesheet Mobile scheduling, see How-to-create-work-schedules.
Once a worker's schedule has been set, and their smartphone app synced with their list of geofence locations, the worker will be automatically punched in when arriving at the geofence location, and punched out when they leave. In conjunction with the travel time feature (see Travel-Time), an employee's full workday and timesheets will be automatically filled out! Keep reading for a couple of simple examples of how Geofence Autopunch can be used for different workflows.
Example 1 - Simple Non-overlapping Scheduled Jobs
As a simple example of sequential non-overlapping schedules, let's look at one workday for the worker, Anthony Jones, in the Timesheet Mobile Demo account. Anthony is scheduled for three different jobs in one day as shown below.
As Anthony enters and departs the various geofence locations during the day, he will be automatically punched in when arriving within the scheduled times, as shown in the image below. After being punched in, Anthony will automatically be punched out when leaving the job geofence area. This automatic punch out can occur before the end of the shift, if he leaves early, or after the end of the shift, if he stays at the location longer. Anthony can also punch out manually, if work stops for any reason, like if he needs to
- enter notes
- complete a checklist (see Global-Job-Checklists)
- add a signature or image to the shift (see Get-signatures-and-attach-photos-to-shifts)
- perform other steps that require manual interaction with the Timesheet Mobile smartphone app
If travel time between locations is paid, using the Travel Time feature (see Travel-Time) will automatically add this time to either the current location, next location, or a fixed travel code.
Example 2 - Overlapping Schedules
If the workflow for your company does not lend itself to such rigid schedules, using overlapping scheduling provides the flexibility for your workers to be automatically punched in and out, without needing to arrive in a narrowly timed window or arrive at jobs in any particular order. Consider the schedule for Marie Smith in the Timesheet Mobile Demo account below.
In the example above, Marie Smith has two jobs scheduled for the morning from 8 AM - 1 PM and two for the afternoon from 11 AM - 5 PM. Marie will be automatically punched in at either of the morning jobs, if she arrives from 8 AM - 1 PM, and either of the afternoon jobs, if she arrives between 11 AM - 5 PM. The schedule overlap also allows for her to finish her morning jobs before noon and still be punched into the afternoon jobs when she arrives. As in the case with non-overlapping schedules, Marie will be automatically punched out when leaving the location and punched in when arriving at the next location.
As you can see, Timesheet Mobile's scheduling is very flexible and can be used to create a number of workflows to meet the needs of your company. Timesheet Mobile customer support can help you get your account configured to best match your company's workflow.
Allowing Early Punch In
Using the "Early Punch In Window" setting, workers can be allowed to punch in, up to 20 minutes early, when arriving at the workplace. Customers, whose workers need to arrive early at the job location, to do preparatory work, find this setting particularly useful.
Workers arriving late, but still within the scheduled window, will be automatically punched in and a missed schedule alert will be triggered, if they punch in more than 15 minutes late or not at all. Keep in mind, that if the worker's phone is not connected to data (3G/LTE or WiFi), they will still be punched in, but your administrators and managers will not be able to see those punches until the app can connect with your Timesheet Mobile server.
4. Work Day AutoPunch
The Timesheet Mobile smartphone app version 29.0 (and later) supports an additional autopunch setting useful in workflows that involve workers arriving at a central geofence location at the beginning and end of the day. When selected, the Work Day option will automatically start the clock when workers arrive at the first geofence location of the day - typically a central office, warehouse or other common location. Workers will remain clocked in while at the location and will also remain clocked in if they leave the location during scheduled working hours.
Work time will be stopped when the worker leaves at the end of the day, defined by the "Work Day Timings" setting (1). A time window is configurable to allow workers to leave earlier than the designated "Work Day Timing" stop time (2).
For example, in the settings shown above, work time will start when the worker arrives at the first geofence location, that they are assigned to, between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. The worker will remain punched in and working throughout the day, even if they leave the location, as long as they do not leave after 4:45 PM (5:00 PM minus the 15 minute window). Work time will automatically stop, when the worker leaves the geofence anytime after 4:45 PM, based on the "End of Day" setting and the 15 minute window, defined before the end of the work day.
Inserting Travel Time
Since workers, who are set up to be automatically punched in and out of jobs, based on geofences, will be punched out when leaving those geofences, Timesheet Mobile has also implemented a travel/commute feature to allow the travel time and estimated mileage between job locations to be automatically captured. This feature is described in more detail here (see Travel-Time).
Setting up Geofence Autopunch
Enabling Geofence Autopunch is set in the worker Control Panel =>Punch Settings menu, if you are using "Per Employee" app settings (see Customize-App-Settings-by-Employee). Once set to "On", workers will be notified to sync their Timesheet Mobile smartphone apps and will be able to be automatically punched in and out, once scheduled events are added to their calendars. See below for the settings page.
Viewing Geofence Autopunch Entries
Time entries created automatically by the Timesheet Mobile smartphone app are clearly marked in the Activity Log for review by your administrators and managers as shown below.
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