Overview

In When I Work, employees can be allowed to clock in from anywhere, or you can limit where employees are allowed to clock in based on where they’re physically located. You might want to set up location-based restrictions to increase accountability and make sure employees are clocking in from where they’re scheduled to work.

If you need to set up time-based clock-in restrictions, check out Restricting When Employees Can Clock In.

How location-based clock-in restrictions work

Location-based restrictions determine where employees need to be in order to clock in; they can be applied to mobile app and personal computer clock ins.

Mobile app

When location-based restrictions are enabled, you can set how close employees must be to their scheduled location to clock in. The distance you set creates a radius around a schedule or job site’s address. When I Work uses the GPS signal on employees’ phones to determine where they’re located when they try to clock in:

• If an employee is within the radius, they’re able to clock in.
• If an employee is outside the radius, they’re prevented from clocking in.

Depending on the type of business you’re running and where it is located, you might want to set up a smaller or larger clock-in restriction. For example:

Personal computer

When location-based restrictions are enabled, When I Work verifies that employees are clocking in from their scheduled location by checking the IP address of their internet connection. An IP address is similar to what your house number is on your street, but to your internet connection.

• If an employee is connected to the IP address set for their scheduled location, they’re able to clock in.
• If an employee isn’t connected to the IP address set for their scheduled location, they’re prevented from clocking in.

Things to know before you begin

• Location-based restrictions do not apply when employees clock out.
• Location-based restrictions do not apply to time clock terminals.
• Schedules and job sites need addresses to make location-based restrictions work.
• Managers and account holders can clock themselves or employees in from any location regardless of attendance settings.

Step 1: Prepare your schedules

When I Work uses the physical addresses for your schedules to make sure employees clock in for shifts from the correct place.

Perform these steps for each of your schedules to make sure that clocking in works correctly:

1. In the top-right corner of the page, hover over Gear menu, then select Schedules.
2. Click a schedule to edit it.
3. In the Address field, start typing the schedule’s physical address, then select the address from the list.After you select an address, make sure the map displays a pin in the correct location.
   • If your employees need to clock in from a location that doesn’t match a mailing address, you can enter latitude and longitude coordinates from Google Maps.
4. If you allow employees to clock in using their personal computers, enter your IP address in the IP Address field.
   • If you’re currently at the schedule location, click  to set the IP address automatically.
   • If you’re not at the schedule location, have a user at the location click here to gather their IP Address.
5. Click Save Schedule.

Step 2: Prepare your job sites

If you do not use job sites, skip this step.

When I Work uses the physical address for your job sites to make sure employees clock in for shifts from the correct location.

Perform these steps for each of your job sites to make sure that clocking in works correctly:

1. In the top-right corner of the page, hover over Gear menu, then select Job Sites.
2. Click a job site to edit it.
3. In the Address field, start typing the job site’s physical address, then select the address from the list.
   
   • After you select an address, make sure the map displays a pin in the correct location.
   • If your employees need to clock in from a job site that doesn’t match a mailing address, you can enter latitude and longitude coordinates from Google Maps.
4. Click Save Job Site.

Step 3: Enable location restrictions

1. Go to App Settings.
2. From the menu on the left side of the screen, click Attendance.
3. Under Clock In With Mobile App, check the Employees Must Be Near Location to Clock In box.
   If you don’t allow mobile clock-ins but need to change how close employees must be in order to clock in, temporarily enable mobile clock-ins to change the distance, then disable the setting.
   
4. In How Close Must Employees Be to the Scheduled Location or Job Site to Clock In, configure how close employees must be to the address (in meters) in order to clock in.
   • The minimum radius allowed is 100 meters.
   • If employees are having trouble clocking in, try entering a larger number to extend the radius around the address. For more information, check out Troubleshooting Mobile Time Clocks.
5. When you’re finished, click Save in the top-right corner of the screen.

FAQ

Will employees be automatically clocked in and out when they arrive and leave the scheduled location?

Employees will not be clocked in and out automatically when they are at or leave the scheduled location. The employee must clock in and out using one of the time clock methods.

Does When I Work track employee’s location throughout their shift?

When I Work captures the employees location upon clock in and clock out if location restrictions are enabled. Employees’ locations are not gathered throughout their shift.

Can I set the clock in radius to less than 100 meters?

On average, geolocation is only accurate down to 100 meters. If you require your users to clock in at a specific location at your workplace, try setting up a time clock terminal for employees to clock in and out.