Overview

Users with employee or supervisor level access can be allowed to clock in or clock out from anywhere, or you can limit where they are allowed to clock in or clock out based on where they’re physically located.

You might want to set up location-based restrictions to increase accountability and make sure people are clocking in and clocking out from where they’re scheduled to work.

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

How location-based clock-in restrictions work

Location-based restrictions determine where employees and supervisors need to be in order to clock in or clock out. They can be applied to mobile app and personal computer clock ins and clock outs.

Mobile app

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

• If a user is within the radius, they’re able to clock in or clock out.
• If a user is outside the radius, they’re prevented from clocking in or clocking out.

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

Personal computer

When location-based restrictions are enabled, When I Work verifies that employees and supervisors are clocking in or clocking out from their scheduled location by checking their web browser’s geolocation services or 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 a user’s web browser location matches their scheduled location or is connected to the IP address set for their scheduled location, they’re able to clock in or clock out.
• If a user’s web browser location does not match their scheduled location or is disabled and isn’t connected to the IP address set for their scheduled location, they’re prevented from clocking in or clocking out.

Considerations

• Users with admin and manager level access can clock themselves or other users in from any location regardless of the attendance settings.
• Location-based restrictions can be applied to the When I Work mobile app and personal computer clock in / clock out methods.
• Location-based restrictions do not apply to time clock terminals.
• Schedules and job sites need validated addresses to make location-based restrictions work.
  • If a job site lacks any address, the schedule address is used for location-based restrictions.
  • If both job site and schedule lack any address, location-based restrictions are not implemented.

Enable location-based restrictions

1. Hover over , then select  Attendance Settings.

2. Under Clock In With Mobile App or Clock In With Personal Computer, check the Clock In box to enable clock in restrictions. Check the Clock Out box to enable clock out restrictions.
3. In How Close Must Employees and Supervisors Be to the Scheduled Location?, enter how close employees and supervisors must be to the address (in meters) in order to clock in or clock out.
   • The minimum radius allowed is 100 meters.
   • If employees and supervisors are having trouble clocking in or clocking out, try entering a larger number to extend the radius around the address. For more information, check out Troubleshooting Mobile Time Clocks.
4. When you’re finished, click Save in the top-right corner of the screen.

Prepare your schedules

When I Work uses the physical addresses for your schedules to make sure employees and supervisors 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. Hover over , then select  Schedules.

2. Click that corresponds with a schedule.
3. In the Location 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 and supervisors 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 and supervisors 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.

Prepare your job sites

When I Work uses the physical address for your job sites to make sure employees and supervisors 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. Hover over , then select  Job Sites.

2. Click that corresponds with a job site.
3. In the Location 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 and supervisors 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.

Frequently asked questions

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

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

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

When I Work captures the user’s location upon clock in and clock out if location restrictions are enabled. User’s 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 users to clock in and out.