Configure Geo Fencing for Mobile Attendance

Once Geo Fencing is activated for an organization, administrators can define the allowed geographic locations from where employees are permitted to mark mobile attendance. This article covers the step by step configuration on the Geo Fencing page.

This article is meant for administrators who have Geo Fencing activated for their organization and are ready to configure the allowed locations.

When to Use Geo Fencing

Geo Fencing is useful for restricting mobile attendance to office premises, branches, client sites, and field team hubs. It works well for organizations that want to ensure attendance is marked only from genuine work locations. For a detailed list of use cases and scenarios, refer to Geo Fencing Overview.

Step by Step Instructions

Navigation Path: Control Panel > Settings > Attendance > Configure Attendance

Scroll to the Mobile Attendance section on the Configure Attendance page and click the Configure Geo Fencing link. This opens the Geo Fencing configuration page, where all the setup happens.

On the Geo Fencing configuration page, follow the steps below in order.

Step 1: Enable Geo Fencing

At the top of the page, tick the Enable Geo Fencing checkbox. Once enabled, the fields below become active and you can start defining allowed locations.

Step 2: Add an Allowed Location

Fill in the details for each location where mobile attendance should be permitted:

1. Title (mandatory): A short, unique label for the location, such as "Head Office" or "Client Site Delhi".
2. Description (optional): Additional context about the location, if needed.
3. Address: The full address of the location.
4. Latitude: The geographic latitude coordinate, entered as a decimal number. It is recommended to use at least 7 decimal digits for accuracy. The system supports up to 14 decimal digits, and more decimal digits give a more precise boundary.
5. Longitude: The geographic longitude coordinate, entered as a decimal number. Same recommendation applies. At least 7 decimal digits are recommended, and up to 14 are supported.
6. Radius (meters): The permitted area around the coordinates within which employees can mark attendance.

On choosing the right radius: The radius depends on two things: the size of the physical location, and the GPS quality of the mobile phones your employees use.

1. Employees with newer phones and reliable GPS can work with a smaller radius, since their location accuracy is better.
2. Employees with older phones or weaker GPS may need a larger radius, since GPS drift can otherwise cause valid punches to fail.

A large corporate campus may need a wider radius to cover the full premises. A single office room or client site may work with a tighter radius. Test the setup with a few employees before rolling it out widely.

If you want to swap the latitude and longitude values after entry, click the swap icon between the two fields, and the coordinates will be exchanged.

Step 3: Save the Location

After entering the details, click Save. The location appears in the Allowed Co-ordinates table just below the form, showing the Title, Address, Latitude, Longitude, Radius, and last updated timestamp.

Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 to add as many locations as needed. There is no restriction on the number of locations that can be defined.

Step 4: Edit or Remove a Location

Each location in the Allowed Co-ordinates table has an Actions column with icons for editing and deleting.

1. To edit a location, click the edit icon in the Actions column for the row, update the fields, and click Save.
2. To remove a location, click the delete icon in the Actions column for the row, and confirm the deletion in the prompt that appears.

Once a location is removed, employees will no longer be able to mark attendance from that location, unless another allowed location covers the same coordinates.

Reviewing Employee Requested Coordinates

Employees who try to punch from an unlisted location can request that it be added through the mobile app. Requests appear on the Requested Coordinates page, accessible via the button of the same name on the Geo Fencing configuration page. For details on how to review and act on these requests, refer to How to Retrieve Geo Coordinates for Geo Fencing Setup.

Best Practices

1. Verify coordinates before saving. Cross check the latitude and longitude on Google Maps to ensure the boundary sits exactly where intended.
2. Use meaningful titles. Descriptive titles like "Mumbai Branch" or "Client Site Bengaluru" make it easier to review and manage locations, especially when the list grows.
3. Communicate boundary changes to employees. When a new location is added or an existing one is removed, inform the affected employees so they know where they can and cannot punch from.
4. Review radius carefully. Too small a radius may cause valid punches to fail due to GPS accuracy limits. Too large a radius may allow punches from unintended nearby areas.

Related Configurations

1. Geo Fencing Overview. Understand what Geo Fencing is, how it works, and how to get it enabled. Refer to Geo Fencing Overview.
2. Set Up Mobile Based Attendance. Geo Fencing works only when Mobile Based Attendance is enabled. Refer to Set Up Mobile Based Attendance.
3. How to Retrieve Geo Coordinates for Geo Fencing Setup. Learn different ways to obtain accurate coordinates for your locations. Refer to How to Retrieve Geo Coordinates for Geo Fencing Setup.

Where It Reflects

Once Geo Fencing is configured:

1. Employees who are allowed to use Mobile Based Attendance can punch through the mobile app only from within any of the defined allowed locations. Punches from outside all boundaries are blocked with an error message.
2. Employees who are not allowed to use Mobile Based Attendance (either because the channel is disabled at the company level, or because they do not have a Mobile exception) are not affected by Geo Fencing. Their attendance continues to work through their allowed channels (Web or Biometric).
3. Every accepted mobile punch continues to be Geo Tagged with the exact latitude and longitude, which remains visible in the attendance record for HR and managers.
4. All configured locations are visible on the Geo Fencing configuration page for review, edit, or removal.

Important Notes

1. Geo Fencing applies only to Mobile Based Attendance punches. It has no effect on Web Attendance, Biometric Attendance, or on employees who cannot use the mobile app for attendance.
2. Geo Fencing must be enabled through the checkbox on this page. Without enabling, any configured locations will not be applied.
3. Changes to allowed locations take effect immediately after saving. In some cases, the affected employee may need to log out and log back in for the changes to reflect in the mobile app.
4. If an employee's mobile GPS is turned off or has poor accuracy, punches may fail or be inaccurate. Employees should keep GPS enabled and be in areas with clear signal for reliable Geo Fencing behavior.