When you enable the virtual time clock for time tracking, employees can record their working time via the virtual time clock in their user account in Timebutler. Because Timebutler also runs on smartphones, employees could start the virtual time clock from home or on the way to work.
This creates a desire to restrict clocking in to certain locations or IP addresses — known as geofencing.
Restrict access to IP addresses
An admin can restrict access to specific IP addresses. This can help ensure that employees can only use the virtual time clock when they are on the corporate network.
Note that this completely blocks access to Timebutler from outside the corporate network. Employees would then be unable to, for example, request vacation from home or check colleagues’ absence status for the following day.
There are further ways to restrict access specifically to the virtual time clock:
Geofencing via location data
Geofencing based on employees’ location data is technically and legally problematic: for data protection reasons, employers may not monitor or collect employees’ location data without further justification.
There are also several technical drawbacks. Some employees may not have a smartphone or a device with GPS, or may have disabled or blocked GPS. GPS location is also easy to manipulate — employees can download free fake GPS apps from Google Play or the Apple App Store to set any location they choose.
Timebutler intentionally does not offer geofencing via location data, to protect companies from legal consequences and because it does not provide reliable security. The following alternatives are available instead:
Alternatives
Spot checks When you sign in to Timebutler as an admin, the top of the home page shows virtual time clock information — which time clocks are running, idle, or paused. Click it to open the time clock status view, where you can see each employee’s start time for the currently running time clock. Running spot checks here to identify employees who have already started the clock but are not yet in the office lets you address those individuals directly. Often a single conversation is enough to resolve the issue permanently.
Time tracking terminal You can enable the Timebutler time tracking terminal on a tablet and place the tablet at the office entrance, then configure it so that the virtual time clock can only be started (or stopped) at the time tracking terminal. This ensures employees are in the office when they start recording time.
For field staff or employees working from home, you can still allow clocking via the virtual time clock in their user account.
Read here how to allow only the time tracking terminal for specific employees.
Restriction to IP addresses An admin can restrict access to specific IP addresses. Note that this restricts all Timebutler functions to that IP range, not just the virtual time clock.