Geofence time clock

Know every punch happened on site, or know why it didn't

Appello's time clock checks every clock-in and clock-out against a circle drawn around the job. Inside the circle, the worker's location is verified and the shift starts. Outside it, the punch still goes through, but the worker has to type a reason and the office sees it flagged before anyone approves the hours. It is built for foremen and crews on insulation, mechanical and sheet-metal jobs, and it is live today in the Appello mobile app.

LiveLive in Appello today·Part of Timesheets & Workforce Admin

See it on a demo How it works

Clocking in from outside the job's geofence: the reason is required before the punch submits. Illustrative data.

Geofence time clock: how it works

Draw the fence once per job

Every job gets a radius around its site address. Turn on geofencing and set a company default — 500 metres unless you change it, as tight as 25 metres — and override it on any job that needs a bigger or smaller circle. US shops can work in feet.

Check the phone at the punch

When a worker taps Clock In, the app compares the phone's location with the job's circle and shows both on a small map. Inside, the location is verified. Outside, the punch is marked for review and a reason is required before it submits. Clock-out runs the same check.

Tell the people who need to know

Each job keeps its own list of who hears about a clock-in outside the fence, a worker arriving on site and a worker leaving it. Site supervisors are added automatically. With location tracking on, Appello records the worker's position during the shift, at least every 10 minutes and whenever they move, filters out GPS jumps and only alerts on a real change.

Review it where you approve time

The Clock In / Out report shows a green check or red X on each punch, the worker's reason on hover and a map of the punch against the fence. Filter to punches outside the geofence, adjust times, approve, and the hours land on the timesheet. If someone forgets to clock out, the office sets the time and the worker is told they were clocked out.

A normal week with it

Monday, 6:55 a.m.
The crew clocks in from the phone at the job. Everyone inside the circle is verified. The foreman parked across the road types a one-line reason and gets to work.
Wednesday afternoon
A worker leaves site mid-shift. The site supervisor gets the alert while it matters, not when the timesheet comes in.
Friday
The office filters the Clock In / Out report to punches outside the geofence, reads the reasons, closes the one missed clock-out and approves the week.

What the time clock costs without a geofence

Paper sheets and plain punch apps record what someone entered, not where they were. The office finds out on Friday, if it finds out at all.

Hours get approved for shifts that started in the yard or the parking lot.
A dispute about who was on site becomes one person's word against another's.
Supervisors hear that someone left early from the general contractor, not from their own system.
Missed clock-outs sit open until someone spots a sixteen-hour day on the timesheet.

Geofence time clock: common questions

Does Appello stop a worker from clocking in outside the fence?

No. Appello's geofence does not block a clock-in outside the circle. Trucks park down the street and GPS drifts, so the punch goes through, but the worker must type a reason and the punch is flagged for the office to review before the hours are approved. Clock-out runs the same check. Geofencing is off until you turn it on.

Does Appello track workers after they clock out?

No. Appello only records location against an open shift, and refuses location updates for a shift that has been clocked out. During the shift, with location tracking on, it records the worker's position at least every 10 minutes and whenever they move. Location tracking during the shift is a company setting you can turn off.

Can we use a different radius for a big site?

Yes. Appello's geofence uses a company default radius — 500 metres unless you change it, as tight as 25 metres — and any job can carry its own: larger for a plant or campus, tighter for a single building. US shops can work in feet.