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GPS/Bluetooth Clock In/Out Setup Guide
GPS/Bluetooth Clock In/Out Setup Guide

The correct GPS clock in/out settings will generate accurate attendance data!

Karl avatar
Written by Karl
Updated over a week ago

To make sure your staff can clock in/out on their smartphones successfully, we suggest you to set up according to the following procedure:

  1. Check if you have added Working Locations

  2. Set Attendance Rules for the working location

  3. Assign Working Location to your employees' profiles

  4. Test Clock In/Out by yourself and confirm that it is successful

  5. Instruct your staff how to clock in/out on their smartphones

Step 1

Check your Work Locations — make sure you have added all working locations. If you have not finished this step, please refer to this guide: How to Add Work Location

Step 2

Set up the Attendance Rules for every Working Location.

Step 3

Assign the working location to your staff. There are two ways:
1. If the employee only has one fixed working location, you can set the clock in/out location in staff information.

Under People > Select Employee > Employment & Payroll Information > Click [Change], and then add the Working Location for the staff.

2. If the employee works in many different locations, we recommend you to use our "Scheduling" feature to assign working locations based on shifts.


Under "Schedule" > Schedule > Select employee > Add a new shift and assign the working location. You can create multiple shifts in one day with different locations per shift.

Note ⚠️

The Working Location assigned in a shift has a higher priority than the location assigned in employees' profiles.

For Example:

Employee A usually works in Location #1 (The work location assigned to the staff in Employee Profiles.). One day he is arranged to work in Location #2 (The work location assigned to his/her shift in Schedule.) In this scenario, only when the employee clocked in/out from Location #2 will his/her attendance be recorded as valid and be included in attendance calculation.

Step 4

Test Clock In/Out Function

Login in to the Workstem One App> Choose the date to clock in/out > Tap [Clock In] or [Clock Out] > Check the clock in/out status

Note ⚠️

When you use the App for the first time, there will be a popup asking you to authorise Workstem to use your location for attendance tracking purposes, choose "Allow While Using App".

If you authorised Workstem already, the GPS icon will light up in green when you tap the horizontal line " —— " below.

If you successfully clocked in/out, the record will show "GPS" on the upper right hand corner.

If you see "Out of Range" and a map pops up, that means your current location does not match with your assigned working location. If you are indeed in the assigned working location and the notice still pops up, you may need to adjust and expand the GPS range for that Working Location.

You can add a note and continue by pressing [Clock In/Out], notice that you will see a "Success" tip but this record will be marked as "Field Work" and will not be included in attendance calculations.

Note ⚠️

"Field Work" also means the system will not consider this record as valid for attendance purposes:

  • System will not include "Field Work" records in the calculation for total working hours.

  • There will be no Attendance Status for "Field Work" records such as Late / Early Leave / Absent.

Step 5

After you successfully tested yourself, you can then train your staff to clock in/out using GPS.

To make sure your employees can use their smartphones to clock in/out with Bluetooth accurately, we suggest you to set up according to the following steps:

  1. Purchase official Bluetooth beacon from Workstem website

  2. Set up the Bluetooth beacon by following the instructions below

  3. Install Bluetooth beacon

  4. Test clock in/out function, confirm successful clock in/out

Step 1 - Purchase official Bluetooth beacon

First, you have to purchase a Bluetooth beacon. Workstem currently does not support beacons from other suppliers. Please visit our official Workstem Online Store and refer to this Bluetooth Beacon Buying Guide.

Step 2 - Set up the Bluetooth beacon

Once you receive the Bluetooth beacon, you will notice a label with:

  1. Device ID (first row: Workstem_00xxx)

  2. Major (10001)

  3. Minor (19641)

Please copy these information into the system accordingly. There are 2 methods to add a Bluetooth beacon to your account.

Method 1: Admin Users adding Bluetooth beacon on the web app

Under "Company" > Device > Click [+ New] > Device Type Select [BLUETOOTH] > Input Device Name, Major, Minor, and Device ID, click [Save].

Notice ⚠️

Major, Minor, and Device ID are very important. Please fill in according to the information provided.

Method 2: Supervisor users adding Bluetooth beacon on the Workstem One App

In the Workstem One App, tap into [More] > [Bluetooth Device] > Add Bluetooth Device > Scan the QR Code on the leaflet included with the Bluetooth beacon shipment (Major, Minor, and Device ID will be auto-filled) > input [Device Name], press [Save].

If you want to limit the GPS places for the Bluetooth beacon, please choose "Yes" for "Restrict Attendance Location" and select the work locations that the Bluetooth beacon can be used in. After you finish these settings, the employees can clock in/out successfully only at the chosen work locations.

Notice⚠️: You need to set up the punching location in the system before it can be displayed in the list on the page. To add the punching location, please refer to Add Work Location. After setting up the Bluetooth device and the corresponding location, only employees who work in that location can clock in and out through this Bluetooth device.

If you need to use Bluetooth clock in/out in flexible work locations such as exhibition centres and pop-up stores, you can choose "No" for "Restrict Attendance Location". With this setting, employees can clock in/out successfully as long as they're near the bluetooth beacon.

Step 3 - Install Bluetooth beacon

Workstem's Bluetooth beacon signal can cover 50-70 meters. You can stick it to most places in a work location, such as front desk, office table, ceiling, or doorway of the office.

If you need to use Bluetooth beacon in a temporary work location, you can carry it yourself.

Step 4 - Test clock in/out function

Test clock in/out function via Bluetooth:

Login into Workstem One App > choose today > click [Clock In] or [Clock Out] > check your clock in/out status.

When you open the Workstem One App for the first time, it will ask you for Bluetooth access: "Workstem would like to use Bluetooth", choose "OK".

If you successfully gave Workstem One App your phone's Bluetooth permissions, the Bluetooth icon in the clock in/ out page will light up in green.

If the Bluetooth icon doesn't light up in green, it means the Bluetooth is not connected, you can click "Refresh" icon to reconnect.

If the "Please turn on Bluetooth" prompt pops up, you need to check whether your phone has turned on the "Bluetooth" permission.

If you clock in/out near a Bluetooth beacon, but "GPS" is shown in the clock-in record or it shows "Out of Range" and gets into map mode, it means you did not set the Bluetooth device correctly. You need to check if you have filled in the correct Major, Minor, and Device ID.

Or

Additional notes about bluetooth clock in/out ⚠️:

  • Clock in/out via Bluetooth beacon works by transmitting a bluetooth signal. Just place it where employees pass by when they get in or leave the office.

  • When employees' Bluetooth is turned on and can detect the signal from the Bluetooth beacon, they can directly clock in/out on the app. They do not have to scan or connect to the beacon itself.

  • Bluetooth and GPS can be used at the same time. When there's a Bluetooth beacon, the system will recognise the Bluetooth signal first. If it cannot recognise the Bluetooth signal, it will revert to GPS clock in/out automatically.

After you test the clock in/out process via Bluetooth successfully, you can then train your staff.

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