Buddy punching (where one employee clocks in for another), manual timesheet errors, and disputed hours create payroll headaches and cost money. For security companies and facilities with shift workers across several sites, these problems are harder to spot.
Biometric time and attendance systems address this by verifying identity at clock-in. Worxit's Time & Attendance module uses facial recognition and NFC, tracks breaks, shifts and overtime, and produces reports with time worked, so payroll starts from verified records instead of handwritten sheets.
The Cost of Manual Time Tracking
Buddy punching costs you money
When employees clock in for absent colleagues, you pay for hours nobody worked, and a site may be left without cover.
Manual calculations waste time
Payroll staff spend hours adding up hours worked, breaks, and overtime from paper timesheets or spreadsheets.
Disputes and errors
Employees dispute hours worked. Managers can't prove who was on site when. Payroll errors lead to unhappy staff and labour disputes.
No break records
Without a record of breaks, it is hard to show that meal intervals were given and that break time was deducted correctly.
How Biometric Time & Attendance Works
1. Facial Recognition Clocking
Employees clock in and out with a face scan at an access point, an on-site location, or an approved mobile zone. The system:
- Verifies the identity of the person clocking in, not just a card
- Records the clock-in or clock-out time and where it happened
- Feeds a live view of who is on duty across all sites
- Enrols staff on a mobile device, in batches, or through linked visitor access devices
Why facial recognition? A face can't be lent to a colleague the way a card or PIN can, so the employee has to be there to clock in. At fixed access points, a terminal such as the HID Amico facial recognition terminal works with Worxit Time & Attendance.
2. NFC Clocking
Worxit also supports NFC clocking at approved points, for sites where a face scan isn't practical:
- A quick tap records the clock-in or clock-out
- Attendance is recorded by site and access point
- NFC and facial recognition clock-ins land in the same reports
Choosing a method: where buddy punching is the main risk, use facial recognition. NFC suits points where speed matters more than checking the person's face.
3. Break Tracking
Breaks are recorded alongside clock-ins:
- Employees clock out and back in for meal and tea breaks
- The system records how long each break lasted
- Break time is reflected in the time-worked reports
The law: under section 14 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, an employee who works continuously for more than five hours must get a meal interval of at least one continuous hour, which a written agreement may reduce to no less than 30 minutes. Break records help you show this happened. Bargaining council agreements may set other rules for your sector.
4. Time Worked, Shifts and Overtime
The system turns clock-ins into the totals payroll needs:
Hours Worked
Clock-out time minus clock-in time, less breaks, gives the time worked for each employee.
Shift Summaries
Each shift is summarised, so supervisors can see who worked which shift at which site.
Overtime
Time worked beyond the shift is tracked so it can be checked and paid. The BCEA requires overtime to be paid at no less than one and a half times the employee's wage (section 10(2)), unless an agreement provides for paid time off instead. Your payroll system applies the rates.
Payroll-Ready Reports
At the end of each pay period, run reports with the data your payroll team needs:
Time Worked
- • Total time worked per employee
- • Clock-in and clock-out events with timestamps
- • Break durations
- • Shift summaries and overtime
Attendance by Location
- • Attendance by site and access point
- • Who is on duty right now, on mobile
- • Records for client and audit queries
Handing Over to Payroll
Export attendance reports and give your payroll team verified time worked instead of paper timesheets. Pay rates, deductions and payslips stay in your payroll system.
Working Out Your Own Return
Savings depend on your workforce, sites and current process, so measure your own baseline before you compare costs:
- Hours paid for shifts where the employee was not actually on site
- Admin hours spent each pay period capturing and checking timesheets
- Time spent resolving disputes about hours, overtime and breaks
Worxit licences: the dashboard is R600 per month, including one admin user, with additional dashboard users at R75 per user per month. Each phone, tablet or radio running the Worxit app needs a R350 monthly device licence. Prices exclude VAT, and clocking hardware is priced separately in the store.
Key Benefits
Stop Buddy Punching
Facial recognition checks who is clocking in, so you stop paying for hours nobody worked.
Faster Payroll Preparation
No more adding up paper timesheets. Reports with time worked are ready when the pay period closes.
Break Records
Keep a record of when breaks started and ended, and how long they lasted.
Real-Time Visibility
See who is on duty right now across all sites, and attendance by location.