Guides · Updated 4 November 2026

Staff attendance for a shop: check-in from their phone, salary worked out

A paper register gets filled in at the end of the week, a fingerprint machine costs money and breaks, and "I came at 10, sir" is hard to argue with. For a shop, salon, clinic or restaurant with a few people, the simplest honest system is a check-in on each person's own phone, with rules they can't get around: the time comes from the server, and it only counts when they're actually at the shop. Here's how to set it up and what to watch for.

Step by step

1. 1

   Decide what counts as "at work"

   Most shops use the phone's location: the check-in counts only within, say, 100 metres of the shop. In a big market or mall, where GPS is weaker indoors, allow 200 metres. If your shop's broadband keeps the same internet address, you can also accept check-ins from the shop's Wi-Fi.

2. 2

   Give each person their own login

   Shared logins defeat the purpose. Each worker signs in on their own phone with their own username, so a check-in is always theirs.

3. 3

   Save the shop's location from inside the shop

   Stand inside, turn on location, and save it. Check it on the map: the pin should be on your shop, not the road outside.

4. 4

   Set the start time and how late is late

   Pick the time work starts and a few minutes of grace. Anything after that is marked late, so you can see a pattern instead of arguing about one day.

5. 5

   Make sure the time can't be changed

   If the app uses the time on the worker's phone, anyone can change their phone's clock. The time must come from the server at the moment they tap. Ask this before you pick an app.

6. 6

   Check today's list once in the morning

   Who's in, at what time, who's late, and any refused tries ("too far", "not on shop Wi-Fi"). A refused try isn't proof of cheating; GPS sometimes drifts. Ask before you assume.

7. 7

   Let attendance work out the salary

   Each check-in marks the person present for the day. At month end, monthly pay minus absent and half days gives the salary; a slip on WhatsApp stops the "how did you calculate this?" question.

Get these right

• Tell your team why you're doing it: fair salary for everyone, no more arguments, not distrust.
• Location should be read only when they tap check-in, not tracked all day. Say so; people accept it more easily.
• Keep a manual way for the odd day: a phone with no battery shouldn't mean an absent mark.
• Shop Wi-Fi alone isn't reliable on most home broadband (Jio Fiber, Airtel and others often change the internet address). Use location, or location or Wi-Fi.
• Advances given during the month should come off the salary in the same place, so nothing is counted twice.

Questions