To stop employees marking fake attendance from home, make every punch prove who and where: a selfie taken at punch time, a GPS location that must fall inside a geo-fenced radius around your branch (the punch is refused outside it), and, at the gate, a fingerprint or a QR code that changes every 40 seconds on a Realtime biometric machine. Each method defeats a different cheat, and a manual register defeats none of them. Used together, a friend cannot punch for someone, a screenshot cannot be reused, and a punch from home does not go through.

By Staff Khata. Published 13 November 2026. Updated 13 November 2026.

How can I stop employees marking fake attendance from home using GPS?

Turn on geo-fencing. In Staff Khata you set a location and an allowed radius for each branch, for example 200 metres around the shop. Employees punch in from the app on Android or iPhone, and with geo-fencing on, a punch made outside the radius is refused with the message "Outside Allowed Radius". Every punch that does go through carries a selfie and the GPS location, and you can open it on a map with the photo.

GPS alone is not enough, which is why the selfie matters. Location tells you the phone was there. The photo tells you who was holding it. Set the radius to cover your premises and nothing more, because a wide circle around a shop can include the flat next door.

Which methods stop fake attendance, and what does each one beat?

Cheat	How it is stopped	Needs
Punching from home on the phone	Geo-fence: a punch outside the branch radius is blocked	Mobile punch, Growth plan
A friend punches for an absent colleague (buddy punching)	Selfie recorded with every punch; you or a manager can check the face on the record	Mobile punch, Growth plan
Sharing a card or signing the register for someone	Fingerprint enrolment on a Realtime machine, or a selfie punch, ties the punch to the person	Realtime biometric machine
Sending a screenshot of the punch QR code	The QR code is valid for 40 seconds, so a screenshot stops working almost straight away	Realtime machine with QR scanner, employee app
Faking the phone's location with a mock-location app	Fake-GPS use is flagged during field journey tracking on Android (see the next section for the limit)	Pro HRMS plan
Hand-edited attendance after the fact	The Manual attendance report lists every punch added by hand	Any plan with manual entry

How do you stop buddy punching and proxy attendance?

Buddy punching, also called proxy attendance, is one person punching, signing or tapping for another. The fix is to tie each punch to a person, not to a card, a signature or a phone number.

Selfie punch: the app takes a photo at punch-in and punch-out. It is stored as proof and is not matched automatically, so you or a manager review it. Staff Khata does not do face recognition.
Fingerprint on a Realtime machine: the punch is linked to an enrolled employee and reaches Staff Khata over the internet as it happens. A card on its own can be handed to someone else, so use fingerprint enrolment, not cards alone.
Live alerts: each punch-in and punch-out appears with a sound on the admin and HR dashboards, and you can send late-arrival and missing-punch alerts to up to 20 numbers from your own WhatsApp Business number.

Details are on the stop proxy attendance page.

Can a QR code stop screenshot sharing?

Yes, because it expires. At a Realtime biometric machine, the employee opens Punch In in the app, chooses Machine Scanner, picks the machine, and the app shows a QR code valid for 40 seconds. The machine scans it and the punch is linked to that employee. A screenshot sent to a friend is dead by the time they reach the machine, and the machine must be online. QR also helps new joiners and worn fingerprints, since no enrolment is needed. See QR code attendance.

A QR code proves the employee has the app open at the machine. It does not prove who is holding the phone, so keep fingerprint or a supervisor at the gate if buddy punching is your main worry.

What about fake GPS and mock-location apps?

Mock-location apps let an Android phone report a location it is not at. Staff Khata's mobile app reads the Android flag that says a location fix came from a mock-location provider, and flags it during field journey tracking, which is part of the Pro HRMS plan (₹1 per employee per day). On iPhone this flag is not available, so detection there does not apply.

Be realistic about the limit: a flag tells you to look, and what you do about it is your policy. Pair geo-fencing with the selfie, and check the punch map and photos each week. Do not rely on any single signal.

How do you prevent time theft in a small business?

Time theft is paid time not worked: punching in early for a friend, arriving late on a borrowed punch, or editing the register later. Three habits cover most of it.

Choose one proof per person: a Realtime machine at the gate for the shop floor, selfie + GPS on the phone for field and site staff. You can switch mobile punch on or off for each employee.
Stop paper edits: staff request a correction with the right times and a reason, and you approve it on the web, so the change leaves a trail.
Review weekly: the GPS punch map and the Manual attendance report take a few minutes and show what looks wrong.

How do I verify staff are actually at work?

Open the punch. Each mobile punch is marked as a GPS punch, and you can see check-in and check-out on a map with the selfie. Punches reach your dashboard within seconds, so you can check the same day, not at month end. For staff who work away from one fixed site, the GPS attendance app page covers geo-fences per branch.

Who is this for, and who is it not for?

A good fit: Indian shops, factories, clinics and offices with 10 to 500 staff where staff own smartphones, and field or site teams who punch from their phones. Selfie + GPS punch and the mobile app are on the Growth plan (₹0.50 per employee per day), with a 15-day free trial and no credit card.

Not a fit, or not enough on its own:

Workforces without smartphones: use a Realtime biometric machine. Starter is free for up to 50 staff and includes 1 biometric device connection, see pricing.
Staff who would not be able to punch inside your geo-fence because the site is spread out or outdoors: use a wider radius or a machine, and accept that a large radius lets more people punch from nearby.
If you need automatic face matching: Staff Khata stores a selfie for you to check and does not match faces.
Fake-GPS flagging in the punch itself on iPhone: not available, so use the selfie and the machine there.

Frequently asked questions

Can employees punch attendance from home with a GPS attendance app?

Only if you allow it. With geo-fencing on, Staff Khata blocks any punch made outside the branch radius.

Is the selfie face recognition?

No. The selfie is stored with each punch as proof, together with the GPS location. You or a manager check it.

Can someone punch with a screenshot of the QR code?

Not for long. Each QR code is valid for 40 seconds.

Do I need a biometric machine?

No. Selfie + GPS on the phone works without one. If you want a machine, Staff Khata connects Realtime biometric devices only.

What does it cost?

Starter is free for up to 50 staff with 1 biometric device. Growth is ₹0.50 per employee per day and Pro HRMS is ₹1 per employee per day. Prices exclude GST. See pricing.

How to stop fake attendance from home: GPS, selfie and QR methods that work