# How to stop proxy attendance and buddy punching

> Proxy attendance costs you salary for days nobody worked. Stop it with selfie + GPS punches inside a geo-fence, Realtime fingerprint machines and live punch alerts.

Proxy attendance happens when one person signs or punches for another. To stop it, every punch needs proof of who and where: a selfie taken at punch time, a GPS location that must be inside your branch radius, or a fingerprint or card on a Realtime biometric machine. Staff Khata records all three, shows each punch live on the admin dashboard, and lets you review every mobile punch on a map with its photo.

## What you get

- **A photo with every phone punch**: Nobody can punch for a friend without their face being on the record.
- **No punching from home**: Geo-fencing blocks punches outside the radius around each branch.
- **Fingerprint or card at the gate**: Realtime biometric machines send each punch to Staff Khata over the internet as it happens.
- **Live punch pop-ups**: Each punch-in and punch-out appears with a sound on the admin and HR dashboards.
- **Late and missing-punch alerts**: Send check-in, late-arrival and missing-punch alerts to up to 20 numbers from your own WhatsApp Business number.
- **Every manual entry is logged**: The Manual attendance report shows punches added by hand, so edits can be checked.

## How it works

1. Decide per employee: Realtime machine at the gate, or selfie + GPS on their phone.
2. Switch on geo-fencing with a radius that covers your premises and nothing more.
3. Turn on live attendance notifications and WhatsApp alerts for late arrival and missing punch.
4. Each week, check the GPS punch map and the Manual attendance report.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is proxy attendance?

Proxy or buddy punching is when an employee marks attendance for a colleague who is late or absent, by signing a register for them, sharing a card, or punching on their phone.

### How do I stop proxy attendance without a biometric machine?

Use selfie + GPS punching with geo-fencing: staff punch on their own phone, the app takes a photo, and the punch only works inside your premises.

### Can a biometric card be used for proxy punching?

Yes, a card can be handed to someone else. Fingerprint enrolment on a Realtime machine, or a selfie punch, ties the punch to the person.

Page: https://staffkhata.com/features/stop-proxy-attendance