Guide
How to stop buddy punching
Buddy punching means one worker clocks in or out for another who is not there. It is hard to see on paper and easy to do. Here are practical ways to reduce it, and how HourStake helps with each.
Why buddy punching happens
Wherever time is recorded without checking who is present, someone can cover for a friend who is running late. Paper sheets, shared logins and a clock on a wall all allow it.
Four things that make it harder
- Tie every clock-in to a place. With HourStake, a clock-in needs a location or a project, and a location is checked against its radius, so a punch from home or a parking lot shows up as outside the site.
- Give everyone their own login. Each worker signs in with their own phone number and password, so there is no shared kiosk to use for someone else.
- Add a face check if it fits. Turn on face check in the company settings and each clock-in or clock-out takes a selfie that is compared with the worker's reference photo. A mismatch never blocks the punch. It is flagged for a manager, who can look at both photos.
- Keep a record of changes. Every edit to anyone's time is logged with a reason and who made it, so quiet fixes leave a trail.
How face check works in HourStake
Face check is optional and off by default. When an owner turns it on, they confirm a biometric-data policy. Workers then read a notice and agree before a reference photo is taken, and workers who decline are never photographed.
The comparison is done with Amazon Rekognition. Reference photos are deleted when a worker withdraws, is deactivated, the feature is turned off, or three years after their last clock-in.
Be realistic
No tool makes fraud impossible, and a flag is a reason to look, not proof. The aim is to make cheating visible and inconvenient, so most people never try. Combine location checks, individual logins and a quick look at the live view and timesheets.
Try it with your crew
HourStake is free while we launch. Set up your locations and projects and clock in from your phone today.