Payroll Help

Your Payroll Software questions answered here

Geotagging Hourly Time Punches

In beta for select customers

We are pleased to announce the development of a new geotagging punch-in feature designed to visualize and display employee clock-in locations. To participate in our beta testing and provide valuable feedback, please add your contact information to the form below. We’ll email you when you are added to the beta release of geotagging.

In this article:

How to View Employee Time Punch Location Details
Get Details on Location Information
FAQs


Background
When used in time and attendance, geotagging captures an hourly time punch employee’s clock-in or clock-out to their specific location using GPS coordinates, such as latitude and longitude on a map. Employees must consent to location tracking in the mobile app MY Patriot.
Best practices

  • Be open with your team about using geotagging; letting them know how and why their location data is being used helps build trust and transparency.
  • Address geotagging for time and attendance, along with your company policies, in the company handbook.

Don’t have a handbook yet? Consider using Patriot’s HR software to create an employee handbook tailored to the laws and guidance specific to your state and your company’s needs.


How to View Employee Time Punch Locations

💡 Things to note:

  • Location tracking is only available for hourly time punch employees who use the mobile app. Salary and hourly employees using manual time entry will not have geolocation.
  • Location tracking requires employees to grant location permissions in the My Patriot app. If permissions are not enabled, location details will not appear.
  • Employees will be prompted to give permission for your company to view their location.

Go to  Time & Attendance > Manage Time Cards

  1. Choose the desired pay period using the dropdown menu.
  2. Click on the employee name to view their time card details.
  3. Once the time card is open, locate the table displaying the employee’s time punches (e.g., IN and OUT entries).
  4. Look for the location pin icon next to the time punches. This icon indicates that a location is available for that time punch.
    • Click on a specific time punch’s location pin to view the employee’s location for that exact time.
  5. Click the Hide Location Details or Show Location Details link to expand or collapse the map view.
    • You can choose to view all time punches for the time card or select a specific day to view all the locations associated with that day’s punches.


Get Details on Location Information

  1. In the map view, you will see the exact location where the employee clocked in or out.
  2. Hover over the pins on the map to view additional details, such as:
    • Date and time of the punch
    • GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude)
    • Precision (e.g., 50 feet)
  3. Use the map toggle to switch between “Map” and “Satellite” views for more context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What if the location pin icon is missing?
A: There are several factors to consider when employee location is not displayed.

  • The employee has “manual” time punches. Geotagging is only available for time-punch hourly employees.
  • The employee is a salaried employee. Geotagging is only available for time-punch hourly employees.
  • The employee hasn’t enabled location tracking for the mobile app or given permissions. Share our help article for employees to enable geotagging.
  • Employees didn’t clock in/out using the mobile app. Geotagging is only available in the mobile app and not in the web portal. This may indicate that the employee did not enable location permissions in the app, grant permission for your company to view their location, or the device’s GPS signal was unavailable at the time of the punch
  • Employees don’t have a recent version of the mobile app. Geotagging requires the version of 1.4.4 or later of My Patriot.

Q: Can I see real-time location updates?
A: No, location tracking only captures the employee’s location at the moment they punch in or out.

Q: How accurate is the location data?
A: The accuracy depends on the device’s GPS signal and the environment. The precision is displayed (e.g., 50 feet) to help you assess the data quality.

Q: What are some other limitations that could affect geotagging?
A:  It’s important to know the limitations of technology when using geotagging. Accuracy can be affected by:

  • the device the employee uses
  • the network availability
  • the signal strength
  • the weather

Q: Do I have to tell my employees I am using Geotagging?

A: For the geotagging feature to be used, employees must grant location permissions in the My Patriot app, and will be prompted to give permission for your company to view their location. If both of these permissions are not enabled by the employee, location details will not appear.

It is important to maintain transparency and keep lines of communication open with your employees. Read about “talking to your team about geotagging,” for more information on our help article, “Geotagging in Time and Attendance.”



Your feedback will not receive a reply. If you have a specific issue, please reach out to our support team here.