A Bluetooth beacon is a small battery-powered device that you place on your company premises. It lets you restrict clocking with the mobile app to the area within the beacon's range. The battery lasts for several years, and the device does not need an internet connection.
How it works
When an employee's phone is within range of a beacon, the mobile app detects the beacon and marks the clocking with its name. This lets administrators easily see who clocked in at which location, even in different rooms of the same building.
GPS data used for geolocation is accurate to about 50 metres and is often less reliable inside buildings. Beacons also work inside buildings and in individual rooms, so they provide the most precise location.
Recommended beacons
All Hours works with any beacon that supports the iBeacon standard. We recommend beacons from Estimote, and you can also order beacons directly from All Hours.
Finding the beacon parameters
To add a beacon to All Hours, you need its UUID, Major and Minor values. You can read them with a beacon scanner app, for example:
Beacon Scanner for Android devices,
Locate Beacon for iOS devices.
Open the app and search for nearby beacons. If you have several beacons, they are shown in a list.
Claiming an Estimote beacon
If you received an Estimote beacon from All Hours, you must claim it to your Estimote account before you use it:
Install the Estimote app (Google Play or App Store) and select Configuration.
Create a user account: click the person icon in the top right corner and select Sign up.
On the radar, find and select your beacon.
Click Claim and let the All Hours team know, so they can confirm your request.
Once the beacon has been transferred to your account, read its UUID, Major and Minor values in the app.
Adding a beacon in All Hours
Add a clocking point or open an existing one, click + Add and select Beacon.
Enter a name for the beacon and its UUID, Major and Minor values, then click Save.
Once the beacon has been added, the mobile app shows it at the bottom of the home screen.
Restricting clocking to the beacon's range
If employees should only be able to clock in within range of a beacon, enable the Geofencing option in their authorization role. With geofencing enabled, employees can clock in when they are within range of a beacon or at a location entered in All Hours as a geolocation. Learn more: Geofencing or requiring location before clocking in the mobile app.
To restrict clocking to your office, we recommend setting up a geolocation first. If it is not accurate enough, add a beacon.
Several beacons on one clocking point
You can add several beacons to one clocking point to cover a wider area or several rooms at once. You can also add geolocations and time clocks to the same clocking point, for example all devices at your company headquarters. For the most accurate reports, you can also use one device per clocking point.