Buddy punching: how to stop employees clocking in for each other

By Sayed Zakrea · 1 October 2026

Buddy punching — one employee clocking in for another — is stopped by making every punch prove where it happened and who made it: a GPS coordinate on each punch, a geofence around the workplace, a selfie for a person to review, and an audit trail you actually check. No single control is perfect, so use them together.

Why it is hard to stop with a time sheet

A paper log or a shared spreadsheet records only that someone wrote a time. Nothing ties the entry to a place or a person, so a colleague can write it for them. The fix is to attach evidence to each punch.

Four controls, from basic to strong

1. Location on every punch (all plans). Dawmly records a GPS coordinate and timestamp with each clock-in. A punch from home or another city is visible in the record.
2. A geofence per branch (Growth plan). Set a radius around each branch; with enforcement on, a punch outside it is rejected on both clock-in and clock-out. Enforcement is a per-branch switch.
3. A selfie on each punch (Growth plan). Selfie check-in stores a photo with the punch so a manager can see who is actually there. It is photo capture for review; Dawmly does not match faces.
4. Review exceptions. Controls only work if someone looks. Check the attendance punch list for punches with no photo, odd locations, or times that do not fit the shift.

What each control cannot do

• A geofence proves a phone was at the site, not whose phone it was. Pair it with the selfie.
• A selfie needs a person to look at it, because nothing compares it to a reference photo.
• When a phone is offline, a queued punch is still accepted even if a selfie is required, because the photo cannot upload without a connection. Treat offline punches as a category to review (see our note on offline attendance).
• The mobile app can also be protected with the phone's own Face ID or fingerprint unlock, but that protects the app on that phone, not the identity of the person punching.

Add a written policy

Tell staff in writing that clocking in for someone else is not allowed and what happens if it occurs. Controls reduce the opportunity; a policy sets the expectation.

Putting it together

Start on the Free plan for up to 5 employees to get location on every punch, then move to Growth for geofencing and selfies when you need them. See pricing; new signups get a 14-day Growth trial. If you are replacing a fingerprint terminal, read Dawmly vs fingerprint machines.

Frequently asked questions