Attendance devices at the gate
Fingerprint, card, face or QR devices at the hostel gate send their punches to SmartMy Hostel. They go through a small program on a PC at the site, are read by the server, or are pushed by the device itself. Leave out and back, late entries and roll calls are then made from the punches.
PLANSScale only
Built and tested on our test systems; not yet tried with a real device. We test your device model with you before go-live.
The problem it solves
- The hostel has a biometric machine at the gate, but its records sit inside the device and nobody looks at them.
- Someone exports the device's file every week, and by then the late nights and absences are old news.
- Wardens still take a paper roll call every night although the device knows who came in.
- The staff device and the hostel device are different machines because the software cannot share one.
How it works
- Add each device under Hostel > Configuration > Daily Life > Attendance > Devices. Give a name, the Kind, the Brand, the Serial Number, the Direction and the hostel (and block, if it is for one block).
- Choose how it connects. The choices are Through the sync agent (a program on a PC at the site) and Read by the server. Or The device pushes to the server.
- Give each resident a Device Code on their stay: the user id or card number the device knows them by. For students it is the register number when left empty.
- Punches arrive in Hostel > Gate and Access > Attendance > In / Out and update Who Is In. A punch whose code nobody has waits under Unknown Device Codes until you match it.
- From the punches, approved leave is marked out and back and late entries are made. Wardens get the out-after-hours alert, and roll calls are prepared or completed.
Everything it does
Devices
- Kind: Fingerprint, Face, RFID card or QR code
- Brand: ZKTeco, eSSL, Warden, Realtime, Matrix or Other
- Direction: In only, Out only, or In and out (the default). For pushing devices, Use the Device's In / Out takes the key the resident pressed
- With In and out and no key, the direction alternates from the resident's last punch
- Take Punches From: older punches kept in the device are ignored
- Time Zone of the device's clock; empty: the hostel's
- One device can serve hostel residents and staff of SmartMy HRMS; the codes must not overlap
- The Attendance Devices tab of a hostel lists its devices
The three connections
- Through the sync agent: the SmartMy Attendance Agent (Windows, macOS, Linux) reads ZKTeco and eSSL devices on the site's network every 5 minutes. It is paired with a token shown once
- Read by the server: the server reaches the device at its IP Address and port (4370) every 10 minutes, or with Read Punches Now. For ZKTeco, eSSL and compatible devices
- The device pushes to the server: the device's cloud server (ADMS) mode sends punches itself, with no PC on site. Refused unless its serial number is registered, and optionally only from one address
- The same punch arriving twice, by any connection, is saved once, so a device can change its connection
Codes and punches
- Device Code on each stay; a code can be used by one booked or in-house stay at a time
- Unknown Device Codes (managers): put the code on the stay, then Match to Residents Again
- Punches Received lists everything the devices sent; Delete Device Punches Received After: 0 (never) to start with
- Import Punches takes a CSV exported from a device when it cannot connect
Made from the punches
- Approved leave marked out and back, with late-return rules
- Late entries after the in-time, with warnings and fines
- Wardens told when a resident goes out after the in-time without leave
- Roll-call sessions prepared for the warden to confirm, or done by themselves
- With cards and doors, a main-gate door can count as a punch
Who uses it
Hostel managerAdds devices and sync agents, matches unknown codes, imports device files.
Front deskFills in each resident's Device Code at check-in.
Warden / CaretakerWorks from Who Is In, late entries and roll calls; adds hand punches when a device is down.
Your IT person or service providerConnects the devices and installs the agent on the site PC.
Where you use it
- Web: Hostel > Configuration > Daily Life > Attendance > Devices, Sync Agents and Punches Received; Hostel > Gate and Access > Attendance > Unknown Device Codes and Import Punches
- SmartMy Attendance Agent: a desktop app for a PC at the site (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Not proven with a real device yet: none of the three connections has been tried with a named device at a customer
- Not read directly for every brand: the agent and the server read ZKTeco and eSSL only. Warden, Realtime, Matrix and others work only if they push in the cloud server (ADMS) mode, or through an imported file
What you control
Settings
- Connection: Through the sync agent
- Direction: In and out
- Port: 4370 (read by the server)
- Server reading: every 10 minutes; the agent: every 5 minutes
- Delete Device Punches Received After: 0 days (never)
- Roll-call session mode: Prepared from the punches, warden confirms
Notifications
- The punches lead to the late-entry, out-after-hours, not-back and absence messages described on those pages
- Wardens get a to-do for each roll call prepared from the punches
Works with
SmartMy HRMSThe same device, agent and punch log serve staff attendance and hostel residents; each product takes the codes it knows.
SmartMy FeastResidents out for some hours when a meal starts can be left out of the headcount. Use Not Counted for Meals After, 0 (not used) to start with.
Questions
Which devices work?
ZKTeco, eSSL and ZK-compatible devices can be read by the agent or the server. Any device that pushes in the cloud server (ADMS) mode can send its punches itself. None has been proven at a customer yet, so we test your model with you before go-live.Do we need a computer at the hostel?
Only for the sync agent. A device the server can reach at its IP address, or one that pushes to the server, needs no PC on site.What happens when the device is down?
Nothing stops. Wardens record in and out by hand, or you import the file the device exports. Punches that arrive later fill the history without changing the present status.Can the staff and the residents use one machine?
Yes, with SmartMy HRMS. Each product takes the codes it knows. Keep staff and resident codes apart so they do not overlap.Can the roll call be taken from the device?
Yes. A roll-call session set to Prepared from the punches gives the warden a filled list to confirm. Done from the punches completes it and reports absences without a warden.Related features
ATTENDANCE DEVICESWho Is In board and in / out by handOne list shows every resident in house as In or Out, with the time of their last punch. Without a device, wardens record in and out by hand on the web or the phone. Each punch drives late entries, leave and roll calls.ATTENDANCE DEVICESFace recognition at the gateA phone or tablet at the hostel gate runs the SmartMy Hostel Staff app. It recognises a resident after a blink and records the in or out punch. Only residents who consented are enrolled, a guardian consents for those who need one, and no photo is kept.DAILY LIFERoll call by hostel, block and sessionThe warden takes the night roll call for a hostel or one block, on the web or the phone. Residents on approved leave are already marked. Guardians and wardens are told of every resident absent without leave.DAILY LIFELate entries, warnings and finesEach time a resident comes in after the in-time, a late entry is recorded with the minutes late. From the numbers you set, guardians are warned and late entries are fined. Wardens hear when someone goes out after the in-time without leave.DAILY LIFELeave and out-passes with guardian approvalResidents ask for leave or an out-pass on the portal or in the app. The guardian, the warden or both approve it. Going out and coming back are recorded, and guardians and wardens hear when someone is not back.MORE IN THE PRODUCTAccess cards, keys and doorsEvery card, fob, PIN, mobile key and room key is tied to the resident's stay. The doors it opens follow the stay: from check-in, after a room change, until the exit day. A lost card stops at once and its replacement can be charged.
See it with your own blocks and classes.
Tell us how many hostels and students you have. We will show you an allotment, a leave request approved by a parent and a night roll call, set up the way your hostel works.