Attendance devices at the gate
Fingerprint, card, face or QR devices at the property gate send their punches to SmartMy Stay. They come through a small program on a PC at the site, read by the server, or pushed by the device itself. Leave out and back, late entries and roll calls can then be 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 PG 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 are old news.
- The caretaker still counts heads every night although the device knows who came in.
- Each building has its own machine and its own spreadsheet.
How it works
- Add each device under Stay > Configuration > Daily Life > Attendance > Devices. Give a name, the Kind, the Brand, the Serial Number, the Direction and the property (and block, if it is for one block).
- Choose how it connects. Through the sync agent (a program on a PC at the site), 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.
- Punches arrive in Stay > 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, if it is on, and roll calls are prepared or completed if you use them.
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 property's
- One device can serve property residents and staff of SmartMy HRMS; the codes must not overlap
- The Attendance Devices tab of a property 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. It is 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
ManagerAdds devices and sync agents, matches unknown codes, imports device files.
Front deskFills in each resident's Device Code at check-in.
Caretaker / WardenWorks from Who Is In, and late entries and roll calls where used; 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: in SmartMy Stay the menu is called Stay. The property records sit under Stay > Properties. Forms and message names still say Hostel in places, such as the Hostel field
- Web: Stay > Configuration > Daily Life > Attendance > Devices, Sync Agents and Punches Received; Stay > 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 property 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 property?
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 a night head count 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, the caretaker records in and out by hand on the web or the phone. Each punch can drive late entries, leave and roll calls, where you use them.ATTENDANCE DEVICESFace recognition at the gateA phone or tablet at the property gate, in the SmartMy Stay 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 property, block and sessionA roll call is there if your property wants one, as many women's PGs and student-heavy co-livings do. The caretaker takes it for the property or one block, on the web or the phone. Residents on approved leave are already marked, and absences are told to the wardens and the guardian, where there is one.DAILY LIFELate entries, warnings and finesIf your property has an in-time, each late return can be recorded with the minutes late. From the numbers you set, the guardian is warned and late entries are fined. With punches, the wardens hear when someone goes out after the in-time without leave. Properties without an in-time simply do not record late entries.DAILY LIFELeave and out-passes with guardian approvalUse it only if you want it. Residents tell the property when they go out or away, on the portal or in the app. From Growth, working residents' leave can simply inform; on Starter the caretaker approves it. Going out and coming back are recorded, and you 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 beds and rent plan.
Tell us how many beds and properties you run. We will show you a booking, a month of rent and a move-out, set up the way your PG works.