Accurate at source

Why fingerprint clocking is harder to cheat

A fingerprint cannot be lent to a colleague or left in another coat, so the common routes to one person clocking in for another are closed off. It does not make it impossible, but it removes the easy version, and for most businesses the value is less about catching anyone than about ending the argument over what time someone started.

Fingerprint data is held as a mathematical template rather than an image, and it is not designed to be turned back into one. It is still special category data under UK GDPR, so see how we handle it and what UK GDPR asks of employers.

  • Each clocking verified against the person, not a credential
  • No cards or fobs to issue, lose or pass on
  • Touch and go, fast enough for a shift change queue
  • Enrol more than one finger, so a cut does not stop anyone clocking

25%

of UK employees have been paid the wrong amount at least once, often from inaccurate hours

Global Payroll Association

£5.8m

recovered by HMRC for more than 25,200 underpaid UK workers in a single year

HMRC, 2024 to 2025

Accurate pay starts with accurate clocking. Book a demo and we will show you the terminal working.

One fingerprint, clocking and access control

The same fingerprint that records attendance can open the door, so time and access run from one system and one enrolment rather than two of each.

For time and attendance

  • An enrolled fingerprint for each employee, and more than one where you want a fallback
  • Attendance records that go straight through to payroll
  • Add terminals and sites without starting again

For access control

  • Restrict who can reach which areas, by person and by time of day
  • Works with our access control systems, so the door and the clocking are one event
  • No cards to print, replace or collect back in when someone leaves

How fingerprint clocking works in practice

The terminal records the distinctive points of each employee’s fingerprint as a mathematical template, then matches the live scan against it at each clocking. For the technology in general see our biometric attendance page, and for what is stored and how it is deleted see our data security page. What matters day to day is how it behaves at the door.

Computime biometric fingerprint clocking in and access control terminal

Touch and go

A scan takes a moment, which matters when forty people arrive at once.

More than one finger

Enrol several, so a cut thumb on a Monday does not become a problem.

Central enrolment

A USB enroller means HR can enrol a department at a time rather than queueing everyone at the terminal.

Fine in sunlight

Unaffected by bright light on a doorway, where face readers can struggle.

Where fingerprint struggles is wet, dusty or heavily worn hands, so food production, engineering and construction sites usually do better with facial recognition or palm. Tell us about your site and we will say which suits it.

See fingerprint clocking in action

Book a short demo and we will show you the terminal working, from enrolling someone to the hours arriving ready for payroll. If it turns out fingerprint is not right for your site, we will tell you that too.

Book a demo
Talk to our team

The benefits of fingerprint identification

The credential cannot be lent

Access to secure areas is tied to the person rather than to a fob that could be in anybody’s pocket.

Nothing to carry

No keys, fobs or cards, which means nothing left at home, nothing lost in a van and nothing to reissue on a Monday morning.

Quick at shift change

A scan takes a moment, so a line of people at the door in the morning does not become a bottleneck.

Hours you can rely on

Entry and exit recorded at the time it happened, so the timesheet reflects the day rather than somebody’s recollection of it.

No cards to print

A small thing, but it is one less consumable to reorder and one less pile of plastic in a drawer.

Ready for payroll

Hours feed into payroll, exporting for Sage, Pegasus and QuickBooks, with direct Sage integration on Realtime.

Fingerprint clocking FAQs

The fingerprint-specific questions. For consent, DPIAs and data protection generally, see biometric attendance. Or call the Leeds team on 0113 350 9043.

Whose fingerprints will not scan reliably?
Anyone whose hands are regularly wet, dusty, oily or covered in plaster, and anyone whose prints have worn down through manual work. Bricklayers, bakers, mechanics and cleaners are the usual examples. It is also simply true that a small proportion of people have prints that scan poorly for no obvious reason. If that describes a meaningful part of your workforce, start with facial recognition or palm rather than discovering it in week two.
How many fingers should we enrol?
Two, one on each hand, is the sensible default. A cut, a dressing or a hand in a splint then does not stop somebody clocking in, and it saves a call to us on the morning it happens. Enrolling a single finger works until the day it does not.
Can a fingerprint be copied from a photograph or a glass?
In laboratory conditions, researchers have fooled fingerprint sensors with lifted or fabricated prints, so the honest answer is that it is not impossible. In a workplace it is not a realistic concern: the effort involved is considerable and the reward is clocking somebody in fifteen minutes early. What biometrics actually removes is the casual version, where a card gets handed over in the car park, and that is the version that happens.
How long does enrolment take?
Under a minute a person, usually a few scans of each finger so the template is a good one. With a USB enroller you can do it from the HR office rather than queueing everyone at the terminal, which for a workforce of a hundred is the difference between an afternoon and a morning of muttering.
Do the terminals work if the network goes down?
Yes. Terminals hold their own copy of the templates and record clockings locally, then sync when the connection returns, so a network fault does not mean a morning of paper. It is also why removing a leaver has to be done at the terminal as well as in the software, which is worth building into your leaver process.
Can the same terminal take cards or PINs as well?
Yes, and you will probably want it to. Someone who declines biometric enrolment needs a way to clock that does not single them out, and a visitor or a contractor is not going to be enrolled at all. Mixed use at the same terminal is normal rather than a workaround.
How many terminals will we need?
It depends on entrances and on how many people arrive at the same moment rather than on headcount alone. A hundred staff arriving over an hour is a different problem from a hundred arriving in ten minutes for a shift start. Tell us how your mornings actually go and we will say what you need rather than what we would like to sell.
What does a fingerprint terminal cost?
Terminals start at £395 excl. VAT as a one-off, with the software separate at £2 per employee per month excl. VAT for Syncro Connect. See the full terminal range for the specific models.
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