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Attendance operationsPublished 16 August 2026 · Updated 25 September 2026 · 2 min read

Geofence attendance setup: place, test and review the boundary

A practical setup log for attendance boundaries, adjacent sites, rejected captures and location-quality problems.

By , Founder, Attendify Vision · Editorial standards

Start where people actually arrive

Attendify represents each site with a circular boundary. Choose the intended attendance point: a gate, reception area or site office. A property’s geometric center may be far from that point, especially on a long or irregular site.

Inspect nearby roads, homes and adjacent premises before choosing a radius. A wider circle may reduce legitimate rejections while also admitting locations outside the intended working area. There is no single radius that resolves that trade-off everywhere.

This guide covers setting up and testing the boundary. For how Attendify checks it on the phone and again on the server, including offline punches, see the GPS geofencing attendance system page.

Measure before adjusting

GPS.gov’s accuracy explanation describes how environment and equipment affect location. A reported accuracy value is context, not proof of an exact physical position. Test more than one actual device, at the arrival time and in the conditions your workers face.

Scroll the table sideways to read all columns.

Test locationExpected outcomeRecord
Intended entranceLegitimate capture should workDevice, time, coordinates, result
Indoor work areaAssess capture feasibilityWhether a usable fix is available
Nearby unrelated premisesShould not qualify for the intended boundaryDistance and observed result
Adjacent company siteAssignment must be clearAssigned site and resulting attribution

If legitimate workers are rejected, check coordinates, assignment, permissions and location quality. Widening the circle may hide an incorrect pin or admit an unintended area.

Know the failure policy

A system can block a punch, accept and flag it, or record a rejected attempt for later review. Those are separate design choices. Do not assume a block necessarily means a server retained every rejected input.

Attendify rejects submissions outside a required geofence, and the app checks the assigned site before the camera opens. A punch the server refuses stays in a rejected-records list on the phone for 30 days with its reason and selfie, so a supervisor can correct genuine attendance. For how the check works end to end, see the GPS geofencing attendance system page.

Treat overlapping sites as an assignment problem

Suppose two site circles overlap near a shared car park. Coordinates alone do not tell you which job the worker was assigned to or whether they moved during the day. Confirm the intended assignment and agree who updates it when the working plan changes.

The server evaluates reported coordinates; it does not authenticate a device’s physical position. Pair location with appropriate evidence and review, without promising that a boundary eliminates spoofing.

Keep a setup record

Save the purpose of the boundary, test results, chosen radius, responsible administrator and review date. Recheck after an entrance moves or repeated failures appear. Use a documented fallback rather than assuming every missing record is an absence.

See GPS attendance behavior and new-site onboarding for the surrounding workflow.

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