Why am I being clocked out automatically?
There are two reasons why you might be clocked out. First, if the location geofence settings are set to active monitoring, the app will clock you out if you leave the geofence for more than five minutes. Second, you will be clocked out if your company's Clean Smarts settings have a limit to the length of a running shift.
Geofence Clock Out
SEPTEMBER 2023 UPDATE: Version 2.2.4 update of the mobile app has corrected the behavior of active geofence monitoring for situations when the phone stops sharing the user's location with the Clean Smarts app. Prior to this update, situations such as having the phone in low-power mode or switching location sharing from "Always on" to "While using the app" would stop location sharing with the app, and the app would not clock the user out. With version 2.2.4 and later, the app now will assume that if the phone stops sharing the location that the user has left the geofence.
Users that never configured their location sharing settings correctly will be clocked out prematurely, even if they are on the location premises. This can be fixed with these settings:
For iOS (under phone Settings):
- Set Clean Smarts > Location to "Always".
- Set Clean Smarts > Location > Precise Location to ON.
- Set Clean Smarts > Motion & Fitness to ON. (The app saves battery by checking the location when movement is detected.)
- Set Clean Smarts > Notifications to ON. (The app will show a notification when it detects the user has left the geofence and when the user has been automatically clocked out.)
- Set Battery > Low Power Mode to OFF.
For Android (under phone Settings):
- Set Clean Smarts > Notifications to ON. (The app will show a notification when it detects the user has left the geofence and when the user has been automatically clocked out.)
- Set Clean Smarts > Permissions > Location to "Allow all the time".
- Set Clean Smarts > Permissions > Location > Use precise location to ON.
- Set Clean Smarts > Permissions > Physical activity to ON. (The app saves battery by checking the location when movement is detected.)
- Set Clean Smarts > Pause app activity if unused to OFF.
- Set Clean Smarts > Mobile data > Allow background data usage to ON.
- Set Clean Smarts > Mobile data > Allow data usage while Data saver is on to ON.
- Set Clean Smarts > Battery to "Unrestricted".
We understand that this is a lot of configuration to require for users. Phone manufacturers intentionally make it difficult for apps to monitor a user's location for obvious (and valid) privacy reasons. We recommend that supervisors assist cleaners with these settings. If Android users have established these settings and the active geofence feature is still clocking them out, there may be manufacturer-specific settings that are stopping the background monitoring process. In these cases, we recommend switching the location geofence setting from an active geofence to geofence checking upon clock-in and clock-out (which is labeled as "Enforce geofence" in the setting dropdown).
Clean Smarts allows account administrators to turn on active geofence monitoring. This can be set company wide for all locations in Admin > Company Settings > Geolocation. It can also be set individually for certain locations.
Active geofence monitoring means that the Clean Smarts app will monitor the your geolocation while (and only while) you are on the clock. If you leave the geofence, the app will show a notification that you will be clocked out in five minutes if you do not re-enter the geofence.
If you are being clocked out even though you haven't left the geofence, the most common problem is incorrect app or phone settings. Please refer to the related article "How do I enable active geofence monitoring?" for a list of the settings to double check in order for active geofence monitoring to work consistently.
Please note that GPS readings can "wander" (even if you're still physically on site!), especially in areas of poor signal or in urban areas with high rises. Because of this, any geofence radius less than .125 miles (200 meters) is not recommended. Your account administrator may need to expand the geofence if you are consistently being clocked out prematurely after you have confirmed your app and phone settings are correct.
Check-ins that were clocked out because the user left the geofence will show a map pin icon the timesheet:
Time-based Automatic Clock Out
Clean Smarts account administrators can turn on automatic clock out in Admin > Company Settings from the web app. This feature, when enabled, will clock you out if your open check-in timer has been running for specified length of time. The default length is 24 hours, but your account administrator may change this length.
Check-ins that were clocked out because of these time limitations will show a magic wand icon in the timesheet:
