Buddy Clocking: Why Cards and PINs Fail on the Floor
Published: 9 September 2026
If one person can clock for another, your attendance system is a suggestion — not a control.
Buddy clocking thrives wherever identity is transferable: cards left at the gate, PINs written on a phone case, “clock me in, I’m two minutes away.”
Why cards and PINs break down
They prove possession of an object or knowledge of a code — not presence of a person. Under overtime pressure, shift swaps, or weak supervision, sharing becomes normal culture.
What biometrics change
Fingerprint verification ties the clocking to the employee. It does not fix every policy problem, but it removes the easiest fraud path. That is the core of biometric time and attendance.
Zack terminals are built for this: fixed installs for high-volume entrances, portable units for remote sites. See Zack hardware.
Culture still matters
Hardware without manager visibility still leaves gaps. Live attendance in Zeroslack V3 helps supervisors act during the day — not only when payroll disputes explode.