For your crew
What Punchless tracks. And what it doesn't.
Plain answers to the questions every technician asks when they first hear the words “GPS tracking.”
What Punchless records
When you arrive at a registered job site
Triggered when: Geofence boundary crossed - on-site clock starts
When you leave a registered job site
Triggered when: Geofence boundary crossed - on-site clock stops
Drive time between the shop and job sites
Triggered when: In-transit state logged while moving between registered locations
When you arrive back at the shop
Triggered when: Shop geofence crossed - shift can be closed
Your real-time location during your shift
Triggered when: Visible to your manager on the live crew map while your shift is active
GPS path data for your shift
Triggered when: Stored for 12 months for dispute resolution, then permanently deleted
Stops longer than 10 minutes at unknown locations
Triggered when: Flagged for manager review - not auto-recorded as billable time
What Punchless does not record
Your location outside of shift hours - tracking stops when your shift ends
Your location when you pause the app - one tap pauses all tracking
Your location when the app is fully closed
Punchless collects GPS data during active shift hours. Your manager can see your current location on the crew map and GPS path data is stored for dispute resolution. The key protection: tracking only runs during your shift. When your shift ends or you close the app, nothing is collected.
Your experience in the app
Start of shift
Open Punchless and begin your shift. The app confirms your current state (At shop) and activates geofence monitoring. That's it - you can put your phone away.
During the day
The app works silently in the background. When you arrive at a job site, it records the time. When you leave, same. Your timecard builds itself while you work.
End of shift
Return to the shop and end your shift. Your draft timecard is visible immediately - review it, edit any entries if needed, then submit. Your manager approves from there, usually within 24 hours.
Your data rights
- → You can view all GPS events recorded for your shifts at any time in the app.
- → You can edit draft timecard entries yourself before submitting, or flag any entry for manager review after submission.
- → You can pause tracking with one tap. If you need to step away for a personal matter, tap Pause in the app. Tracking resumes when you tap Resume. The pause is visible to your manager.
- → Your employer is required to disclose GPS tracking to you before enrolling you in Punchless. If they haven't, ask them.
- → GPS location data is deleted after 12 months. Approved timecard records are kept for 7 years for payroll compliance.
More questions
Do I need to manually clock in or out?
No. The app detects when you arrive and leave job sites automatically. You don't need to open the app or tap anything during your shift.
Can I see my own timecard before my manager does?
Yes. The Punchless app shows your current shift state (on site, in transit, at shop) and the draft timecard being built in real time. You can edit entries yourself before submitting, so you can correct anything before your manager ever sees it.
What if the GPS got my arrival time wrong?
Fix it yourself before submitting - you can edit any draft timecard entry directly in the app. If it's already been submitted, flag it for your manager. All edits (yours and theirs) are logged in the audit trail.
Does the app run when I'm off the clock?
Geofence monitoring is only active during your registered shift hours. Outside of shift, the app is idle. You can also log out completely, which disables all background activity.
Will it drain my phone battery?
Geofence-based tracking is significantly less battery-intensive than continuous GPS. In practice, most technicians see between 8–15% of their daily battery used over a full work shift — roughly comparable to occasionally using Maps.
Can I see my own GPS history?
Yes. You can view your own GPS path data and shift events in the app - the same records your manager can see. Historical GPS data is kept for 12 months for dispute resolution, then permanently deleted.
Are you the manager setting this up?
Read the full technical walkthrough →