Every restaurant manager knows the problems with a paper sign in sheet or a shared PIN: a colleague clocks in for a friend who is still on the way, times get rounded, and nobody can prove what really happened when payroll comes round. A fingerprint machine fixes some of that, but it sits at one door, it needs maintenance, and it does not help when staff move between branches.
Wink You uses the phone instead. Staff clock in on the Staff Clock in app, which opens in the phone browser or on one tablet fixed to the wall. Each punch can take a live selfie that is compared with the face the person set up, and a location check against your branch. This guide explains the setup, what managers see, and exactly what is stored and for how long.
Step 1: set the attendance rules for each branch
In Business Admin open Branches, find the branch and click Configure. First check the branch pin under Location and Delivery, because distance is measured from it. Then scroll to Staff attendance:
- Require face check: staff must take a matching live selfie to clock in.
- Require location: staff must be close to the branch. Set Allowed distance (metres), from 10 to 5000.
- Face match minimum and Liveness minimum: optional, from 0 to 1. Higher is stricter.
- Also apply to portal and POS clock in: off by default. Switch it on if the same checks should apply when staff clock in from Business Admin or the POS.
Without a branch pin there is no distance check, even with Require location switched on. Clocking out is never refused, so nobody gets stuck on the clock.
Step 2: each person sets up their face, with consent
Face data is biometric data, so nothing is saved until the person agrees. The first time a team member signs in, the staff app shows a notice called Face check in and your privacy, in English or Arabic. It tells them, in plain words:
- What is saved: a reference photo of their face and a face template, which is a set of numbers that describes the face. Each clock in and clock out also takes a selfie.
- Why: only to confirm the right person is clocking in. It is never used for ads and never sold.
- Duplicate check: the new face is compared with other staff at the same business, so nobody can set up a face in someone else's place.
- Who can see it: people the business allows to manage staff, usually the owner and branch managers.
- How long: the reference photo and template are kept while the person is enrolled. Clock in selfies are deleted after 60 days.
- Their choice: to have their face data removed, they ask their manager or email Wink You at the address shown in the notice.
If they tap I agree, the app records that consent with the version and language of the notice, opens the camera, and asks them to turn their head and blink. The face saves by itself. If they tap Not now, nothing is stored. Clock in selfies are kept in private storage, not on the public website storage, and managers open them through links that expire after a few minutes.
Step 3: clocking in and taking breaks
On the Today screen, the team member taps Clock in, lines up their face in the ring and follows the prompts. The app checks they are at the branch, then starts the shift timer. For a break they choose the break type and tap Start break, then End break when they are back. Clock out works the same way. A clock in up to two hours before a planned shift, or during it, is attached to that shift; a clock in with no planned shift nearby is marked as unplanned so you can review it. If the phone loses signal, the app says Saved on this phone, waiting to send, and sends it when the signal returns.
Step 4: review attendance
Open Shifts and time, then Attendance. Each row shows the staff member, branch, date, in and out times, and the Face, Liveness and Location results. View attendance photo opens the selfie. Switch on Flagged only to see punches outside the allowed distance, punches with a low face match, and overrides. When a completed shift looks right, click Approve and its hours go to payroll.
What is not included yet
- There is no button in Business Admin to reset another person's face. The owner can redo their own in the staff app under Me, Set up my face again; for anyone else, contact Wink You support.
- If someone cannot pass the check today, a manager can clock them in from Employee Shifts. It is recorded as an override under the manager's name.
- An accountant account cannot use the staff app.
Frequently asked questions
How do staff clock in with face recognition?
They open the staff app, tap Clock in, look at the camera and follow the prompts to turn their head and blink. If the branch requires location, the app also checks they are within the allowed distance.
Can a photo of someone be used to clock in?
The check asks for live movement, such as turning the head and blinking, and scores liveness. You can raise Liveness minimum on the branch to make it stricter, and low scores are flagged for review.
How long are attendance selfies kept?
60 days, then they are deleted. The reference photo and face template stay while the person is enrolled, and deleting a staff member removes their face data.
Why can my staff not clock in?
The message on the phone says which check failed: too far from the branch, location turned off, face not set up yet, face not matched, camera blocked, or a pay period that is already locked. Each one has a fix in our help guides.
Learn more
See winkyou.com/products/staff-management for the full team toolkit. The video guides are winkyou.com/support/staff-and-shifts/how-to-set-attendance-rules, winkyou.com/support/staff-and-shifts/how-to-set-up-your-face-the-first-time and winkyou.com/support/staff-and-shifts/how-to-check-attendance.