Discover our top 6 reasons for choosing to use NFC tags here
This article will explore the top 6 reasons why CleanManager has opted for NFC tags to verify task start and end times within our app.
Are you not yet familiar with NFC tags? Read more about the tags and what they can be used for in the article: What are NFC tags?
In the following, we will list the most important reasons for why we at CleanManager have chosen to use NFC tags instead of QR codes and GPS tracking.
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NOTE: The add-on module App with Time Tracking must be activated in your account in order to use the CleanManager app. Read more about how to activate add-on modules here: Add-on modules. |
In this article, you will learn more about our reasons for choosing NFC tags, as well as what to do if some of your employees are without NFC scanner in their phones:
- Our top 6 reasons for choosing NFC tags
- What can I do if an employee does not have an NFC scanner in their phone?
- What do I do if I have a one-time client who does not need to have an NFC tag installed, but where the cleaning still needs to be documented?
Our top 6 reasons for choosing NFC tags
| 1. | Physical verification |
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By using NFC tags, you can be certain that your employees are at the correct location at the correct time. The tags require physical interaction, meaning that your employees must be in proximity in order to be able to scan the tag to clock in and out of a task. This way, you know exactly what location your employee is at, unlike with the use of QR codes, bar codes, and GPS tracking. QR codes and bar codes are easy to copy and scan from other locations, while GPS tracking can be unreliable in areas with poor network coverage. Additionally, GPS tracking might not be able to show you the exact position of the employee at the location, whereas you can register multiple NFC tags for a customer, e.g. if they have more than one building. |
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| 2. | Privacy |
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Each NFC tag is equipped with a unique ID number that will be registered to a specific client location in CleanManager. It is on the basis of this ID number's registration in the system that you will be able to see an employee's location when they clock in and out of a task by scanning the tag. This reduces privacy concerns, seeing as NFC tags do not track the user's movements, which may be the case with GPS. |
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| 3. | Ease of use |
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NFC tags are easy to use and they require minimal setup. As the administrator or as a supervisor, you can go to the client and use the app to create a new NFC tag for a specific location that already exists in your CleanManager. When the tag has been registered, your employees can easily track their working hours by clocking in and out, scanning the tag. |
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| 4. | Reliability |
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NFC tags are not reliant on external factors such as signal strength or satellite positioning, as GPS tracking is. GPS signals can be weak or inaccessible in certain environments, such as concrete buildings or basements, making it difficult for the employee to register their arrival and the start of the task. Likewise, QR codes can also be affected by the environment. They may be difficult to scan in low lighting, and they are at risk of fading, bending, or tearing. You can still use NFC tags if your phone is in offline mode with no signal. When an NFC tag is scanned with a device in offline mode, the ID number of the tag will be saved so that it can be synchronised at a later time when the phone is once again connected to a network. You can learn more about this process in the following article: How to handle “no connection to the server” |
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| 5. | Security |
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When you buy your NFC tags from CleanManager, they are equipped with a unique ID number that gets assigned to a specific location in the system when created in the app. This ID number cannot be altered, which ensures that your staff is at the correct location at the correct time. However, QR codes can be easily manipulated. For example, someone could take a picture of the QR code and scan it from a different location. |
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| 6. | Integration with mobile devices |
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NFC technology is built into most modern smartphones, which makes it accessible to a large user base. Download the CleanManager app and sign in — you will now be ready to scan and create NFC tags. If you wish to see a list of mobile devices with built-in NFC technology, see the following article: Smartphones with NFC. In the before mentioned article, you will also learn how to test your phone to see if it has an inbuilt NFC scanner. |
There you have it — our top 6 reasons for using NFC tags to verify task start and end times!
You may be left wondering what to do if, for example, an employee does not have a working NFC scanner installed in their phone.
Below, you'll find some workarounds so you can still keep track of your employees' working hours.
This is what you can do if you have employees without NFC technology in their phones
In your general settings, you can enable manual check-in for all customers. Your employees with no NFC scanner will then be able to start a task manually instead of using the NFC tag. See how to find and change the setting in the following article: For which customer should it be possible for employees to check in manually without an NFC tag and register arrival and/or departure time?
If you are curious to see who is clocking in using NFC tags or through manual check-in, you can learn how to do that here: View check-ins and check-outs as the administrator/supervisor.
Another solution is to create an extra location for the client and not set up an NFC tag for this specific location. This way, you can allocate tasks to this extra location for the employees with no NFC technology. The solution allows the few select employees to check in manually if their tasks are moved to the extra location with no NFC tag. Other staff still has to scan the NFC tag because their tasks are planned at the original location with the NFC tag.
For this solution to work, it is important to go to the general settings and set up that employees can clock in manually for customers without NFC tags.
What can I do if I have a temporary customer with no NFC tag, but I still need to document that my cleaners have been there
In case you have a one time client or a client for a short span of time and do not want to set up an NFC tag, you can still use the CleanManager app to document that your cleaners have been at the location. This can be done by getting your cleaners to attach a before and after picture of the site to the task. Cleaners can attach pictures as soon as they clock in on their task. It is essential to attach all pictures before ending the task. Read more about this in the following article: Image documentation and comments on a task.
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