The 8 questions at a glance
Use this table as a worksheet when you talk to vendors: note each vendor’s answers, then compare. Each question is explained in the sections that follow.
| Question | A good answer looks like this |
|---|---|
| 1. How do staff check in, and how is cheating prevented? | Verifies both the person and the location, keeps evidence for review, and offers several channels to suit each site |
| 2. Does it handle many branches and shifts? | Check-ins tied to the roster, per-branch areas and rules, live status by branch |
| 3. What happens without internet? | A clear account of what works offline, how it syncs and how times are protected from tampering |
| 4. Does it flow into overtime and payroll? | Actual hours and approved overtime reach the payroll run without export and re-entry |
| 5. How are leave and time corrections approved? | Submitted and approved on mobile, configurable approval steps, every edit logged with who made it |
| 6. Where is data stored, and how are face photos handled? | Clear answers on where the database and files live, configurable photo retention, a log of sensitive-data access |
| 7. How long is setup, and do staff need to install an app? | Self-service data import, help at the start, easy start for staff on iPhone and Android |
| 8. How is it priced, and can you take your data when you leave? | A clear pricing structure, known costs as you grow, full company data export |
Check-in: methods, anti-cheat, branches and offline (questions 1–3)
Question 1, methods and anti-cheat: go deeper than “do you have face scan?”. Ask whether it can tell a real person from a photo, whether location is checked every time, whether out-of-area check-ins are blocked or just flagged, what evidence is kept, and what the option is for staff without phones. (See how to prevent buddy punching and attendance app vs fingerprint scanner.)
Question 2, branches and shifts: a good system knows which shift each person is due to work, at which branch, today — not just loose in/out times. Ask how overnight shifts are counted, whether check-in areas and rules can differ per branch, and whether supervisors can see which posts nobody has checked into.
Question 3, offline: real workplaces always have dead spots. Ask what happens if the connection drops during check-in, whether it is stored and synced later, and how reliable offline timestamps are.
- Ask to see a real check-in on a phone, not just slides
- Try checking in outside the area and see what the supervisor sees
- Ask who is notified when someone forgets to check out, and who can fix it
Data that flows on: overtime, payroll, leave and corrections (questions 4–5)
Question 4, overtime and payroll: a time clock that only exports files leaves HR matching shifts, leave and overtime and re-entering payroll every period. Ask how actual hours reach payroll, whether overtime needs approval first, how overtime rates are set, and whether incomplete records are paid anyway or held for review. For a quick sanity check on overtime figures, try the OT calculator.
Question 5, leave and corrections: if requesting leave or reporting a problem is a hassle, people find shortcuts. Ask whether staff can request leave on mobile, whether approval steps can be set by department or type, whether supervisors can approve several items at once, and whether every time correction records who made it, when and why.
Personal data and PDPA, especially face photos (question 6)
Face and location check-ins collect personal data, and biometric data such as a face is treated as sensitive data under Thailand’s PDPA, which calls for stricter handling than ordinary data. Before choosing, have your legal team or data protection officer (DPO) review the legal basis for collection, how staff are informed, and retention periods.
Ask vendors where data is stored (the main database, photo files and backups may live in different places), whether photos can be deleted automatically after a set period, who in your company can see what, whether access to sensitive data is logged, and whether data can be exported on request.
- Be wary of vague answers like “your data is safe” without saying where it is stored
- Ask to see the real permission settings — can salary data or photos be hidden from roles that do not need them?
Starting and leaving: setup, the app, pricing and contracts (questions 7–8)
Question 7, setup and the app: ask what data you need to prepare, whether you can import from Excel yourself, who helps with setup, and whether staff must download an app from a store or can open it straight from the browser. A browser-based app gets people started faster and updates every device at once, but ask about iPhone limits — for example which browser is needed for home-screen install and notifications.
Question 8, pricing, contract and exit: ask whether pricing is per person, per branch or per feature, what you pay as you hire or open branches, how long the contract runs, and whether you can export employee data, time history and payroll in full if you leave. Ask a “free” time clock the same questions (see free time attendance software: hidden costs).
Trial before you decide: run a real payroll period
The best trial is one branch or team with real shifts, running alongside your current method for one payroll period, then comparing hours, overtime and pay. A demo alone rarely shows the problems of payroll close.
- Pick a team with regular shifts, overnight shifts and people who often forget to check out
- Have supervisors use the approval side for real, not just HR
- Compare payroll totals with your current method, and note how much preparation time was saved
OrgFlow’s answers to the 8 questions
To show what specific answers look like, here are OrgFlow’s — including the limits you should know about.
- Check-in: face scan with a liveness check plus a GPS check every time; out-of-area check-ins blocked or flagged (per-site setting) · shared branch tablet, on-site QR and NFC (Android only) · photo, time and location kept as evidence
- Branches / shifts: tied to the shift roster · understaffed or overstaffed posts stand out in the roster and live status · forgotten check-outs trigger a push to supervisors
- Offline: check-in works even when the connection drops and syncs later
- Payroll: shift / frontline staff are paid from actual hours, with incomplete records held for review · overtime rates set per site, position or provincial minimum wage, and approved overtime flows into payroll (statutory multipliers are not applied automatically — you set the rates)
- Approvals: leave, overtime, day-off swaps and holiday work requested and approved on mobile, with configurable steps and bulk approval · admins can record time on someone’s behalf, and the system logs who did it
- Data: main database hosted on servers in Thailand; files and photos kept in cloud storage · configurable photo retention · access to sensitive data is logged · key changes are auditable
- Getting started: self-service Excel import plus onboarding help · the employee app opens in the browser with no store install, on iPhone and Android (on iPhone, open it in Safari to add it to the home screen and get notifications) · employee app in Thai and English; back office currently in Thai
- Leaving: full company data export · prices are not published on the website; book a demo to discuss your team size · no public API or LINE integration yet