Geofence Zones
Geofence zones are areas you draw on the property map that are evaluated based on employee positions. When a checked-in employee enters or leaves a zone, a zone event is created — optionally with a warning to the employee, a notification via automation, or automatic check-in/out.
LiteLog distinguishes two zone kinds, managed in different places:
| Zone kind | Purpose | Where to manage |
|---|---|---|
| Restricted zone (red) | Areas employees must not enter: warning on entering with a custom warning text, optionally a dwell-time event. | Property → Settings → "Restricted zones" section |
| Time tracking zone (blue) | Areas for time tracking: automatic check-in/out and a warning on leaving. | Property → Time Tracking → "Time tracking zones" section |
Each zone belongs to exactly one kind — the editor only shows the settings of its kind, and a colored badge marks the zone kind in every list.
What Is This Feature For?
Typical use cases:
- Part of the premises must not be entered (restricted zone) — the employee should be warned immediately on entering.
- If someone leaves the premises during their shift, supervisors should know.
- Whoever leaves the premises should be checked out automatically.
- If someone stays in an area unusually long, an event should be created (dwell time).
Drawing and Editing Zones
Clicking a zone (or "Add restricted zone" / "Add time tracking zone") opens the full-screen editor with a large map. The map shows the property area (the clock-in geofence from the map wizard) as context and the zone in its kind color. Two ways to define the area:
- Draw zone — click the corner points of the area on the map one after another. Enter completes the zone, Esc cancels drawing.
- Adopt property area — adopts exactly the property area. Handy when the whole premises should act as a zone (e.g. for the leave warning).
Settings of a Restricted Zone
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Name | Label of the zone (e.g. "Restricted area transformer"). Appears in events and notifications. |
| Warning text on entering | On entering, the app immediately shows the employee a warning — with the text you define here. The enter warning is always active for restricted zones. |
| Dwell-time event (minutes) | If an employee stays in the zone continuously for longer than the configured number of minutes, a dwell-time event is created. |
Settings of a Time Tracking Zone
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Name | Label of the zone (e.g. "Property area", "Factory premises"). Appears in events and notifications. |
| Automatic check-in on entry | The app automatically clocks the employee in when they enter the zone — silently, with just a short confirmation (toast). See Automatic check-in. |
| Warning on leaving | When the zone is left, an event is created and the employee is warned. |
| Automatic check-out | Only selectable when the leave warning is active (default: off). Once the system confirms the leave, the running work time is ended automatically. |
The "Advanced rules" section of the Time Tracking tab additionally offers the convenience switch "Geofence: warning when leaving the property area" (with the sub-switch Automatic check-out): it enables leave monitoring for the property area without you having to draw a zone yourself — LiteLog creates the "Property area" time tracking zone automatically.
How the Evaluation Works
Important for realistic expectations:
- Only during a running shift. Zones are evaluated exclusively for employees who are checked in for time tracking at this property. Outside working hours, no location tracking takes place. The only exception: the app also checks zones with automatic check-in without a running shift — but only while the app is active.
- Server-side detection with a buffer. The system evaluates the position stream of the LiteLog app — with a buffer of roughly 40 meters around the zone boundary and multiple confirmations across several position reports. A leave warning therefore typically arrives after 1–2 minutes — this is not an instant alarm, but it prevents false alarms caused by GPS jumps.
- Instant hints in the app. In addition to the server-side evaluation, the app shows its own instant hints: the configured restricted-zone warning text when entering a restricted zone, and a "Left the property area?" hint when leaving the premises.
- Only with the app active. The evaluation only works while the app is running in the foreground and delivering positions. If the screen is switched off or the position stream breaks off, the system reports "Location tracking interrupted" — it deliberately does not check anyone out incorrectly in that case.
Automatic Check-in
With the zone switch "Automatic check-in on entry", work time starts by itself as soon as an employee enters the zone — no scan, no dialog. The app only shows a short confirmation (toast) "Automatically clocked in".
How the feature behaves:
- Only with the app active. The employee must have the LiteLog app open with the property selected; nothing happens in the background or with the screen off.
- Confirmed across multiple positions. Only two consecutive position reports inside the zone trigger the check-in — a single GPS jump is not enough.
- A scan requirement takes precedence. If the property requires a scan for checking in (NFC, QR, or kiosk) and starting by button press is not allowed, the app silently does not check in.
- Location/beacon verification takes precedence. If the configured location lock or beacon check fails, the check-in is also silently discarded.
- Ping-pong protection. After an automatic or manual check-out inside the zone, a cool-down of a few minutes applies before another automatic check-in.
:::info Data protection note For this feature, the app also checks the zones without a running shift, as long as it is actively running in the foreground and a property is selected. Still, no movement profiles are created — nevertheless, inform your employees transparently about the automatic time tracking. :::
Events and Notifications
- Entering and leaving appear as zone events in the timeline of the attendance detail (detail view of a work time entry).
- You set up notifications via automation — using the triggers "Property area left", "Restricted zone entered", and "Location tracking interrupted". Available recipients include the affected employee themselves.
Data Protection
Only the zone events are stored (enter/leave/dwell time with timestamp) — no movement profiles. If your company has a works council, a works agreement on location-based evaluation is recommended before rollout.
Good to Know
:::tip Note
- Do not draw zones too small: because of GPS accuracy, we recommend edge lengths of at least about 50 meters.
- The leave warning is deliberately not an instant alarm — expect a delay of 1–2 minutes due to the multiple confirmations.
- Automatic check-out can only be enabled together with the leave warning and is off by default.
- Zones do not replace the location lock for checking in/out — you configure that in the Proof section. :::
Permissions
:::info Permission Technically, zones are control point areas: viewing requires View control points, and creating/editing/deleting requires the corresponding control points permissions. Contact your administrator if you do not have access. :::