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Table of Contents: Article IndexPrintable Version

Applies to versions: 1.3, 1.4, 1.5



Biometric Validation



TimeIPS can validate employee identification using biometric thumbprint authentication. Employees clock in and out of TimeIPS and are asked to present their finger or thumb for validation. You can deny the clock event or send an email warning if the validation fails.

Security Level Required: Employee Administrator or Payroll Administrator

Using the left pane Main Menu, click on: Administration » Clocking » Biometric Validation

The first step in setting up Biometric Validation is to identify the Global Thumbprint Settings Default. These settings allows you to quickly set up Biometric Validation for all employees. If necessary, you can adjust settings for individual employees (step 2), such as not requiring validation for some employees or changing the system's reaction when authentication is not successful. In step 3, TimeIPS enrolls each employee's thumbprint for authentication and validation during clock in's and out's.



  1. Set the Global Thumbprint Settings:

    1. Choose a system default threshold, Upon authentication failure when required, Allowable Identification Attempts, Enrollment Thumbprint Capture Method, and Number of Captured Thumbprints on Enrollment options from the pull-down.

    2. Click on the Update Global Thumbprint Settings button to apply the settings.

  2. (Optional) If you have individual employees that should have different thresholds or failure actions:

    1. Select the employee's Individual Thumbprint Threshold and On Failure options from the pull-downs.

    2. Repeat step a. for employees as necessary.

    3. Click on the Adjust Employee Settings button to apply the settings.

  3. Have employees Enroll their Thumbprint(s).
    NOTE: Employees will be prompted to enroll their thumbprint the next time they attempt to clock in or out once the Biometric device has been installed and the global and individual Thumbprint Settings have been applied, .

    1. Clock in or out as usual (swipe badge or enter ID on keypad and press ENTER).

    2. Follow the visual and audio directions to enroll then authenticate.
      NOTE: The TimeIPS Fingerprint Reader is a reading device, not a button. Press just firmly enough that the finger makes good contact with the read area.

      NOTE: Once the enrollment is complete, TimeIPS will load the enrolled thumbprint(s) so your clock in or out from step 3a can be authenticated. It will then prompt you to present your thumb.

EXAMPLE: Company 1 is set to Multi-Read enrollment with 1 captured thumbprint. The enrollment process beings when the employee clocks in for the first time. The employee places his thumb centered on the biometric reader for all three reads. The best of the three reads is captured.

EXAMPLE: Company 2 is set to Quick enrollment with 3 captures. The enrollment process beings when the employee clocks in for the first time. For the first capture, the employee places his thumb centered on the biometric reader for the single read. For the second capture, the employee tilts his thumb slightly to the left for the single read. For the final capture, the employee tilts his thumb slightly to the right for the single read.

EXAMPLE: Company 3 is set to Multi-Read enrollment with 2 captured thumbprints. The enrollment process beings when the employee clocks in for the first time. For the first capture, the employee places his right thumb centered on the biometric reader for all three reads. For the second capture, the employee places his left thumb centered on the biometric reader for all three reads. The employee can clock in and out with either thumb. Again note that supervised enrollment is HIGHLY recommended for multiple captures to ensure that each employee enrolls with only his own thumbs.

WARNING: Allowing multiple thumbprint captures could allow more than one individual to provide a thumb at enrollment, thereby allowing multiple individuals to authenticate for one employee. When using multiple captures, supervised enrollment is advised.

If an employee has consistent authentication failures:

There are two types of error you may see when an employee attempts to authenticate using biometrics: "Biometric authentication failed. Please try againt" indicates that the reader is unable to take a good scan of the print. If you received this message:

  • Instruct the employee to take a deep breath and exhale onto their finger tip for a few seconds, the most common cause of this error is extremely dry skin.

  • Instruct employee to inspect their hands for dirt build up and to wash their hands if needed. It is advisable to provide paper towels on site for employees to properly dry their hands after washing as wet fingerprints will also fail to read.

    • The second message of "No match found" would indicate that it a read was taken but the read wasn't a clear match to the data on file. This is not all together unusual especially for employees new to the biometric reader, in a situation like this please try the following steps:

    • Raise the number of attempts to five thus giving the employee five tries to obtain a match

    • Delete the employee's Thumbprint data using the Clear Thumbprint Data link on the Thumbprint Settings page. The employee will be prompted to enroll on their next clock in/out.

    • Lower the employee's thumbprint threshold.

    If an employee injures the finger they use for clock in/out:

    • Delete the employee's Thumbprint data using the Clear Thumbprint Data link on the Thumbprint Settings page. The employee will be prompted to enroll on their next clock in/out.


    Recommended Enrollment Method

    1. Set "Enrollment Thumbprint Capture Method" to Quick.

    2. Set "Number of Captured Thumbprints on Enrollment" to 5.

    3. When employees enroll, have them:
      • present their thumb/finger straight on for the first capture,
      • roll the thumb/finger to the left for the second capture,
      • to the right for the third capture,
      • the top of the thumb/finger for the fourth capture,
      • and a different finger straight on for the fifth capture.

      This procedure captures a large surface area for one finger and the main surface for another digit (in case of injury to the first finger).



    Fingerprint Storage

    TimeIPS uses capacitance and RF based readers to capture fingerprint data for each employee. Unless specifically requested, TimeIPS does not store an image of the employee's fingerprint. The TimeIPS reader looks for and "maps" the pattern on the finger or thumb, and then creates an mathematical profile of the print using an algorithm.

    The profile data is stored as binary data to be used for later comparisons. It allows future prints to be analyzed and rated as to the degree of similarity to the original print(s). For convenience, the system is capable of storing up to ten print profiles per employee.

    When an employee enters a PIN code or presents a badge, TimeIPS will prompt for a finger or thumb to be presented to the reader for validation. TimeIPS will, at that time, compare the data it is reading currently against the profile(s) it has stored on file for that specific employee number.

    The data stored within the system uses formatting and encoding that is proprietary to the TimeIPS system, and can not be used to re-create a fingerprint or for any purpose outside of TimeIPS.



    See Also:
    Clock In/Out (1.3, 1.4, 1.5)

    ©2004-2023 TimeIPS, Inc. All Rights Reserved - TimeIPS and the TimeIPS logo are registered trademarks of TimeIPS, Inc.
    "Intelligent Personnel System" "Run your Business. We'll watch the clock." are trademarks of TimeIPS, Inc.
    TimeIPS is protected by one or more patents. Patent No. US 7,114.684 B2.