Choosing the tablet

Any recent tablet works. An iPad is the most common choice because it's reliable and easy to mount, but a cheaper Android tablet running a browser-based kiosk does the job. What matters more than the brand:

  • A screen big enough to tap a PIN pad without mistakes (8 inches or more).
  • A stand or mount that stops it walking off.
  • A charger that stays plugged in.

Placing the tablet

Put it where people pass on the way in and out, not in the office. Next to the staff entrance, by the back door, or at the end of the counter all work. Avoid spots where customers can reach it, direct sunlight, and anywhere near the dish pit or espresso steam.

PINs and buddy punching

Give each person their own PIN and ask them not to share it. A kiosk that shows the employee's name after the PIN is entered makes a coworker's PIN obvious to anyone standing nearby, which discourages clocking in for someone else. For most small teams that, plus a manager who looks at the timesheet, is enough.

Setting it up in Zchedule

The kiosk PIN screen after an employee taps Clock In.
  1. On the web dashboard, open Kiosks and create a kiosk. You get a one-time setup link valid for 30 minutes.
  2. Open the link on the tablet. It stays paired through reloads and restarts.
  3. Make sure each employee has a clock-in PIN (4 to 6 digits). A manager can reset one if someone forgets it.
  4. Clock yourself in and out once to check it works, then show the team.

Tablets are re-registered every 30 days. The tablet kiosk page shows each screen employees see.

Wi-Fi and power

A kiosk needs a connection. If yours drops, a good kiosk should stop accepting punches and say so, rather than store them and send them later with the wrong time. Put the tablet within good range of the router, and keep it plugged in so it doesn't die overnight.

Rules to tell your team

  • Clock in when you're ready to work, not when you arrive in the car park.
  • Clock out for lunch and back in after, if your breaks are unpaid.
  • If you forget a punch, tell a manager that day (or request the fix at the kiosk, if it lets you).
  • Never use someone else's PIN.