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Overview: Administrators can allow their employees to keep tracking time in the Buddy Punch mobile app when the employee's device loses its internet connection. Once Offline Mode is enabled on the Account Settings page, employees can punch in and out and start and end breaks with no connection, and their time syncs to your account as soon as their device reconnects.
Offline Mode only applies to the Buddy Punch mobile app. PIN punches, QR code punches, and punches submitted while logged in on the website still requires an active internet connection.
Instructions:
What Is Offline Mode?
By default, the Buddy Punch mobile app sends each punch to your account the moment an employee punches, which means a lost connection stops them from tracking time. Employees working in basements, warehouses, remote job sites, or anywhere else with unreliable service can be left unable to punch in this case.
With Offline Mode enabled, the app stores those actions on the employee's device instead, and uploads them once the device is back online. While offline, an employee can:
Punch in and punch out in real-time
Punch and enter a specific time
Start and end a break
Switch shifts
Once the device reconnects, the stored punches appear on the employee's time card exactly as if they had been made online, including the locations, departments, and positions they selected.
Important!: Employees must stay signed in to the app for their offline time to be kept. Employees can close the app, but signing out while offline clears any punches that haven't synced yet. The app warns them before this happens.
How to Enable Offline Mode
1. Start by going to Settings --> Account Settings:
2. Scroll to the Employee time entry section, check the Allow Employees to use the Mobile App offline option, then click Save:
Employees will be able to punch offline from the mobile app the next time they sign in.
FAQs
Q: Does Offline Mode work on the Buddy Punch website?
A: No. Offline Mode applies to the Buddy Punch mobile app only. PIN punches, QR code punches, and punches submitted while logged in on the website still requires an active internet connection.
Q: Can I turn Offline Mode on for some employees but not others?
A: No. The Allow Employees to use the Mobile App offline option is account-wide and applies to every employee who uses the mobile app. If you need to stop a specific employee from punching on mobile altogether, use the per-employee Mobile Punching setting described in How To Enable/Disable Mobile Punches.
Q: What happens if an employee's offline punch conflicts with their punch status?
A: If synced data shows an employee punching in when they're already punched in, Buddy Punch closes the synced punch and flags it for your approval, so you can review it on their time card before it counts toward their hours.
Q: Will GPS still track an employee who punches in while offline?
A: A shift that was already being tracked before the device went offline keeps recording and uploads its full route on reconnect. You will not be able to see the employee's route data until after the device is reconnected and the data has synced.
Q: Can an employee sign in to the app while they're offline?
A: No. Signing in has to reach Buddy Punch to verify their credentials. Employees need to sign in while they still have a connection and stay signed in. Once connection is lost, the app keeps their session even if they close it.