Buddy punching costs construction companies thousands of dollars every year. Learn what buddy punching is and discover ways to effectively eliminate this common form of time theft from your jobsites.
What is buddy punching?
Buddy punching is an intentional act of time theft involving an employee clocking in or out on behalf of a coworker who would otherwise be in violation of company policy. For example, friends may punch in for fellow team members who are late or absent at the project’s usual start time, or they may clock out at the end of the day for workers who have already left the jobsite earlier.
Buddy punching is considered a fraudulent activity because the employees who engage in this behavior falsely claim hours worked. If the discrepancies are not identified, the employee whose time card was falsified is paid for time during which they were not actually working.
The cost of buddy punching in construction
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, buddy punching costs U.S. businesses about $373 million dollars every year, and the American Payroll association estimates that employers pay out an average of 4.5 hours of fraudulent time each week per employee. Depending on the size of your workforce, you may be losing hundreds to thousands of dollars to buddy punching.
In addition to leading to payroll errors, inaccurate time data can also negatively impact a business’s ability to successfully estimate labor needs for future projects.
How to prevent buddy punching
Although time theft is a widespread issue, it can be easy to prevent buddy punching on your construction sites with the right tools.
Here's how to eliminate buddy punching.
1. Upgrade to time tracking software
It’s much more difficult to identify attempts at buddy punching if you’re using traditional pen and paper time cards or spreadsheets, which are typically inconsistent and can easily be adjusted.
Modern time tracking methods like construction time clock apps or shared time tracking kiosks and digital time cards often come equipped with built-in security measures that reduce or outright prevent buddy punching and other types of time fraud by standardizing the way employees log and approve hours.
When time is tracked using dedicated software, supervisors have greater control and visibility. Hours are always logged consistently, and payroll admins can typically review time cards as soon as they are submitted, instead of having to collect and organize them days later.
2. Require photo verification
The easiest way to prevent buddy punching is to require each employee to verify their identity with a photo whenever they track time.
AI is used to compare the selfies workers take each day at clock in and clock out with a reference, automatically flagging any discrepancies. Supervisors can be instantly alerted to review photos that don’t match and quickly determine if there has been an attempt at time fraud.
3. Utilize geofencing / GPS tracking
Restrict employees’ ability to clock in or out while they are not physically within the work area by choosing a digital time tracking solution that allows for geofencing or GPS tracking.
This kind of tracking verifies that the device an employee is using to perform a time-related action is physically within the project zone. Some solutions can even be set up to automatically notify employees to clock in or out as soon as they exit or leave the jobsite.
4. Simplify timesheet approvals
Make sure payroll admins and other stakeholders have clear and convenient views of time data, so they can more consistently identify any issues and approve hours in a timely manner.
You can also automate repetitive tasks like setting up rules for overtime and cost codes.
5. Practice clear communication
This last step for preventing buddy punching is technically the simplest, but clearly communicating company policies to your employee takes thought and effort.
Make sure a thorough demonstration of how time tracking works at your business is a part of your onboarding program. Include examples of time theft and explain why it’s important that workers record hours accurately. You should also provide regular reminders for existing employees.
Time tracking procedures and policies should always be documented in written format, and employees should know where to access them at all times.
Read how to prevent other types of time theft >
Eliminate buddy punching with Raken
Raken protects your business from time theft with fast, accurate time tracking. Our mobile time clock is equipped with cutting-edge security and verification features:
AI Photo ID - Eliminate buddy punching by requiring workers to take a selfie to verify their identity every time they clock in or out
Geofencing - Send automated notifications whenever employees enter or leave the project area and prevent offsite activities
Custom questions - Require employees to sign off on custom questions at clock in and clock out to reinforce project policies
Plus, Raken integrates with your accounting software for error-proof payroll that can be processed in minutes.