---
title: "Require a QR scan to clock in"
description: "Make staff scan the center's QR code when they clock in and out, so a punch proves they were on site."
type: setup
updated: 2026-08-26
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/staff/require-a-qr-scan-to-clock-in
roles: ["super_admin"]
platforms: [web, ios, android]
---
By default a staff member can clock in from anywhere, including the car park or their kitchen. If you need a punch to mean "I am here", you can require a scan of the center's QR code before a clock-in or clock-out is accepted.

This is the same signed code parents scan to check a child in, and it is validated the same way. A printed code can still be photographed and reused, so if you need a punch that cannot be faked, use the rotating kiosk code described below.

## Turn it on

1. Go to **Settings → Operations**.
2. Find the **Staff Time Tracking** panel.
3. Turn on **Require center QR to clock in and out**.

The setting is organization-wide. Only an owner can change it. Organizations created before late August 2026 have it off until they turn it on; newer organizations start with it on, since their teams install the current app from day one. Either way, you can change it here whenever you like.

<Callout kind="warning" title="Tell your team before you flip this">
Anyone on an old version of the app cannot scan. They get a clear message telling them what is needed, but their punch is refused. Ask your team to update the app first, then turn the setting on.
</Callout>

## What changes for staff

When the setting is on, clocking in or out opens the camera in the mobile app. The staff member scans the center's QR code and the punch goes through.

The scan also decides **which center** the punch belongs to. Someone who covers two sites no longer has to remember to switch: they scan where they are, and their hours land against that center.

If someone's app has a stale copy of your settings and tries a plain punch, the app notices, refreshes, and opens the scanner instead of showing an error.

## What is not affected

- **Admins clocking someone else in or out.** A punch recorded on another person's behalf needs no scan. You record one from the web dashboard under **Staff → the person → Time**, choosing a center and using **Clock in** or **Clock out**. It is not on the Timesheets page.
- **Web.** The scan requirement applies to a staff member's own punch in the mobile app. Nothing about the web dashboard changes.

Teachers can only clock themselves in or out. They cannot punch for a colleague, whether or not this setting is on.

<Callout kind="warning" title="An on-behalf punch is not visibly marked">
A punch you record for somebody else is not labelled as such anywhere in the dashboard, and it does not appear in the week's change history. If it matters that a shift was entered rather than scanned, write it in the **Reason for change** box when you correct the entry — corrections *are* recorded, with your name and your reason.
</Callout>

## Which QR code to use

Every center has a check-in QR code, printed from the kiosk setup. A code printed on paper by the door is enough for most centers.

If you want stronger proof, put the center into **Kiosk Mode**, which shows a rotating code on screen. A rotating code cannot be photographed and reused later. See [Set up kiosk mode](/owners/centers/set-up-kiosk-mode).

## Troubleshooting

**A staff member gets "scan required" and cannot find the scanner.** Their app is out of date. Update it from the App Store or Play Store.

**The scan is refused.** The code belongs to a different organization, or it is an expired photo of a rotating kiosk code. Have them scan the code actually displayed at the center.

**Someone clocked in at the wrong center.** The scanned code sets the center, so they scanned the wrong one. Fix the entry on their timesheet.

**Our teachers work outside and there is no code by the door.** Print the center's check-in code and put it wherever people arrive. It does not have to be at the kiosk.

Related: [Approve a timesheet](/owners/staff/approve-a-timesheet), [Set up kiosk mode](/owners/centers/set-up-kiosk-mode), [Configure check-in methods](/owners/settings/configure-check-in-methods).