By purchasing hardware Beacons, you can maximize the accuracy of Simple In/Out's automatic status updates. This approach relies on whether your phone can see the Bluetooth signal emitted by the Beacon. This eliminates relying on your phone's operating system to understand your geographical area, cell towers, or local WiFi Networks.
We recommend RadBeacon USB devices from Radius Networks. See our Beacon hardware purchasing guide for places to purchase. We have a guide to program them for Simple In/Out as well.
Beacons are sold with a variety of power sources in mind. RadBeacon USB devices can be powered by any USB port or USB power supply. If those aren't an option, there are many third party products that provide a USB port powered by batteries for the ultimate untethered experience.
If you already have some hardware, you can "Bring Your Own Beacon". As long as you can configure your hardware's universal unique identifier (UUID), we can walk you through adding your Beacon to Simple In/Out. Contact us and we'll provide you the necessary information.
Geofences work great for large areas, but sometimes you need smaller areas that Geofences just aren't accurate enough to support. Using Beacons, you can cover these places without having to also blanket undesired space.
Use Geofences when:
Use Beacons when:
Beacons act independently, but they can be configured to work together to expand each other's reach. Using this technique, there's no area too big for the proper number of Beacons to cover.
A typical Beacon covers an area of roughly 10 to 20 meters. This depends on several factors that influence Bluetooth signals, like wireless interference and walls. Your physical environment will make the difference. Think of Beacon coverage like connecting to your Bluetooth headphones or keyboard.
Using FrontDesk or TimeClock on a tablet capable of Bluetooth 4.0 support (most iPads and some Android tablets), you can enable the tablet to act as a Beacon. If you're already using FrontDesk or TimeClock, this is like getting a free Beacon. This is also a great way to test how Beacons will work for you without purchasing Beacons right away.
We currently support Beacons on iOS and Android.
Our implementation of Beacons support iBeacons on iOS. We also support AltBeacons on Android, making us one of the few to bring this technology to use on Android.
Absolutely! You should only use either a Geofence or a Beacon in a specific physical location however. Using Geofences and Beacons in the same location will confuse Simple In/Out (causing you to check out while still inside a Geofence for example).
Yes, you can use a feature we call Active Time. This allows you to choose time periods and days that automatic updates can happen so you don't have to worry about checking into the office on a Saturday if you're using your office laptop.
