Turnstile, Face ID or QR code: which attendance system to choose

When a paper logbook and an Excel sheet are no longer enough, business owners usually consider three options: install a turnstile at the entrance, mount a Face ID or fingerprint terminal, or have employees check in by scanning a QR code with their phone. All three are attendance systems, but they solve different problems and come with very different costs.

Below we look at how each system works, what it requires, how people try to cheat it and when it pays off. The goal isn't to sell you anything, but to help you make the right decision.

How each system works

Turnstile

A turnstile is a physical barrier at the entrance. An employee identifies themselves with a card, a key fob or sometimes a biometric reader, and the system records the time and opens the gate. Its main job is access control; attendance tracking comes as a bonus.

Face ID and biometric terminals

A biometric terminal is mounted on the wall and recognizes employees by face or fingerprint. First, every employee is enrolled: the system captures an image of their face or a fingerprint sample. After that, each day the person stops in front of the terminal to check in. Biometric attendance was designed to stop people from sharing cards.

QR code and geolocation

A QR code hangs at the entrance of each branch. Employees scan it with their own phone, and the system checks their location at the moment of the scan. In Attendy, for example, scanning happens in a Telegram mini app, so there's nothing to install. A check-in is accepted only within 150 meters of the branch and only with the current QR code.

Hardware and installation

• Turnstile: the barrier itself, a reader, a controller, cards, a power supply and often a network cable. A technician does the installation, and sometimes the entrance has to be refitted.
• Face ID terminal: the device, a wall mount, power and internet, software setup and enrollment of every employee.
• QR + geolocation: a printed QR code and employees' smartphones. In Attendy, setup takes about 15 minutes and no hardware is needed.

Keep in mind: hardware systems are installed at each entrance separately. A building with two entrances or three branches means several sets of equipment.

Cost structure

Actual prices depend heavily on the vendor, the model and the volume, so we don't quote figures here. But the cost structure differs between systems, and that has a big impact on the choice.

• Turnstile and biometric terminal: a large upfront payment for hardware and installation, followed by maintenance, repairs, replacement cards and sometimes a software license.
• QR + geolocation: practically no hardware costs; spending usually comes as a regular subscription, with no large upfront payment.

Cheating risks and how to prevent them

Any attendance system can be cheated. The question is how easy it is and whether you can spot it.

Turnstile: card sharing

The most common problem is buddy punching, when someone clocks in for a colleague. A late employee hands their card to a coworker, who taps it twice. Prevention: a camera at the turnstile, a security guard or a biometric reader instead of cards.

Face ID: fooled by a photo

A biometric terminal makes clocking in for someone else much harder. But cheap Face ID terminals sometimes can't tell a photo or video on a phone screen from a live face. Prevention: choose a quality device with liveness detection and test it before you buy.

QR code: fake GPS and photos of the QR code

With phone-based check-ins, the risks are different: an employee might photograph the QR code and scan it from home, or use a GPS spoofing app. Attendy handles this on two levels: a check-in is accepted only with the current QR code and within 150 meters of the branch, and suspicious check-ins (signs of an emulator, identical coordinates, impossible jumps in distance) are flagged for the manager. Someone could still hand their phone to another person, so daily oversight by the branch manager is still useful.

Number of branches and scaling

Choosing a system for one office and for ten small branches are completely different tasks. Imagine 8 retail stores across the regions, each with 3–4 employees. The cost of a turnstile or terminal, installation and maintenance at every location becomes very high relative to the number of employees.

With the QR approach, opening a new branch means adding it to the system and printing a QR code. In Attendy, each branch can have its own schedule, its own QR code and its own manager, while the owner sees today's attendance for all branches on one live dashboard. It also works well for temporary sites like construction projects: when the site closes, there's nothing to dismantle.

Privacy: biometrics and geolocation

A biometric system stores an image of each employee's face or a fingerprint sample. This is among the most sensitive personal data there is: you can change a password, but not your face. If the data leaks, the damage can't be undone.

A QR + geolocation system collects no biometrics. In Attendy, location is captured only at the moment of the scan; there's no continuous tracking during the day. Most employees find this approach clear and acceptable.

Comparison table

Questions to ask yourself before choosing

Before talking to vendors, write down your answers to these questions. Often they point to the answer on their own.

1. Do I only need attendance tracking, or also protection of the entrance from outsiders?
2. How many entrances and branches are there now, and how many might open in the next year or two?
3. Do all employees have a smartphone and mobile internet?
4. Which violation is most common: lateness, clocking in for colleagues, or no-shows?
5. Who will maintain the hardware, and how will attendance be tracked if it breaks?
6. What format does the accounting team need the report in at the end of the month?

For example, for a garment workshop in a single building that answers "yes" to the first question, a turnstile makes perfect sense. For a retail company with branches in Tashkent and the regions, the second and third questions will be decisive.

Conclusion: what fits which situation

• One large office or factory, strict security requirements, and keeping outsiders out matters: a turnstile (possibly with a biometric reader) can pay off.
• One site, many employees, card sharing is a serious problem, and there's a budget: a quality Face ID terminal is worth considering.
• Many small branches, retail stores, construction sites or remote locations: QR + geolocation is usually the most practical and cost-effective option.
• A mix: a turnstile at head office, QR at the branches. The systems don't exclude each other.

Whatever you choose, start with a small pilot: one or two weeks at one branch, feedback from employees, then roll it out further.