Trusted PINs (Basic Clocks)

A trusted PIN allows employees to punch on a biometric clock without using their fingerprint. This feature is useful for employees with worn fingerprints that have difficulty being read or can't be enrolled on the clock at all.

Supported Clocks

This article applies primarily to Punch+, but if you are using a legacy basic clocks (software version 757.2.111 and higher), these instructions will also apply. Those legacy clocks include the Z33, Z34, and Z18 with Print Reader.

If you are using a Touch or Vision clock, please see the article Trusted PINs on Touch and Vision Clocks instead.

GT-400 clocks do not support trusted PINs.

Trusted PIN Setup

An employee with a trusted PIN can enter that PIN and have their punch accepted without having their fingerprint scanned. Most biometric clocks are set to never allow a PIN-only entry, but an exception is made for trusted PINs, which are set up on the clock itself.

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When adding Trusted PINs, it could be helpful to have a print version of this article. You can download a PDF here.

Setting up a Trusted PIN for an employee is divided into three stages:

1 - Enroll a Print with the Trusted PIN

Trusted PINs do require an enrolled fingerprint. However, the print doesn't have to be the employees print, it can be any print that hasn't already been enrolled on the clock—so it could be a manager's fingerprint. Follow these steps for enrolling a fingerprint with the trusted PIN.

NOTE: If the employee already has an enrolled print, you can skip these enrollment steps and proceed to the second stage of the process, which is explained in Add a Trusted PIN to the Clock.

To enroll a fingerprint:

1. Press 3 on the clock's keypad to access the Enrollment Menu.
2. Provide your manager authentication and access the Enrollment Menu. This is either done by entering the clock's numeric manager password, followed by OK or, if you have a manager print enrolled, scanning your print. If you have just installed the clock, the default manager password is "1234". (If you are still using the default manager password, you will see a warning screen reminding you how to change the password. Press OK to advance past this screen.)
3. Select Enroll Finger from the Enrollment Menu by pressing 1.
4. The next screen, Ready To Enroll, reminds you that clean, dry hands make for an optimal enrollment. Press OK to advance past this screen.
5. Enter the employee's unique PIN (this will eventually be their trusted PIN) followed by OK. Share this PIN with the employee as the clock will ask for it when they clock in and out.
6. When the screen displays ENROLL NEW FINGER, place the finger being enrolled firmly, without smashing, on the prism.
   • If successful, the clock beeps/flashes green and the employee should remove their finger. They are then prompted to scan their finger two more times.
   • If unsuccessful, the screen displays Enrollment was unsuccessful. In this case, press OK to try again.
7. After three successful scans, the clock displays Now let's verify, and the employee should place their finger on the prism one more time. This last step validates that the stored fingerprint template (it's not an actual copy of the print) on the clock is accurate and can be used to identify the employee.
8. After enrollment, you can enroll another employee or press X (CANCEL) to go back to the clock entry screen. 
9. Press 9 on the keypad to transmit the print templates to the servers. The template is eventually be shared with any other clocks on your timekeeping account. If you want the print template shared to your clocks immediately, you will need to press "9" on each one.

2 - Add the Trusted PIN to the Clock

Once the fingerprint has been enrolled with a PIN, the next step is to designate that PIN as a trusted PIN. This is also done through the clock's Enrollment Menu.

To add a Trusted PIN to the clock:

1. Press 3 on the clock's keypad to access the Enrollment Menu.
2. Provide your manager authentication and access the Enrollment Menu. This is either done by entering the clock's numeric manager password, followed by OK or, if you have a manager print enrolled, scanning your print. If you have just installed the clock, the default manager password is "1234". (If you are still using the default manager password, you will see a warning screen reminding you how to change the password. Press OK to advance past this screen.)
3. Press the ABC button on the keypad. (On some legacy clocks, this may be the ALPHA or F3 button.)
4. Select ADD/DELETE PIN by pressing 1 on the keypad.
5. Enter the PIN used when enrolling the fingerprint in the previous section.

The trusted PIN is now added to the clock.

IMPORTANT: Trusted PINs are specific to each clock. If an employee needs to punch in on multiple clocks, then you need to add the Trusted PIN on each clock,  using the same steps from this section. However, you do not need to re-enroll the print on each clock, just add the trusted PIN.

3 - Add the PIN to Employee Setup

The trusted PIN also needs to be entered in the timekeeping system on the employee's record. PINs are entered in an available Card Number/Logins field in Employee Setup. You can actually do this either before or after you set up the trusted PIN. If the employee was already enrolled on the clock, then this step may have already been done.

If the employee uses the PIN without it being added to their employee record, then any punches made by the employee are classified as "unmatched" and will not appear on their time card. Once you add the PIN, those punches will get added to the time card.

When choosing PINs for employees, it is not recommended to use the last 4 of their Social Security Number; there can be duplicates within a group of employees. If you are going to use a variation of the employee's SSN, we suggest the last 5 digits, as it can be less prone to duplication.

Remove a Trusted PIN

The steps to remove a trusted PIN are exactly the same as adding the PIN to the clock. By entering an existing trusted PIN during the ADD/DELETE PIN step, it actually deletes the PIN. 

Trusted PIN Capacity

There is not a hard number of trusted PINs that can be stored on the clock; it depends on how long each PIN is. Each clock can accommodate 232 characters total for trusted PINs, and that includes spaces which the clock has to add between each PIN in the memory. For example, if you are using 8-digit pins, you could have 26 total trusted PINs with 24 spaces in between each PIN. If you use 5-digit PINs, you could have 39 total trusted PINs with 37 total spaces between each PIN.

Keypad Entry Restrictions

As mentioned earlier in this article, biometric clocks can be set to restrict PIN-only or other types of numeric entries. This setting is not on the clock, but in the timekeeping software itself. It is also only accessible to providers—company administrators, managers, and supervisors do not have access to it. To learn more about this setting, see the article Clock Error: PIN Too Short / Keypad Entry Restrictions.

Trusted PINs on Non-Biometric Clocks

To perform this process on a non-biometric clock (which doesn't have a Manager's Fingerprint Menu), press Menu twice, and enter the code 87878 (spells TRUST).