PIN Password Ideas | Blog

Virtual TimeClock Support Blog

PIN Password Ideas

December 26, 2013

Using a unique time clock PIN for each employee is a great alternative for businesses trying to prevent buddy punching but not wanting the added expense, maintenance, and unreliability of a biometric solution. We often get asked what makes a good PIN for employees to use when clocking in and out. Here are some ideas that Virtual TimeClock customers have had success with.

RFID & Barcode Readers
We do have customers using RFID and barcode readers to replace the employee PIN. Employees still have to interact with the time clock to perform actions like clocking in and out, but they don't have to manually enter their PIN. This allows you to make the numeric PIN as long as you want and put the numbers in any sequence. Of course, a drawback to using ID cards is that employees can still give their cards to their friends to buddy punch for them.

Social Security Number
We've also found that the SSN makes a good PIN. It's long enough that memorizing your buddy's SSN is a burden. Most sensible people don't want to give their SSN out. And since ID theft is a real and potential threat, most people won't want to write the number down either.

Some employees still don't care who has access to their personal information if they can have a buddy cheat for them. But that's a whole other personnel issue.