Buddy punching — where one employee clocks in for another — costs businesses an estimated 2.2% of gross payroll annually, according to the American Payroll Association. For a company with 500 employees and an average monthly payroll of BDT 2 crore, that translates to roughly BDT 44 lakh lost per year. Biometric attendance systems eliminate this problem entirely by tying clock-in events to unique physiological identifiers that cannot be shared or forged.

This guide compares the three dominant biometric attendance technologies, outlines implementation considerations, and provides an ROI framework for decision-makers.

Fingerprint Recognition Systems

Fingerprint scanners remain the most widely deployed biometric attendance technology globally, accounting for approximately 60% of installations. Modern capacitive fingerprint sensors capture the unique ridge patterns of a finger and match them against stored templates in under one second.

Accuracy: False Acceptance Rate (FAR) of 0.001% and False Rejection Rate (FRR) of 0.1% under normal conditions. Accuracy degrades with wet, dirty, or damaged fingers.

Cost: Entry-level standalone devices start at BDT 15,000-25,000. Enterprise-grade devices with network connectivity and capacity for 3,000+ templates range from BDT 40,000-80,000.

Limitations: Workers in manufacturing, construction, and garment sectors often have worn or calloused fingerprints that cause higher rejection rates. Hygiene concerns, heightened since the COVID-19 pandemic, make contact-based systems less desirable in some environments.

Facial Recognition Systems

Facial recognition has surged in adoption since 2020, driven by COVID-era demand for contactless solutions. These systems use infrared cameras and AI algorithms to map facial geometry — measuring distances between eyes, nose bridge width, jawline contour, and dozens of other reference points.

Accuracy: Modern 3D facial recognition achieves FAR below 0.0001% and FRR below 0.5%. Performance depends on camera quality, lighting conditions, and algorithm sophistication. Infrared-based systems work reliably in varying light.

Cost: Standalone face recognition terminals range from BDT 35,000-120,000. Higher-end devices include temperature screening, mask detection, and anti-spoofing features that detect printed photos or video replays.

Advantages: Contactless operation, faster throughput (under 0.5 seconds per verification), and the ability to work at a distance. Ideal for high-traffic entry points where speed matters.

RFID and Proximity Card Systems

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) systems use cards or key fobs embedded with microchips that communicate wirelessly with readers. While not biometric in the strict sense — since the card, not the person, is identified — RFID is often deployed alongside biometric systems as a complementary layer.

Accuracy: Virtually 100% read rate within range. The security concern is card sharing or loss, not technology accuracy.

Cost: The lowest upfront cost — readers start at BDT 8,000-15,000, and cards cost BDT 50-200 each. However, ongoing card replacement costs (5-10% of cards are lost or damaged annually) add up.

Best Use Cases: Building access control, parking management, and as a secondary check-in method paired with fingerprint or face recognition for multi-factor verification.

Integration with HRM Software

Hardware is only half the solution. The real value emerges when biometric devices feed data directly into an HRM platform that processes attendance records into actionable outputs — payroll calculations, overtime reports, compliance documentation, and absence pattern analysis.

Ultimate HRM integrates with all three biometric technologies through standard protocols (TCP/IP, RS-485, and API-based connections). Attendance data syncs in real time, eliminating the manual download-and-upload workflow that many companies still use with standalone biometric devices. Late arrivals, early departures, and missed punches are flagged automatically and routed to managers for resolution.

Multi-Site Synchronization

For organizations with multiple offices or factory floors, centralized attendance data is critical. Cloud-based HRM systems pull data from biometric devices across all locations into a single dashboard, enabling HR to monitor attendance organization-wide without logging into separate device management consoles at each site.

ROI Calculation Framework

Calculate the return on biometric attendance investment using these variables:

  • Buddy punching savings: 2-5% of gross payroll recovered
  • Time theft reduction: Employees arriving 5-15 minutes late daily costs 2-4% of productive hours
  • Administrative savings: Eliminating manual attendance compilation saves 15-20 HR hours per month for a 300-person company
  • Overtime accuracy: Automated overtime tracking prevents both underpayment disputes and overpayment errors

For a 500-employee company, the typical payback period for a biometric attendance system integrated with Ultimate HRM is 3-6 months.

Choosing the Right Technology

The decision depends on your environment, workforce size, and budget. Garment factories and manufacturing plants often combine face recognition at main gates with RFID for section-level tracking. Office environments may prefer fingerprint scanners for simplicity. Companies with field employees can use GPS-enabled mobile attendance through their HRM app.

Nexis Limited helps organizations assess their attendance tracking needs and configure the right combination of hardware and software. Explore the full project portfolio or contact us for a site assessment.