The device
A wall terminal with exactly one job, done reliably.
Hardware
5–8" touch display
Large enough to read name and time from two metres away.
NFC/RFID reader
13.56 MHz (MIFARE) and 125 kHz (EM4100). Existing badges usually keep working.
Ethernet with PoE, and Wi-Fi
With Power over Ethernet a single cable carries both power and network.
Wall bracket included
Surface or flush mount, with cable management.
Day to day
Employees hold their badge against the marked area. Within two seconds a confirmation appears with their name, the time and, where available, today's hours. Green means clock-in, orange means clock-out.
Failures are visible rather than silent: an unknown badge shows its number so HR can assign it. If Odoo is unreachable, the display reads "Saved offline, will sync".
When the network drops
Clock-ins are stored locally and submitted in order once the connection returns. They carry the time they actually happened, not the time they were transmitted. The queue survives a power cut.
This requires the API path. On Odoo Online plans without API access it is technically impossible. The compatibility check tells you which applies to you.
Setup
On first start the device opens its own Wi-Fi access point and shows a QR code. Scan it with your phone and the setup wizard opens by itself. It works without a smartphone too: the network name and password are on the display and on a sticker on the device.
Before saving, the device tests the connection in stages: name resolution, encryption, sign-in, test query. Each stage has its own plain-language message if it fails.
What the device deliberately does not do
This list is deliberate. It saves you the discussion with works councils and data protection officers.
- Books attendance into Odoo (enthalten)
- Offline buffer with true timestamps (enthalten)
- RFID badges, including existing ones (enthalten)
- Central management of several devices (enthalten)
- Fingerprint or face recognition * (nicht enthalten)
- Camera in the device (nicht enthalten)
- Door access control (nicht enthalten)
- Project time tracking and payroll export (nicht enthalten)
* Applies to the device as shipped. Paid modules can capture more; what a module collects is stated with that module.
Why not just use a tablet?
Odoo ships a kiosk mode that runs in any browser. That is the usual workaround, and for a trial it is enough. In daily operation three things turn up that nobody budgets for.
Somebody has to assemble it
- Tablet, wall mount, RFID reader, power supply, kiosk mode set up and locked down. One or two days of work that rarely gets billed.
- Battery, display timeout, OS updates, a browser that hung overnight. A tablet on the wall is a device that wants looking after.
- Two branches mean twice the tinkering. With no central configuration and no alert when one of them stops.
Mount it, connect it, clock in
- On the wall, one network cable with PoE. Power and network in one. Wi-Fi works too.
- The device shows a QR code. Scan it, enter your Odoo access, wait for the connection test.
- Hold a badge against the device. The entry is in Odoo.
That last mile is our product. Not the booking in Odoo, which Odoo handles perfectly well itself.
Questions about the device?
Fifteen minutes is usually enough to work out whether the terminal fits your setup.