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For security and cleaning companies, time theft is one of the most persistent, and preventable, sources of payroll leakage. Studies show it affects 2–5% of total annual payroll, meaning a company with $1,000,000 in payroll could be losing up to $50,000 a year to buddy punching alone.
WinTeam’s Biometrics feature is built directly into the WinTeam Mobile Time Clock. It confirms the right employee is at the right place at the right time — every punch, every shift:
- Punch Photos: Capture proof that the right worker was at the right job with clock in and out photos
- Facial Verification: Confirms worker identity through biometrics matching, flagging potentially fraudulent punches
- Deter Time Theft: Capturing photo evidence helps eliminate buddy punching and other types of payroll fraud
- Proof of Presence: Creates a verifiable, timestamped attendance record with photo records you can stand behind
- Compliance Support: Meets client-mandated security and verification requirements with high-fidelity data
- Bottom-Line Protection: Accurate labor data means accurate payroll and margins you can actually count on
Ready to Protect Your Bottom Line?
Find out what time theft is costing your business — then see how WinTeam Biometrics can help you get it back.
A — Your Workforce
$
10 hrs
20 hrs/wk
60 hrs
B — Theft Assumptions
0.5%
2.2%
6%
5 min
10 min
30 min
C — WinTeam Controls
Select modules to deploy
📍
GPS Mobile Time Tracking
Location-verified clock-ins — included
GPS verification is designed to help confirm employees are where they're supposed to be — reducing the likelihood of clock-ins from home, a parking lot, or the wrong site entirely.
🔬
Biometric Authentication
Fingerprint / facial ID — add-on, see pricing below
Biometrics answers who — helping confirm employees are who they claim to be. GPS answers where. Together they are designed to reduce both location fraud and identity fraud in a single punch.
40%
60%
80%
10%
35%
40%
D — Biometrics Coverage
Select a coverage model
entire workforce
250 (full workforce)
Bundles are sold in blocks of 100 employees. Choose how many bundles to purchase — partial workforce coverage is allowed.
1 bundle
100 emp 3 bundles 20 bundles
2,000 emp
100 emp 3 bundles 20 bundles
2,000 emp
Bundles Selected
3 bundles
Employees Covered
300 employees
Your Workforce
250 employees
⚠ Only — of your — employees would be covered under this plan. Consider adding more bundles to extend coverage to your full workforce.
✓ Your — employees are fully covered with —.
E — Your Time Theft Exposure
—
Annual Gross Payroll
—
Est. Offenders (~19%)
—
Est. Annual Time Theft
What does that look like per person?
Based on your inputs, each of your — estimated offenders is stealing roughly — minutes per workday — costing you approximately — per offender each year.
Based on your inputs, each of your — estimated offenders is stealing roughly — minutes per workday — costing you approximately — per offender each year.
F — Savings & ROI
| GPS Only | GPS + Bio | |
|---|---|---|
| Theft Eliminated (Annual) | — | — |
| Remaining Exposure | — | — |
| Reduction Rate | — | — |
| Annual Biometrics Cost | N/A — GPS included | — |
| Net Annual Benefit | — | — |
| ROI on Biometrics Cost | N/A | — |
| Payback Period | N/A | — |
| Net Savings Per Employee / Yr | — | — |
| 5-Year Net Cumulative Benefit | — | — |
Inputs & Payroll Base
Annual Gross Payroll
This is the total labor cost base that time theft is measured against. Part-time hours are accounted for via the hours/week slider — adjust it to reflect your workforce's actual average schedule.
Employees × Avg Hourly Wage × (Hours/Week × 52)This is the total labor cost base that time theft is measured against. Part-time hours are accounted for via the hours/week slider — adjust it to reflect your workforce's actual average schedule.
Theft Exposure
Est. Annual Time Theft
The 2.2% benchmark comes from Nucleus Research, corroborated by the American Payroll Association, and represents the average percentage of gross payroll lost to time theft across industries. The slider lets you adjust this up or down based on your prospect's situation — unionized environments or heavy surveillance may be lower; high-turnover or dispersed field workforces can run 3–5%.
Annual Gross Payroll × Theft % (default 2.2%)The 2.2% benchmark comes from Nucleus Research, corroborated by the American Payroll Association, and represents the average percentage of gross payroll lost to time theft across industries. The slider lets you adjust this up or down based on your prospect's situation — unionized environments or heavy surveillance may be lower; high-turnover or dispersed field workforces can run 3–5%.
Est. Offenders (~19%)
The 19% figure is from the American Payroll Association survey in which 1-in-5 employees self-reported participating in buddy punching. This is used only to show how many employees are likely involved — it does not drive the dollar calculations. The per-offender insight box connects both stats by dividing total theft dollars across the 19% offender pool.
Employees × 19%The 19% figure is from the American Payroll Association survey in which 1-in-5 employees self-reported participating in buddy punching. This is used only to show how many employees are likely involved — it does not drive the dollar calculations. The per-offender insight box connects both stats by dividing total theft dollars across the 19% offender pool.
Theft Eliminated & Remaining Exposure
GPS Only — Theft Eliminated
The GPS reduction rate (40–80% slider) reflects what fraction of time theft GPS mobile time tracking eliminates. The default of 60% is a conservative mid-range estimate based on TEAM Software customer outcomes — GPS eliminates location-based fraud (wrong-site clock-ins, clocking in from home) but does not fully address identity fraud. Range: 40% for low-adoption environments, up to 80% for high-compliance deployments.
Est. Time Theft × GPS Reduction % (default 60%)The GPS reduction rate (40–80% slider) reflects what fraction of time theft GPS mobile time tracking eliminates. The default of 60% is a conservative mid-range estimate based on TEAM Software customer outcomes — GPS eliminates location-based fraud (wrong-site clock-ins, clocking in from home) but does not fully address identity fraud. Range: 40% for low-adoption environments, up to 80% for high-compliance deployments.
GPS + Bio — Theft Eliminated
Adding biometrics layers identity verification on top of location verification — designed to reduce buddy punching that GPS alone may not address. The additional biometric reduction (10–40% slider, default 35%) is additive to GPS, capped at 95% total since no system can eliminate 100% of fraud. TEAM Software has observed reductions of up to 97% in some accounts with mandatory biometric enforcement policies; individual results will vary.
Est. Time Theft × MIN(GPS % + Bio %, 95%)Adding biometrics layers identity verification on top of location verification — designed to reduce buddy punching that GPS alone may not address. The additional biometric reduction (10–40% slider, default 35%) is additive to GPS, capped at 95% total since no system can eliminate 100% of fraud. TEAM Software has observed reductions of up to 97% in some accounts with mandatory biometric enforcement policies; individual results will vary.
Remaining Exposure
The estimated residual theft exposure that the selected controls may not address — useful for illustrating the gap that GPS alone leaves and the additional recovery biometrics may provide.
Est. Time Theft × (1 − Reduction %)The estimated residual theft exposure that the selected controls may not address — useful for illustrating the gap that GPS alone leaves and the additional recovery biometrics may provide.
Net Benefit & ROI
Net Annual Benefit
For GPS: estimated net benefit equals projected savings (no cost). For GPS + Bio: estimated savings minus the annual biometrics subscription. A negative result means the plan cost may exceed projected recovery — typically a signal to revisit the theft % assumption or right-size the biometrics plan. Estimates only; actual results will vary.
Theft Eliminated − Annual Biometrics CostFor GPS: estimated net benefit equals projected savings (no cost). For GPS + Bio: estimated savings minus the annual biometrics subscription. A negative result means the plan cost may exceed projected recovery — typically a signal to revisit the theft % assumption or right-size the biometrics plan. Estimates only; actual results will vary.
ROI on Biometrics Cost
Standard return-on-investment formula applied to the estimated inputs. A 200% estimated ROI would suggest the projected savings are triple the biometrics cost within 12 months — however, these are estimates and actual ROI will vary based on real-world conditions.
(Net Annual Benefit ÷ Annual Biometrics Cost) × 100Standard return-on-investment formula applied to the estimated inputs. A 200% estimated ROI would suggest the projected savings are triple the biometrics cost within 12 months — however, these are estimates and actual ROI will vary based on real-world conditions.
Payback Period
Estimated months until projected savings would offset the biometrics subscription cost, based on the inputs provided. Expressed in months if under a year, years if longer. Actual payback period will vary.
(Annual Biometrics Cost ÷ Theft Eliminated) × 12Estimated months until projected savings would offset the biometrics subscription cost, based on the inputs provided. Expressed in months if under a year, years if longer. Actual payback period will vary.
5-Year Net Cumulative Benefit
A simple 5-year projection assuming flat headcount, wages, and theft rates. Does not account for payroll growth, wage inflation, or contract renewals — actual 5-year benefit is typically higher. Use this as a conservative floor for executive business case conversations.
Net Annual Benefit × 5A simple 5-year projection assuming flat headcount, wages, and theft rates. Does not account for payroll growth, wage inflation, or contract renewals — actual 5-year benefit is typically higher. Use this as a conservative floor for executive business case conversations.
Primary Sources
| American Payroll Association | 75% of companies affected by time theft; 19% of employees self-report buddy punching. Widely cited in payroll and workforce management research. |
| Nucleus Research | 2.2% of gross payroll lost to time theft on average across surveyed organizations. This figure underpins the default theft exposure calculation. |
| TEAM Software / WorkWave | GPS reduction ranges (55–65% typical) and biometrics reduction (97% maximum observed) derived from TEAM customer implementations. Slider defaults represent conservative mid-range outcomes. |
| Robert Half | Supporting labor market and wage data used in workforce cost modeling. |
Sales use note: All outputs are estimates based on user-provided inputs and industry benchmarks — not guarantees of savings or business outcomes. All figures should be validated against the prospect's actual payroll records, wage data, and WinTeam pricing before being included in a formal proposal or contract.
Sources: American Payroll Association, Nucleus Research (2.2% benchmark), Robert Half, TEAM Software customer data. Annual hours = avg hrs/week × 52 weeks. GPS included at no additional cost. Estimated ROI = Estimated Net Annual Benefit ÷ Annual Biometrics Cost. All results are estimates only.
Legal Disclaimer
This ROI calculator is provided for informational and illustrative purposes only. Results are estimates based on user-provided inputs and assumptions and are not guarantees of savings, revenue, ROI, performance, or other business outcomes. Actual results may vary. WorkWave makes no warranties regarding the calculator or its results and disclaims all liability arising from or related to use of the calculator or reliance on its results, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
LAST UPDATED
July 16, 2026
