Built for this category
Not a generic HR tool with a checkbox for your industry. The workflows, terminology, and reports match how your operation actually runs — because the platform was designed for it from the start.
For field-distributed, deskless, and remote workers
HR & Payroll for African Field Workers — GPS, Offline, Biometric
GPS-verified clock-in, an offline-capable mobile app, fingerprint devices at fixed sites, and bank payment files for payday — built for African field staff who don't work at a desk.
6
capabilities
12+
African markets
USD
pricing · local currency view
Mobile · Web · WhatsApp
self-service
GPS-verified clock-in
Fingerprint devices at fixed sites
Offline-capable mobile app
Bank payment files
Supervisor mobile approval
Per-site / per-project allocation
Tap any capability to see the detail · or scroll for the full picture
Connected to payroll
Every event in this module — attendance, leave, timesheet, equipment, incident, performance — flows automatically into the next payroll cycle. No spreadsheet reconciliation, no double entry.
African by design
Statutory rules maintained for all 54 African countries, bank payment files in each country's format, WhatsApp delivery, multiple languages, offline-capable mobile app for field workers.
The problems we hear most
If any of this sounds familiar,
If any of this sounds familiar,
you're in the right place.
These are the recurring conversations with buyers in this category. We built the platform to retire each of them.
Half of your workforce doesn't sit at a desk and doesn't have a company laptop. Your HR system was designed for office workers and they\'ve never logged in.
Your field staff don't all have smartphones. The ones who do don't all have reliable data. Your attendance system needs them to. Outcome: paper registers and end-of-month re-typing.
Field hours reach payroll late, so the bank payment file is rushed at month-end and salaries go out with mistakes that take another pay cycle to correct.
GPS clock-in is useless if it requires the phone to be online at the time. Your sites are in rural areas, on construction projects, in farms, on trucks — connectivity is intermittent.
Supervisors approve timesheets by signing paper. The paper makes it to HQ a week after payroll cuts off. Approvals happen late. Errors compound.
What's built in
Features your team will actually use.
Specific tools for this category — not generic HR repackaged. Each card describes what the feature does and how it fits the way you work.
01
GPS-verified clock-in
Field workers punch in from a mobile app — the location is captured and verified against a site geo-fence. Optional selfie photo at clock-in for additional verification.
02
Fingerprint devices at fixed sites
Where workers don't carry smartphones, a ZKTeco-compatible fingerprint device at the site captures clock-in and clock-out. It buffers locally and syncs when the network is up — same attendance record as GPS.
03
Offline-capable mobile app
Clock in/out, submit timesheets, capture site photos — all works without connectivity. Syncs automatically the moment the device sees signal again. No data lost.
04
Bank payment files
Each approved payroll run produces a bank payment file in the format your country's banks accept. Upload it and pay the whole field team by bank transfer.
05
Supervisor mobile approval
Supervisors approve attendance, timesheets, and leave from their phone. Sign-offs happen at end-of-shift, not end-of-week — clean monthly cycle, no late surprises.
06
Per-site / per-project allocation
Tag every hour to the site, project, or grant it belongs to. Cost reports per location flow automatically into client invoicing or donor reporting.
Teams spread across many sites? See how GPS field workforce tracking handles geofence clock-in, site start and end times, and route history.
Guards or day-paid crews? There is a product for that.
SmartHR Africa covers salaried and contract field staff. Two sister products from Emeran Systems Ltd cover the operations we don't.
Security companies
Running a guarding company?
SecureForce: Guard management for security companies: rosters, patrols, incidents, guard payroll and client invoicing.
Visit SecureForce →(opens in a new tab)Casual and daily-paid crews
Paying casual crews by the day?
SiteForce: Casual and daily-paid crews: foreman check-in with GPS, crew payroll and M-PESA bulk payouts.
Visit SiteForce →(opens in a new tab)
Why modules aren't enough
Every event is wired to the next.
Most HR systems sell modules as separate products — and then your team spends every month reconciling between them. SmartHR Africa is one system. Each event in this category flows automatically into the right downstream process.
GPS clock-in at site
Payroll hours
Field workers punch in from the mobile app — location verified against a site geo-fence — and the hours flow into payroll automatically. No paper register travelling to HQ.
Fingerprint device at site
Attendance record
Workers without smartphones clock in on a fingerprint device at the site. The device buffers locally and syncs when the network is up — the same attendance record as a GPS clock-in.
Offline punches
Auto-sync on signal
The mobile app stores clock-ins, timesheets, and photos on the device. The moment a 2G connection appears, everything syncs — with deduplication on retry. Nothing lost in West Pokot or northern Mozambique.
Approved payroll run
Bank payment file
Each approved run produces a bank payment file in the format your country's banks accept — upload it and pay by bank transfer, with no re-typing.
Supervisor mobile approval
Payroll cycle
Supervisors approve attendance and timesheets from their phone at end-of-shift. Sign-offs happen on the day, not a week later — clean monthly cycle, no late surprises.
Per-site / project tag
Cost report
Every hour is tagged to the site, project, or grant it belongs to. Cost reports per location flow automatically into client invoicing or donor reporting.
Where this matters most
Live across 12 African markets.
Statutory compliance, local-currency payroll, and salary disbursement options in every market we support. Click through to your country page for in-region pricing, statutory rates, and a calculator.
For smartphone users: GPS verification confirms the device is at the actual site (within a configurable geo-fence radius); optional selfie at clock-in captures the person punching. For biometric sites: fingerprint, which only the employee can give.
The mobile app stores clock-ins, timesheets, and photos locally on the device. When the device reaches signal (even a weak 2G connection while travelling back to town), everything syncs automatically. Deduplication ensures nothing is double-counted on retry.
Supervisors get the same mobile app with an approver-role view. They see their direct reports' attendance and timesheets for the day, approve in bulk or correct anomalies, and sign off at end-of-shift. Approvals flow back to HQ instantly.
At a fixed site, a fingerprint device captures clock-in and clock-out without any phone. Elsewhere, supervisors can clock them in/out from the supervisor app on behalf of the worker (with a note required to explain why). For sites with a shared mobile device, workers can clock in using their employee ID code.
No — GPS is only activated for the few seconds during clock-in, then released. We don't track location continuously (which would drain battery and raise privacy concerns). Field workers can use the app all month without noticing it on the battery.
Pricing
Simple USD pricing.
Pay per employee, monthly, from the starting prices below. Local-currency price on every country page — converted at our locked monthly rate.
Starter
Core HR for growing teams
From
$3.00
/employee/month
Starting price · no monthly base fee
- Employee records & profiles
- Leave management
- Web attendance with GPS
- Document management
- Employee self-service portal
- Mobile app access
- Email support
Most Popular
Professional
Full HR + payroll, statutory compliance built in
From
$5.00
/employee/month
Starting price · no monthly base fee
- Everything in Starter
- Full local-currency payroll
- Statutory compliance (PAYE / NSSF / NHIF / etc.)
- Performance management
- Recruitment & onboarding
- Expense claims & loans
- Training & certifications
- WhatsApp & SMS notifications
- Priority support
Business
Multi-country operations, full automation
From
$8.00
/employee/month
Starting price · no monthly base fee
- Everything in Professional
- Multi-country dashboard
- Projects & timesheets (NGO/donor reporting)
- Biometric device integration
- API access
- White-label option
- Dedicated account manager
- SLA-backed support
See pricing in your local currency on any country page →
See it work on your data.
30 minutes with our team. Bring your countries, your headcount, and the questions your finance and HR leads keep asking — we'll walk you through every module relevant to your operation.