PunchTrack — Time & Activity Tracking System

Overview

PunchTrack is a time and activity tracking system built to manage employee clock-ins, receipts, and mileage with a strong emphasis on data integrity and auditability. The project began as a Raspberry Pi–based prototype using RFID authentication and later evolved into a web application to support scalability and centralized management.

Project Evolution

• Implemented an initial prototype on Raspberry Pi with RFID-based employee authentication
• Validated core workflows for clock-in/clock-out and activity logging
• Redesigned the system as a web application to support multiple users and persistent records
• Migrated the backend from SQLite to PostgreSQL to improve reliability, relational integrity, and auditing support
• Planned future migration to NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano to support more advanced edge capabilities

Core Features

• RFID Time Tracking: Employees clock in and out using RFID credentials
• Receipt Management: Digital receipt logging tied to employee activity
• Mileage Tracking: Per-entry mileage records for expense tracking
• Audit Trail: Database schema ensures all time and activity records are traceable and verifiable
• Extensible Authentication: Adapter-based architecture isolates RFID hardware logic from core business logic

Technical Architecture

• Backend built with Python and Flask, exposing APIs for time, receipt, and mileage records
• PostgreSQL schema designed to preserve historical accuracy and prevent destructive updates
• RFID authentication handled at the edge (Raspberry Pi), decoupled from application logic
• Architecture intentionally designed to allow future hardware migration without schema or API changes

Design Challenges & Solutions

• Hardware Constraints: Designed around Raspberry Pi limitations while keeping the system extensible
• Auditability: Modeled schemas to favor immutable records and explicit state transitions
• System Evolution: Ensured hardware changes (e.g., Jetson Orin Nano) would not affect core business logic