Guide · Before you buy

Can you use the biometric machine you already own with cloud attendance software?

Usually, yes—with no hardware replacement. Direct cloud connectivity depends on your machine's brand and firmware. Check compatibility, what data carries over, and the three details we need to confirm your setup.

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AionHRMS

Your terminal

Confirm model & firmware

One cloud account

People, attendance & site rules

Review attendance

Check the first punch before cutover

Illustrated workflow. Features depend on the confirmed device and configuration.

An existing biometric machine can be used with cloud attendance software if it can push its punches to a server by itself. eSSL and ZKTeco terminals with an ADMS or Cloud Server Setting screen can; so can Realtime terminals with a server setting, through Realtime's own protocol. CP Plus and other rebranded units are model dependent. Matrix, Mantra, Secureye and BioMax are not implemented on AionHRMS today. Older units with only USB download or a LAN SDK port cannot be repointed and are replaced. When a machine qualifies, the employees' user IDs and the templates on the device carry over, the attendance history stays in the old software and is exported, and the hardware cost of the switch is normally zero.

₹0 hardware

in the common case: an eSSL, ZKTeco or Realtime terminal is repointed, not replaced

3 items

model, serial and a photo of the Comm menu; that is all a yes or no needs

IDs carry over

keep the user numbers on the device and nobody re-enrols

History does not

export it from the old software; the cloud register starts on cutover day

The decision tree, by brand

Brand tells you which protocol family the terminal belongs to. Firmware tells you whether that particular unit exposes it. Work through both.

eSSL: almost every model sold since about 2016 (X990, K30, MB series, iFace, SilkBio and later) has an ADMS or Cloud Server screen under Menu, Comm. If the screen is there, the machine can be repointed. If Comm has only Ethernet and PC Connection, the firmware cannot push; ask the dealer whether an update exists for that model.
ZKTeco: the same test, since eSSL terminals are ZKTeco hardware. Look for Cloud Server Setting or ADMS under Comm.
Realtime: current models have a server setting in the communication menu and speak Realtime's own push protocol, which AionHRMS implements separately from ADMS. Exact model support is confirmed with a test punch before rollout.
CP Plus and other rebrands: mixed. Some units are ZK-platform and push cleanly; some expose an IP and port with no domain-name toggle and work only with an IP address; some are a different platform altogether. The Comm menu tells you which within a minute.
Matrix COSEC, Mantra, Secureye, BioMax: their own platforms. AionHRMS does not implement them today and will not list them as supported until it does. If the machine is one of these, the choice is to keep its own software or to replace the terminal.
Anything with only a USB port, or an Ethernet port but no server setting: cannot be repointed. A basic fingerprint terminal that can push costs a few thousand rupees; the price guide on this site gives current ranges.

What carries over when you switch

The cutover is painless when the things that live on the device stay on the device. Three of them do.

User IDs. Every template on the terminal is stored against a user ID. If the cloud employee record carries the same number, punches land on the right person from the first minute. Do not renumber.
Templates. Fingerprints and faces stay where they were enrolled. Nobody queues at the machine again for the switch itself. Templates move between terminals only where the formats are compatible: compatible iClock templates between compatible iClock terminals, and never across brands.
The device's own settings: shift bells, admin PIN, verification mode, access-control rules on the unit. Repointing changes only the server address.
Multi-site estates carry over in full. Ten eSSL terminals at ten branches each get the same server setting and appear in one register with the branch name on every punch.

What does not carry over, and what to do about it

Three things do not move by themselves, and two of them are the source of most cutover complaints.

Attendance history. It lives in the old software's database, whether that is a PC running eTimeTrackLite or Realsoft, or a hosted cloud. The new register starts on the day of the cutover. Export monthly reports and the user list from the old system before you repoint, especially from a hosted service where the login may lapse.
Shift and salary rules. These were configured in the old software and have to be entered again in the new one. Take the opportunity to write them down; most sites discover on this day that nobody knew the late rule exactly.
The previous cloud feed. A terminal pushes to one server. If it was on eSSL Cloud or a dealer's hosted service, that feed stops the moment you repoint. Desktop software reading the device over the LAN is unaffected and can run in parallel for a month.

What happens when the internet goes down

The objection to PC-free attendance is always the same: what if the line drops at the gate? The answer is the same as it was with the PC, only better, because the PC also needed the line.

The terminal keeps verifying people. Fingerprints and faces are matched on the device; the cloud is not involved in letting someone in.
Each punch is stored in the terminal's memory. Most eSSL and ZKTeco models hold tens of thousands of transactions; the data sheet gives the figure for yours.
When the line returns, the server tells the terminal the last record it holds and the terminal uploads everything after it. The register fills in, on the right dates and times, with no one doing anything.
What you lose during the outage is live visibility, not data. The software will show the terminal offline after its threshold (ten minutes on AionHRMS), which is your cue to check the site's router, not the device.

Security: why outbound-only is the safer shape

A pull-based integration has to reach your terminal from outside, which means a port open on your router or a VPN, and a biometric terminal listening on the internet. Push reverses the direction.

Nothing on your network listens for the vendor. The terminal makes outbound connections only, so the SDK port never faces the internet and the router needs no forwarding rule.
Templates stay on the device. What travels is the punch record: a user ID, a time, a method. AionHRMS excludes raw enrolment payloads from ordinary exports and from the partner API.
Each terminal is identified by serial number and registered to one account. An unregistered device is answered and ignored; nothing from it lands anywhere.
Ask any vendor, push or pull, where the data is hosted and which certifications the company itself holds. AionHRMS states India by default, with Europe available for EU and UK customers where required.

What it costs to switch

Priced honestly, the switch is mostly time, and most of the time is the parallel month.

Hardware: normally nothing. The terminal is reused. If a unit cannot push and must be replaced, a fingerprint terminal that can is a few thousand rupees and a face terminal somewhat more; see the machine price guide.
Installation: nothing, if the terminal stays on the wall. A dealer visit is only needed for a replacement or a unit that has never been on the network.
Software: AionHRMS is free up to 10 employees, ₹25,000 a year up to 100 and ₹50,000 a year up to 500, exclusive of GST, with unlimited terminals and sites, and invoiced only after the devices are live. There is no setup or implementation charge.
Your time: an hour per terminal for the first one, twenty minutes for each after, and one pay period of running both systems to reconcile.

What to send us for a yes or a no

We do not publish a list of two hundred supported brands, because a brand name is not evidence. We confirm the exact unit. Three items are enough for an answer on the first reply, and a fourth turns a probable yes into a certain one.

The model, from the Device Info screen or the sticker on the back.
The serial number, from the Device Info screen (the sticker can be for a swapped housing).
A photo of the Comm menu, showing whether an ADMS, Cloud Server or Server Setting entry exists and what it points at today.
The firmware version, from the same Device Info screen. With this we can say whether the unit's dialect is one we have run before or one we will test first.
The answer is one of three: yes, repoint it; test first, we will do a live test punch before you commit; or no, and here is what a replacement costs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my eSSL machine with software other than eTimeTrackLite?

Yes, if it has an ADMS or Cloud Server Setting screen under Menu, Comm, which almost every eSSL model since about 2016 does. The terminal is repointed to the new server from that screen; eTimeTrackLite on the PC can keep reading it over the LAN during a parallel month. If the screen is absent, ask the dealer about a firmware update for that model.

Will my staff have to re-enrol their fingerprints on the new software?

No. Templates stay on the terminal and are matched to user IDs. As long as the new software's employee records use the same IDs the device already holds, nobody re-enrols. Re-enrolment is needed only when a person is added to a terminal they were never on, or when hardware generations differ so templates cannot be transferred.

Does the old attendance history move to the new software?

No. History lives in the old software's database. Export the monthly reports and the user list before you repoint the terminal, particularly from a hosted service where you may lose the login. The new register starts on cutover day.

My machine is a Matrix / Mantra / BioMax. Can AionHRMS use it?

Not today. Those brands run their own platforms rather than the ADMS or Realtime push protocols AionHRMS implements, and we do not list brands as supported before they are. Your options are to keep that machine on its own software or to replace it with an eSSL, ZKTeco or Realtime terminal, which a dealer can quote.

Is it cheaper to replace the machine or reuse it?

Reusing is nearly always cheaper: the hardware cost is zero and the only work is a setting on the device. Replacing makes sense only when the unit cannot push, is failing, or you want face recognition where you have fingerprint. Even then the new terminal is a few thousand rupees and the software subscription is unchanged.

Can two different brands of machine feed one attendance register?

Yes. An eSSL terminal at one site and a Realtime terminal at another push over different protocols into the same AionHRMS account and the same register, with the terminal name on every punch. Templates do not move between the brands; employees enrol on each brand's terminal once.

Can biometric attendance work without any computer at the office?

Yes, if the terminal can push. eSSL and ZKTeco units with an ADMS or Cloud Server screen, and Realtime units with a server setting, send their punches to the cloud by themselves over ordinary internet. The terminal is the only equipment at the site; reports are read from any browser or phone.

Do I need a static IP for cloud attendance?

Not with a push-based product. The terminal dials out like any internet client, so a dynamic address behind an ordinary router works, including a mobile hotspot at a site. A static IP is needed only when the vendor's software reaches into your network to read the device.

Is a biometric terminal on the internet a security risk?

With push, the terminal only makes outbound connections; nothing on your network listens for the vendor and no port is forwarded. Fingerprint and face templates stay on the device; what travels is the punch record. With pull-based integrations that reach in from outside, the device's SDK port has to be reachable, which is the configuration to avoid.

Three items for a straight answer

Send the model, serial and a photo of the Comm menu. We reply yes, test-first or no, with the cost of each, before you spend anything.