Geofences help you create a virtual boundary around a worksite to automatically track arrivals, departures, and travel time. You can use either a standard circular geofence (radius-based) or a polygon geofence (custom drawn shape) to best match your job site layout.
If you need to make changes to an existing geofence, you can easily adjust the radius (for circular fences) or reshape the area (for polygon fences) from both the web and mobile apps.
Circular & Polygon Geofences: What’s Supported?
Workyard supports two types of geofences:
Standard (circular) – creates a radius around a single point
Polygon – allows you to draw a custom-shaped boundary for irregular job sites
These options are available on both platforms with a few limitations:
Web App: You can create and edit both circular and polygon geofences.
Mobile App: You can view all geofences and edit only circular geofences. Creating or editing polygon geofences must be done on the web.
Editing a Geofence on the Web App
Go to the Project Hub.
Click on the project you'd like to update.
Click the Edit (pencil icon) in the upper-right corner of the project window.
Locate the geofence you'd like to edit under Geofences:
If it's a radius-based geofence, use the Radius Slider to adjust the size.
If it's a polygon geofence, click Draw Geofence to reshape it. Drag points to adjust or right-click on any point to remove it.
Click Save to apply your changes.
Editing a Geofence on the Mobile App (standard circular only)
Open the Workyard app and go to the Projects tab.
Locate the project you want to update.
Swipe left on the project and tap Edit.
Under Project Location tap the geofence address to access geofence settings.
Tap Geofence Radius to adjust a circular geofence.
Use the slider to increase or decrease the radius.
Tap Save to confirm your changes.
FAQs
What geofence size do you recommend for circular geofences?
We recommend a minimum radius of 200 ft. Anything smaller may not reliably detect entries and exits due to GPS sensitivity.
Can I create overlapping geofences?
No. Overlapping geofences can cause confusion in location tracking. If an overlap is detected, Workyard will automatically reduce the radius to prevent it.
For more complex site layouts, we recommend using polygon geofences to avoid overlap while still capturing accurate boundaries.
Why didn’t my radius update save?
If the radius you selected causes the geofence to overlap with another active geofence, the system will automatically reduce it to the largest size that doesn’t overlap.
Use a polygon geofence if you need a more flexible shape to avoid conflicts.
Best Practices
Use radius geofences for open areas or smaller job sites.
Use polygon geofences for large, irregular, or shared job sites.
Review geofence coverage on the map after editing to ensure it covers your intended work area.