Most questions have a fast answer in the docs. When they don’t, you reach the people who actually maintain the code — not an outsourced script. Here’s the quickest path to an answer, in order: docs first, the status slot for known issues, a Pro ticket, or the contact page for everything else.
Start here: search the docs
Setup, the office-IP clock-in lock, GPS geofence, kiosk and mobile/PWA punch, payroll export, PTO accrual, and migration from the old plugin are all written up step by step. Search there first — most fixes take about two minutes.
Popular docs:
- Set up the office-IP clock-in lock — flag an employee as office-only, add your public office IP, and confirm an off-site punch is refused server-side.
- Allow a whole IP range — add a CIDR block like
203.0.113.0/24instead of listing every address, and stack company-wide, per-office, and per-employee allowlists. - Block, warn, or flag — choose how strict each enforcement mode is.
- Turn on the GPS geofence, kiosk, or mobile/PWA punch screen — softer or stricter, your call.
- Export payroll to CSV — pay type, rate, weekly and daily overtime, plus the SurePayroll and Gusto connectors.
- Migrate from the old WP Human Resource Management plugin — your data carries over.
Top questions, answered fast
These come up most often. If one of these is your question, you may not need a ticket at all.
My site white-screened or “add employee” hangs after a PHP/WordPress update
That’s the original abandoned plugin breaking on PHP 8 — it was written for PHP 5.6. Punchwell is PHP 8 / WordPress 7 / MySQL 8 clean, so the white screens, hung spinners, and stalled punch-outs go away once you’re on the maintained fork. Follow the migration guide → /migration-guide/ — your employees, attendance, and leave records carry over.
An employee can clock in from home — why isn’t the IP lock working?
Three things to check: the employee is flagged “requires office IP,” your public office IP is in the allowlist (not a 192.168.x local address), and the enforcement mode is set to Block rather than Warn or Flag. The “Use this IP” helper on the IP-entry screen fills in the address you’re currently connecting from. The full checklist is in the docs → /docs/.
How do I allow more than one office, or a whole range of addresses?
Punchwell unions three allowlist scopes — company-wide, per-office, and per-employee — and adding an entry only ever widens access. Use a CIDR block like 203.0.113.0/24 for a range (IPv4 and IPv6 supported), or give a specific person an “Additional allowed IPs” entry on their profile. Step-by-step in the docs → /docs/.
Does Punchwell actually run payroll or pay my staff?
No — and that’s deliberate. It exports payroll data to CSV (with weekly and daily overtime, double-time, and holiday pay) and ships SurePayroll and Gusto connectors. It does not move money, so there’s no payment-processor or tax-custody risk. You take the payroll-ready CSV to your provider.
See more answers in the docs → /docs/
Current status & known issues
Before you open a ticket, glance here — if something is already a known issue, you’ll save yourself the wait.
Status: [status placeholder — show current state, e.g. “All systems normal.”]
Known issues: [known-issues placeholder — list any active issue, affected version, and workaround, or “None reported right now.”]
Because Punchwell is self-hosted, there’s no Punchwell cloud that can go down and take your time clock with it — your data and your punch screen live on your own WordPress site. This slot tracks plugin-level issues (a bug in a release, a documented workaround) and the latest stable versions, not the uptime of a server we don’t run.
Open a ticket (Pro license required)
Already on Punchwell Pro? Open a ticket and you’ll reach the people who maintain the code directly. Sign in with your Sturdyhaus account and we’ll already have your license and version on hand, so you don’t have to dig for them.
Open a Pro support ticket → app.sturdyhaus.com/submitticket
Sign in with your Sturdyhaus account. Pro includes support and updates for as long as your license is active.
To get a useful answer fastest, include:
- Your Punchwell version and your WordPress / PHP versions
- Which feature (IP lock, GPS geofence, kiosk, payroll export, migration, etc.)
- What you expected vs. what happened — and the exact wording of any error
- Whether it started after an update or a settings change
You’re never stranded either way. Punchwell is GPL and self-hosted, so even if your license lapses you keep the plugin and every record — you just lose ticket support and Pro updates until you renew.
Not a customer yet? (pre-sales & general questions)
On the free community version, evaluating Punchwell, or have a pre-sales question about whether it fits your shop? The ticket form isn’t the right door — use the contact page and we’ll point you the right way.
Ask a pre-sales question → /contact/
Two quick self-serve options first, since they answer most pre-sales questions:
- “Will this fit my workforce and budget?” — see pricing → /pricing/. Per site, never per seat; unlimited employees on every tier.
- “How does it compare to Buddy Punch, Deputy, or WP ERP?” — see the comparison → /compare/.
What support covers, by plan
Plain and up front, so there are no surprises:
| Free / Community | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | ✓ Full docs at /docs/ | ✓ Full docs at /docs/ |
| Community / WordPress.org forum | ✓ | ✓ |
| Authenticated ticket support | — | ✓ For as long as your license is active |
| Pro feature updates | — | ✓ |
| Migration guidance | ✓ Self-serve migration guide → /migration-guide/ | ✓ Self-serve guide + ticket support |
[Maintainer: set the specific support channel and response-time target — e.g. email-based ticket support, business-day response — and state it here so expectations are clear.]
The free tier is the on-ramp into Pro, not a stripped product with a paywall on basic answers. The docs are open to everyone.
FAQ
Do I need a Pro license to open a ticket?
Yes. Ticket support is part of Punchwell Pro and runs through your Sturdyhaus account at app.sturdyhaus.com/submitticket. If you’re on the free community version or evaluating, use the contact page → /contact/ for pre-sales help, and lean on the docs → /docs/ for setup.
Who actually answers my ticket?
The people who maintain the code — there’s no outsourced tier-1 script. Punchwell is a small, focused operation, and that’s the point: you talk to someone who knows how the office-IP lock and the punch validation actually work.
Is there a status page or uptime dashboard I should watch?
Punchwell is self-hosted, so there’s no Punchwell server whose uptime affects your time clock — your punch screen and data live on your own WordPress site. The Current status & known issues slot above is where we post plugin-level issues, workarounds, and the latest stable versions. If your own WordPress site or host has an outage, that’s a matter for your hosting provider.
My question is about migrating from the old WP Human Resource Management plugin — where do I go?
Start with the self-serve migration guide → /migration-guide/. It’s a migration, not a rebuild — same database lineage, with a one-time SQL script and a verification pack, reversible if you back up first. Pro license holders can also open a ticket if you hit a snag. (Punchwell is an independent, third-party maintained GPL fork — not affiliated with the original author, wpspear, or weDevs.)
I think I found a security issue. How do I report it?
Please report it privately rather than in a public forum. Pro holders can open a ticket; everyone can reach us via the contact page → /contact/. For background on the public CVEs in the original abandoned plugin and how this fork addresses them, see the security advisory → /security-advisory/.
What happens to my data and support access if I let my license lapse?
You keep the plugin and every record — it’s GPL and self-hosted, so nothing is held hostage. You lose ticket support and Pro updates until you renew, and your renewal price stays locked as long as you never lapse.
Still stuck?
Work the path top to bottom and you’ll land in the right place: docs for the fix, the status slot for known issues, a ticket if you’re on Pro, and contact for everything else.
Search the docs → /docs/ Open a Pro ticket → app.sturdyhaus.com/submitticket Pre-sales or general question → /contact/
Punchwell, by Sturdyhaus. Self-hosted, GPL, no cloud and no data call-home — your data stays on your server.
Punchwell is an independent, third-party maintained fork of the GPL-licensed “WP Human Resource Management” plugin. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by wpspear, weDevs, or the original author. Product names are referenced descriptively only.