Template · Staffing agency documents
Staffing agency timesheet
In short
A temp agency timesheet records the hours a temporary or contract worker spends on a client assignment each week, signed by the worker and approved by the client supervisor. The agency uses the same approved hours twice: to pay the worker and to bill the client. This template covers daily punches, breaks, overtime, approval and payroll and billing codes.
Weekly Timesheet: Temporary and Contract Workers template
Weekly Timesheet: Temporary and Contract Workers
Complete one timesheet per worker, per client assignment, per week. Record actual times, not scheduled times. The client supervisor must approve by [Day, Time] each week for the worker to be paid on the normal payday. Send to [Branch Email / upload link]. Questions: [Branch Phone].
Worker and assignment
- Worker name
- Worker ID
- Agency branch
- Client company
- Worksite / department
- Job title on assignment
- Assignment or job order number
- Client PO or cost center (if required)
- Client supervisor name
- Week ending date
Daily hours (one row per day: repeat for all 7 days of the workweek)
- Date
- Shift
- DayEveningNightWeekendDid not work
- Time in
- Meal break out
- Meal break in
- Time out
- Rest breaks taken
- All breaks takenMissed or shortened break (explain below)
- Total hours worked this day (excluding unpaid meal break)
- Paid holiday or sick hours this day (if any)
Weekly totals
- Total hours worked this week
- Regular hours (up to 40, or as state law sets)
- Overtime hours (1.5x)
- Double-time hours (where state law requires)
- Shift differential hours and type
- Paid sick leave hours used
- Holiday hours
- Did you work for any other client of this agency this week?
- NoYes: client name and hours below
- Other assignments this week (client and hours)
Expenses and notes
- Approved expenses or mileage (attach receipts)
- Corrections, missed punches, missed breaks or early release (explain)
Worker certification
- I certify these are all the hours I worked this week, including any work before or after my shift. I took my breaks as recorded. I was not asked to work off the clock.
- I had no workplace injury this week, or I have reported it to my supervisor and the agency
- Worker signature
- Date
Client approval
- I approve the hours above as accurate. If I disagree with any entry, I have noted it below and contacted the agency.
- Disputed entries and reason
- Supervisor name and title
- Supervisor signature
- Date approved
Agency use only: payroll and billing
- Received date and method
- Pay rate (regular / OT)
- Bill rate (regular / OT)
- Hours paid (regular / OT / DT)
- Hours billed (regular / OT / DT)
- Discrepancy resolved
- NoneResolved with workerResolved with clientOpen: escalated
- Payroll batch / invoice number
- Processed by
- Date processed
How to use this template
- Fill in the assignment details once at the start of the week, including the job order number and any client PO so billing does not have to chase it.
- Record actual in, out and meal times each day the worker works, not the scheduled shift.
- At the end of the week, total the hours and split them into regular, overtime and double time based on your state's rules.
- Worker signs the certification, then the client supervisor approves by the weekly cutoff or notes any disputed entries.
- The branch checks the timesheet against the assignment confirmation for rate, site and schedule, and combines hours across clients before calculating overtime.
- Payroll pays from the approved hours and billing raises the client invoice from the same record, then the timesheet is filed with the invoice.
Why agency timesheets work differently
An in-house timesheet feeds one thing: payroll. An agency timesheet feeds two, payroll and the client invoice, and the person who approves it works for a different company from the person who pays the worker. That is why the client approval block matters so much. An approved timesheet is the agency's evidence that the hours on the invoice were worked and accepted, and it is usually the first thing a client's accounts payable team asks for when they dispute a bill.
The structure here mirrors our general timesheet template for daily punches but adds the assignment, PO and client approval details that billing needs. Each line of hours should flow straight into the staffing invoice for that week.
Overtime across multiple clients
This is the most expensive mistake in agency payroll. The FLSA looks at hours worked for the employer in a workweek, and when the agency is the employer, hours at every client count together. A worker who does 30 hours at a food plant and 15 at a warehouse in the same week has 45 hours with the agency and is owed 5 hours of overtime, even though neither client scheduled overtime.
Who pays the premium is a commercial question. Most staffing agreements say clients pay the overtime bill rate only when they approved the overtime themselves; otherwise the agency absorbs it. Either way, the worker gets paid. The timesheet asks about other assignments that week so payroll catches this, and the branch should total hours by worker before any pay is calculated. California and a few other states also require daily overtime and double time, so check the rule for each work location.
A worked example
Maria Lopez works a light industrial assignment at a parts distributor, pay rate $18.00, bill rate $25.20 (a 1.4 markup). Her week: Monday to Friday, 6:00 am to 2:30 pm with a 30-minute unpaid lunch, so 8 hours a day, plus a Saturday shift of 6 hours the supervisor approved.
- Total hours: 46. Regular 40, overtime 6.
- Pay: 40 x $18.00 = $720.00, plus 6 x $27.00 = $162.00. Gross pay $882.00.
- Bill: 40 x $25.20 = $1,008.00, plus 6 x $37.80 = $226.80. Invoice $1,234.80.
The overtime bill rate here is the regular bill rate times 1.5, which is the common approach. Some agreements bill overtime at the pay premium plus burden only; state what you use in the agreement and stick to it.
Approval, disputes and record keeping
Set a weekly cutoff, for example Monday noon for the week ending Sunday, and send reminders to supervisors who have not approved. When a supervisor disputes hours, the agency still has to pay the worker for time actually worked; resolve the billing question separately. Never edit a signed timesheet without a note of who changed what and why.
The FLSA requires employers to keep payroll records for at least three years and time cards for two, and many states require longer. Keep the approved timesheet, any corrections and the matching invoice together. Clients with audit rights in their staffing agreement often sample timesheets against invoices, so a clean match saves you a credit note.
Common mistakes
- Recording scheduled hours instead of actual times, which hides early starts and late finishes you still owe pay for.
- Letting supervisors approve a total without daily detail, so you cannot defend the bill or prove breaks were given.
- Calculating overtime per client rather than per worker.
- Missing PO numbers, which leads to rejected invoices and 60-day payment delays.
- Accepting timesheets with no client approval to hit payroll, then being unable to bill them.
Moving from paper to digital at volume
A branch with 400 temps across 25 clients processes 400 timesheets every week. Paper and faxed sheets create transcription errors and late payroll. Most agencies move to a mobile clock or client portal where workers punch in, supervisors approve in bulk and approved hours go straight to payroll and billing. Keep this paper template for small clients, backups and sites without connectivity. Make sure the temp assignment confirmation and the digital timesheet carry the same rate and job order number, and send a timesheet reminder email automatically the day before the cutoff.
Frequently asked questions
Who signs a temp agency timesheet?
The worker signs to certify the hours, and the client supervisor approves them. The agency then processes it. Without client approval, most agencies cannot bill the hours.
What is the difference between a contractor timesheet template and a temp timesheet?
A temp timesheet records daily in and out times for an hourly employee so overtime and breaks can be paid correctly. A contractor timesheet for an independent contractor often records hours or days against a project for invoicing only, with no overtime rules.
Does an agency temporary worker timesheet need break times?
Recording meal breaks is good practice everywhere and effectively required where state law mandates breaks, such as California, because it is your proof they were provided. Unpaid meal breaks must be real breaks, generally 30 minutes or more with no work.
What happens if a client refuses to sign the timesheet?
The agency must still pay the worker for hours actually worked. Escalate to the client contact, use other evidence such as badge or clock records, and resolve the billing dispute separately under the staffing agreement.
How long should staffing agencies keep timesheets?
Federal law requires at least two years for time cards and three for payroll records, and some states require longer. Many agencies keep them for the length of the client contract plus several years to cover audits and disputes.