Agency timesheets: a weekly routine that doesn't hold up pay day

Decide the rules once

Arguments about hours are usually arguments about rules nobody wrote down. Agree these with each client at the start, and apply them the same way every week:

• Rounding: to the nearest 5, 10 or 15 minutes, and whether it rounds in the worker's favour.
• Breaks: a fixed break per shift, or by length (for example 30 minutes unpaid over six hours).
• Lateness: a grace period before late arrival changes paid time.
• Minimum paid hours per shift, if the client has agreed one.
• The approval deadline: how long the client has to approve before you approve on their behalf.

Capture the hours at the source

Clocking in and out on the worker's phone at the client's site gives you times without paper. Checking the location only at those two moments, never in between, keeps it fair to workers. Clock-ins from too far away should be flagged for someone to look at, not silently accepted or rejected.

The weekly routine

1. Monday: check last week's flagged clock-ins and missing clock-outs, and fix times with a note saying why.
2. Monday: send each client contact their approval link with everything ready.
3. Tuesday: answer queries the same day. A query with a note beats an email chain.
4. Wednesday, at the deadline: approve what's left on clients' behalf, as agreed, and record that you did.
5. Then make the pay run and the invoices from the same approved hours, so they always match.

Pay and bill from one set of hours

When pay rates and charge rates live on the same rate card, the pay run and the invoice can't disagree, and margin is visible before the week is closed. Lock timesheets once they're paid or invoiced, so nothing changes after the money has moved.

Two things to keep an eye on in the UK: the minimum wage for every worker's age band, and pay parity for agency workers after 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer under the Agency Workers Regulations. Check GOV.UK for the current rules.