Why your portal says to refrain from working until your account is approved
Last updated: September 8, 2026
Applies to: anyone onboarding with Ascen who sees this message when they log in — US W-2 employees and independent contractors alike. If instead your portal is asking you to finish a named onboarding step (Form I-9, tax withholding, direct deposit), that is a different kind of hold — see Getting started: your onboarding checklist.
Summary: A message such as Please refrain from working until we have approved your account, or a note that account verification is not yet complete, means we have not finished verifying your profile. It is a normal step that every new worker goes through. In most cases there is nothing you need to send us, and any hours you have already worked will not be lost.
What the message means
Before you start on an assignment, we verify the profile that was set up for you. Until that check is finished, your account is not fully approved, and the portal tells you so rather than letting you begin work on an account we have not cleared yet.
It is not a decision about you, and it is not a result from a background check or a screening. It simply means the check is still open.
Is there something I need to send you?
Usually not. Most of the time the check is something we complete on our side, and the first you will hear is that it is done.
If we do need something from you, we will email you and name exactly what it is — for example a clearer copy of a document. If you have not had an email like that, there is nothing for you to upload; you are waiting on us, not the other way around.
What it stops you doing
Starting work on the assignment. Please do not begin until your account is approved.
Entering or submitting time. While the hold is in place you may find you cannot add a timesheet, or that the page will not save.
If you have already worked hours
Your hours are not lost. If you worked before the hold appeared, or the week's deadline passes while you are waiting, email support@ascen.com with, for each day:
the date
your start time and end time
the length of any unpaid break
We will add the time for you and send it for approval, and it is paid on the normal cycle. For the other reasons a timesheet can be blocked, see What to do if you can't enter or submit your timesheet.
How to get an update
We will let you know when the verification is complete, and you will be able to submit your hours from then on.
There is no fixed turnaround we can promise, because what is being checked varies. If the wait is starting to affect your ability to work, email support@ascen.com and ask where yours stands — we can look at the record and tell you.
What it does not mean
It does not mean your application was rejected or that you have done something wrong.
It does not mean your onboarding has been undone. Steps you have already completed stay completed.
It does not mean you will not be paid for work you have already done.