Your worker's hours are approved — when do they get paid, and can a payment be expedited?
Last updated: August 31, 2026
Applies to: staffing Partners and their account teams asking when a worker will be paid after time has been approved. If you are a worker wondering where your own pay is, see When will I receive payment for my completed shifts? instead.
Summary: Approval is the gate. Nothing can be paid until the hours are approved, and once they are approved the payment goes into the next payroll processing run — the same business day if the approval lands before that day's cutoff, otherwise the next business day. After that it is the worker's bank that decides when the money appears. There is no separate rush queue, so the fastest thing you can do for a worried worker is get the approval in.
Step 1 — the hours have to be approved
This is the single most common reason a payment has not moved. Hours that are entered, uploaded, or emailed to us still sit in Awaiting Approval until whoever approves time on that assignment approves them. Depending on how the assignment is set up, that approver is you or your client — not Ascen.
Check the timesheet's status before escalating. If it still says Awaiting Approval, the payment has not started and no amount of chasing on our side will move it.
If the approver is unavailable or the approval email went to the wrong person, see How can I change who receives timesheet approval emails? and Approving timesheets: dashboard, email, and deadlines.
For the client-side deadline, see What is the timesheet approval deadline?.
If you emailed us hours rather than entering them, see Emailing timesheets to us — where to send them and what happens next — those still need your approval once we key them in.
Step 2 — after approval, the payroll run
Once time is approved it is picked up by a payroll processing run. Approvals that land before that day's processing cutoff go out in that day's run; approvals that land after it roll into the next business day's run. Payroll runs on business days only — approvals on a Friday evening, a weekend, or a bank holiday are picked up on the next business day.
How often runs happen depends on the assignment:
Weekly assignments — the standard setup. Approved time is paid on the assignment's regular payday. See When do I receive my paycheck?.
Daily pay assignments — payroll runs every business day, so approved time can pay out without waiting for the weekly payday. You enable this per assignment. See How daily pay works (US W-2 employees).
Independent contractors — paid on the net terms set on the assignment rather than on a payroll cycle. See How independent contractors are paid (net terms).
Step 3 — the worker's bank
Once the deposit is sent, when it lands is up to the receiving bank, and that step is outside anyone's control. A deposit sent on a Friday evening commonly does not appear until Monday. See How long does direct deposit take to reach my bank?.
So "we sent it today" and "they can spend it today" are not the same statement. When you are reassuring a worker, it is safer to say the payment has been sent than to promise it will be visible in their account by a particular hour.
"Can you expedite this one?"
Usually there is nothing to expedite, and it is worth knowing why so you can set expectations with your client and your worker:
If the hours are not approved yet — this is the real lever, and it is on your side or your client's side. Getting the approval in before the cutoff is what makes the payment same-day.
If the hours are already approved — they are already in the next run. There is no faster lane in front of it.
If the payment has already been sent — it is with the bank. It cannot be pulled forward.
What we can do — confirm exactly where a specific payment is, tell you whether it made a given run, and fix anything genuinely stuck on our side (for example, hours we have received but not yet keyed in).
What to send us so we can answer quickly
Requests that arrive with only an internal timesheet or contractor ID usually cost a round trip, because those IDs are not how we search. Include:
The worker's full name as it appears on their Ascen record.
The client and assignment.
The shift date or work week in question.
What you are expecting and by when — for example "client approved this morning, worker expects pay today".
Send it to support@ascen.com.
Two things this is not
Not your distribution. When you receive your share is a separate process, funded by your client paying the invoice. See Why your distribution might be delayed.
Not a hold on the worker's account. If a specific worker is not being paid while others on the same run are, the cause is usually an incomplete step on their record rather than payroll timing. See Why your pay might be on hold (and how to fix it).
If a payment really is late
If approved time has missed more than one payroll run, or a worker's payday has passed with nothing sent, email support@ascen.com with the details above and we will trace it. Pay corrections and anything to do with payroll, tax, or a worker's pay record go to support@ascen.com — please do not route them through an individual account manager's inbox, where they can sit.