How do I add task notes to my time entries?

Last updated: October 6, 2026

Applies to: US workers (W-2 employees and independent contractors) and Canadian T4 employees who enter their own time in Ascen. If you are an international employee working outside the US and Canada, your time is handled by your in-country HR contact, so ask them instead.

Summary: Task notes are a short, free-text description of what you worked on, saved with each time entry. Some clients require them, and others ask for them later when they review your hours. If you do not see the field, open the time entry and select Show More (on some screens it reads Show details) to reveal Task Notes.

Why you might be asked for them

Task notes give your client a record of what your hours were spent on. If a client asks us for work descriptions for hours you have already submitted, we will come back to you for them, so it is quicker for everyone if they are already on the entry.

Whether they are required depends on your client:

  • Required: the Task Notes field appears while you enter time, and you cannot create an entry for a date without it. If a date is missing its note, the form sends you back to that date.

  • Optional: the field is still available, just tucked away under the time entry.

How to add task notes

  1. When you enter time, fill in Task Notes if you see it. See How do I add time sheets? for the full steps.

  2. To add or change a note on an entry you have already created, open the time entry and select Show More (or Show details) under it. The Task Notes field appears. Add your description and save the change.

A line or two is enough: what you worked on, and the project or task name if your client uses them.

If the week is locked or the entry is approved

You can edit an entry while it is still awaiting approval, up to the weekly deadline. After the deadline, or once the entry has been approved, you cannot change it yourself, and you may see the message Cannot enter time after the deadline, please contact support. Email timesheets@ascen.com with each date and the description for it, and we will add the notes for you.

Who to contact

  • Ascen, timesheets@ascen.com: adding notes to a locked or approved entry, or any other change to time you have already submitted.

  • Your staffing partner: what your client expects the notes to cover, or which project codes to use.

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