Why the app asks for your location when you enter time

Last updated: August 19, 2026

Applies to: Workers entering their own time on an assignment where the client requires location capture. If your client does not require it, you will never see the location prompt and this article does not apply to you.

Summary: Some clients require confirmation that time was entered at the worksite. On those assignments, your browser will ask permission to share your device location when you enter or start/stop time, and the entry has to be made at the worksite to go through.

Why you are being asked for your location

Some clients require confirmation that time was recorded at the place the work happened. When your assignment is with one of those clients, the platform asks your browser for your device's location at the moment you record time. It is a setting on the client's account, not something applied to everyone.

If you have worked other assignments through Ascen and never saw this prompt, that is expected — the requirement follows the client, so it can apply on one assignment and not another.

What you will see

A browser permission prompt asking you to allow location access. You have to allow it to continue.
If you use the start/stop timer, your location is captured both when you start and when you stop.
If you deny permission, or your device cannot produce a location, you will not be able to submit that entry.

You need to be at the worksite when you record time

Your device location is compared against the work address on your assignment. If you are outside the radius set around that address, the entry is rejected. Record your time while you are at the worksite rather than after you get home.

If you genuinely work at more than one location, see What if I work at multiple facilities/locations/clients in a week?

Important: you cannot edit the timesheet after you submit it

This surprises people, so it is worth calling out. On assignments where location is required, you can only change a timesheet while it is still a draft. Once you submit it, you cannot edit it yourself, even to correct an obvious typo.

Check your times carefully before submitting. If you need a correction after submitting, contact Ascen at support@ascen.com with the date and the corrected times and we can fix it for you.

If the location step is not working

The most common causes, and what to do:

Location permission is blocked in your browser. This is by far the most common cause, and a denied prompt is often remembered permanently. Open your browser's site settings for app.ascen.com and set location to Allow, then reload the page.
Weak GPS signal. Indoors, in a basement, or in a large building, your device's location can be inaccurate enough to read as outside the worksite. Step outside or near a window and try again.
A VPN or privacy tool. These can report a location far from where you actually are. Turn it off before recording time.
Location services are off at the device level. Check your phone or computer's own location setting, not just the browser's.
The work address on your assignment is wrong. If you are standing at the correct worksite and are still rejected, the address on the assignment may be incorrect or incomplete. That is a real problem to fix rather than something to work around — contact Ascen.

If you have tried these and still cannot submit, contact Ascen at support@ascen.com. Include the date and times you worked and a screenshot of the error, and we can enter the time for you so your pay is not delayed.

What is collected, and what is not

Your location is captured only at the moment you record time — when you create a time entry, or when you start and stop the timer. You are not tracked continuously, and no location is collected in between those moments or when you are not working. For more on how your information is handled, see How Ascen protects your data (security overview).

Who to contact

Ascen (support@ascen.com) — the prompt not working, entries wrongly rejected, an incorrect worksite address, or a correction to a submitted timesheet.
Your staffing partner — whether this client requires location, and scheduling or which site you are assigned to.

How to enter your time (when time entry is enabled)
What to do if you can't enter or submit your timesheet
When are timesheets due?