Does my independent contractor need to send an invoice?

Summary: Independent contractors are paid based on the hours submitted and approved in Ascen, and invoices are generated automatically once the approved timesheets are processed, with no extra step from you or the contractor. A contractor can email an invoice to support@ascen.com if they want to, but it is not required and payment is not based on it. If your contractor is in Canada and registered for GST/HST, email support@ascen.com to confirm whether they need to send an invoice for the GST/HST amount.

What to tell your contractor

• No invoice is needed if time is entered on Ascen or sent to timesheets@ascen.com. What gets them paid is their hours being entered in Ascen and approved for each week or period. If your contractor is in Canada and registered for GST/HST, email support@ascen.com to confirm whether they need to send an invoice for the GST/HST amount.

• An invoice does not replace timesheets. If we receive an invoice but there are no timesheets for those hours, nothing is paid from the invoice.

• Payment runs on their net terms (see below), not from the date of any invoice.

There is also a contractor-facing article on this, Do I need to send an invoice as a contractor?, that you can send them.

Are invoices raised automatically once timesheets are approved?

Yes. Where Ascen invoices your client, the invoice is generated automatically once the approved timesheets are processed. You do not need to ask us for an invoice. Whether we invoice your clients, and when invoices go out, is explained in When do you invoice clients?.

When is the contractor paid?

On the net terms set on the assignment. The net-terms days are counted from the end of the work week (or period) the hours cover, not from the day the hours were approved. For example, on net-30 terms, hours for a week that ends on October 25 are scheduled for payment on November 24.

The hours still have to be approved before payment can go out, so the one thing that keeps a contractor on schedule is getting their time entered and approved promptly. Depending on how the assignment is set up, the approver is you or your client. See Your worker's hours are approved: when do they get paid, and can a payment be expedited?.

If your contractor can't enter their hours

If they can't get into the portal, email their hours to timesheets@ascen.com with the contractor's full name, the client or assignment, each date worked, clock-in and clock-out times, and any unpaid breaks. We enter them and send them for approval. See Emailing timesheets to us: where to send them and what happens next.

Before a contractor can be paid

The contractor's business verification (including proof of business formation, if they are asked for it) and their Certificate of Insurance must be uploaded and approved before they can be paid. If either is still outstanding, approved hours are not paid until it clears. Once the documents are uploaded, our team reviews them and can then give you an expected payment timeframe.

Nothing is needed from you beyond nudging your contractor to finish these steps. Articles you can forward to them:

• I'm being prompted for Business Verification (KYB) and can't submit my timesheet

• Insurance requirements for independent contractors

If an insurance certificate was sent back, see Your contractor's insurance documents were rejected: what we need and why.

Who to contact

• A specific contractor's payment, outstanding documents, or payment timing: email support@ascen.com with the contractor's full name, the client and assignment, and the work week in question.

• Hours to enter for a contractor: timesheets@ascen.com.

Related articles

• How independent contractors are paid (net terms)

• When do you invoice clients?

• Your worker's hours are approved: when do they get paid, and can a payment be expedited?

• Your contractor's insurance documents were rejected: what we need and why