My Payment Shows as "Paid" But I Haven't Received My Direct Deposit

Last updated: August 10, 2026

Applies To:

All Employees and Independent Contractors in the US and Canada

Summary:

Seeing a shift marked "Paid," "Complete," or "Approved" in a gig app or your staffing partner's app does not mean Ascen has your time, or that Ascen has paid you. Ascen only pays after your time reaches our platform, is approved, and a payroll run turns it into a paycheck. This article shows how to check where your pay actually is in Ascen, what each status means, and what to do if a genuinely processed payment hasn't landed in your bank yet.

First: a status in another app is not an Ascen paycheck

If you clock in or view shifts through a gig app, a vendor management system (VMS), or your staffing partner's own app, the "paid" or "complete" status you see there belongs to that system. It does not mean:

  • Ascen has received your hours,

  • your time has been approved, or

  • a paycheck has been created or paid.

On many assignments your staffing partner or client enters or imports your time (from their scheduling system or a VMS), so there can be a delay before your hours appear in Ascen at all. Ascen can only pay time that has reached and cleared our system.

Where your pay actually is: the stages your time goes through

Log in at app.ascen.com. Your pay moves through these stages, and you can't have a paycheck until the earlier stages are done.

1. Your time reaches Ascen — check the Timesheets tab. If you don't see your shift or hours under Timesheets, Ascen doesn't have your time yet, so no paycheck can exist. If your partner or client enters your time, allow time for it to import, or ask them to confirm it was submitted.

2. Your time is approved — check the status on each entry. Each timesheet entry shows a status. Until it is approved, it cannot be paid:

  • awaiting_approval — submitted and waiting for your client or partner to approve it. (This is what "unapproved" means.)

  • signed — signed but not fully approved yet (only on assignments that require a signature step).

  • approved — approved and eligible to be paid.

  • rejected — sent back; it needs to be corrected and re-submitted.

  • draft — started but not submitted yet.

3. Payroll runs. Approved time becomes a paycheck only when Ascen runs payroll for your pay period. If your time is approved but payroll for that period hasn't run yet, there is no paycheck yet — check your assignment's pay schedule and pay date. Some assignments also pay on net terms, which add a set number of days after the pay period before your check date.

4. Your paycheck is issued — check the Paychecks tab. Once payroll runs, a paycheck appears under Paychecks, with a status:

  • pending / pre-processed — created and queued, not yet sent.

  • processed — filed and sent for payment. This is the real "paid" state — there is no "Paid" or "Payout Complete" status on a paycheck, so processed is what you are looking for.

  • failed / voided — the payment didn't go through, or the paycheck was cancelled.

For direct deposit, the deposit is sent after the paycheck reaches processed.

So: you have actually been paid by Ascen only when you see a paycheck under Paychecks with the status "processed" — no matter what a gig app or staffing app shows.

Using Branch or instant pay? Funds route to your Branch wallet, and a "paid" status in Branch reflects that wallet transfer — which still only happens once Ascen has a processed paycheck for you.

If you DON'T see a processed paycheck

That is why there's no deposit yet. Match your situation:

  • You don't see your time in Timesheets → your hours haven't reached Ascen. On most assignments your staffing partner or client enters or imports your time — contact them to confirm your hours were submitted.

  • Your time shows "awaiting_approval" (unapproved) → it still needs to be approved by your client or partner before it can be paid.

  • Your time is "approved" but there is no paycheck → payroll for that period hasn't run yet. Check your pay schedule and pay date; if the pay date has already passed, contact Ascen at support@ascen.com.

If you DO see a "processed" paycheck but no deposit

Now it is a direct-deposit issue. Work through these:

1. Check that your onboarding is complete

Payments can fail to process if your Ascen onboarding isn't fully complete. Log in at app.ascen.com and finish any remaining steps, including acknowledgment and signature forms.

2. Verify your direct deposit information

Confirm your bank account and routing number are correct in Ascen:

  1. Log in at app.ascen.com.

  2. Complete any remaining onboarding steps if prompted.

  3. When prompted to set up payment, select "Update bank manually" and enter and confirm your account information.

If you use a Branch wallet, make sure you have downloaded the Branch app and completed all pending verifications — unverified Branch accounts can cause payments to fail.

3. Allow time for the payment to post

Payments may be in transit and can take until the end of the business day to appear in your account. If yours was just processed, please allow until end of day before escalating.

4. Use your ACH trace number to locate the funds

If it still hasn't arrived, contact Ascen at support@ascen.com so we can look up your ACH trace number — a unique identifier for your deposit that your bank can use to find the funds. Then:

  1. Contact your bank and give them the ACH trace number.

  2. Ask them to search for the deposit using it.

  3. Your bank should be able to locate the funds and confirm whether the deposit was received.

You can review your details anytime at app.ascen.com — the Timesheets tab for your shifts and their status, and the Paychecks tab for your pay stubs and paycheck status.

5. If the issue persists

If your bank confirms they didn't receive the payment even with the ACH trace number, contact Ascen at support@ascen.com with:

  • The date(s) of the shift(s) you were not paid for

  • A voided check or bank letter confirming your direct deposit account details

Our payroll team will review your account and, if necessary, reprocess the payment once your banking information is verified.