Equipment for a new assignment: who sends it and what to do if it has not arrived

Last updated: September 21, 2026

Applies to: workers starting an assignment that supplies equipment such as a laptop, headset, or phone. Not every assignment involves equipment.

Summary: Equipment comes from the client you are placed with or from the staffing partner that placed you, not from Ascen. If your start date is approaching and nothing has arrived, ask your staffing partner, because they are the ones who can see the shipment and the tracking number.

Why Ascen cannot track your laptop

Ascen is your employer of record. We handle your onboarding, payroll, tax forms, and benefits. The work itself, including the worksite, the schedule, and any equipment you are issued to do the job, sits with the client and the staffing partner that placed you. We do not ship equipment and we do not receive tracking numbers for it, so we cannot look yours up. See What is an Employer of Record and Agent of Record? for the split.

What to do

  1. Contact your staffing partner with your start date and ask about the shipment. They can chase the client directly.

  2. Check your personal email for a shipping confirmation. It often comes from the client or a supplier and not from anyone whose name you recognise.

  3. Confirm your shipping address is current, and update it if not. See How to update your personal information.

  4. Tell your staffing partner early if the equipment will not arrive before your start date, since they may need to adjust it with the client.

Keep going with your onboarding

Waiting on equipment does not pause your onboarding checklist. Finish every step you can at app.ascen.com, including Form I-9 and your tax and payment details, so that nothing else is outstanding when your equipment turns up. See Getting started: your onboarding checklist.

Returning equipment when you finish

Equipment goes back the same way it came, to the client or the staffing partner that issued it. Ask them for return instructions and a shipping label. Ascen does not process equipment returns, and holding on to equipment is not connected to your final pay, which is owed to you either way. See Your final paycheck when an assignment ends.

If you do not know who your staffing partner is

Email support@ascen.com and we will tell you who placed you and how to reach them.