Can a timesheet approver see pay and bill rates?
Last updated: September 14, 2026
Summary: No — a user whose role is Time Sheet Only cannot see bill or pay rates. That role gets a stripped-back account limited to Dashboard, Timesheets and Profile, with no access to assignments, invoices, reports or payroll. If a client wants someone to approve time without seeing what anyone is paid or billed, invite them as a Time Sheet Only user.
Two different ways someone can approve timesheets
It helps to know which one you are setting up, because the answer about rates only applies to the second.
By email. A client contact is named as a timesheet approver and receives the approval request by email for each period. This is about who gets the email — see How can I change who receives timesheet approval emails?
In the portal. The person gets their own login on the client's account, with a role that decides what they can see and do. This is the one to use when someone needs to review timesheets in the app, and it is where the Time Sheet Only role comes in.
What the Time Sheet Only role can and can't do
Every user on the platform has exactly one role, and the role controls what appears in their account.
A Time Sheet Only user can:
View timesheets for the workers in their scope.
Approve or reject those timesheets.
See their own Dashboard and Profile.
A Time Sheet Only user does not get:
Bill rates or pay rates. Their menu has no Assignments section, which is where rates are shown.
Invoices. Invoice access is limited to other roles.
Reports. This role is excluded from reporting entirely.
Payroll, contractor records or team management.
This is the role the platform is designed around for a client's day-to-day time-tracking contact — someone who needs to confirm the hours are right and nothing more.
How to add one
Go to the Team page on the account the person belongs to.
Invite the new user by email address.
Choose Time Sheet Only as their role before sending the invite.
You need to be an Owner or Manager on that account to invite a user. Choose the role when you create the user — it is much cleaner than inviting them with broader access and narrowing it afterwards.
Changing the role on an existing user
Roles can be changed later, but only an Owner (or Ascen) can edit another user's role, and nobody can edit their own. If someone already has a broader role and the client now wants their rate visibility removed, ask the account Owner to change the role to Time Sheet Only, or email support@ascen.com and we can do it.
Related
If you are not sure which role fits what a client is asking for, email support@ascen.com with what you want the person to be able to see and we will tell you which role to pick.