What do staffing firms need?
Staffing firms need easy client supervisor approval.
Tempus provides client supervisor approval with minimal friction to protect fragile relationships. Very few timesheet apps provide for third-party approval.
For staffing firms, timesheets are approved by clients, not employees and the relationship with the client supervisor can be delicate. Tempus tiptoes around supervisors making third-party approval as painless as possible. For example, Tempus does not require client supervisors to log in. Approval of the timesheet is accomplished by the supervisor with a single click of an email button. Supervisors do not need training to click a button.
Staffing firms need to show timesheets to their customers.
Most other business types don't do this. Staffing clients need to see timesheets when the time is approved and when it is invoiced. Tempus automatically sends a copy of the timsheet to the approving supervisor via email with every timesheet submission.
In the backoffice, they can be printed in client sequence for easy inclusion with the invoice or converted to PDF for emailing. Tempus timesheets are free of confidential information, they clearly identify the staffing firm, the employee, and the reporting period. They also include approval information like supervisor name and approval date. Some staffing clients need a PO number and project name to match the invoice with internal systems, so those are standard information on Tempus timesheets as well.
Staffing firms need timesheet features that help them bill their timesheets.
Most gereral-purpose timesheet apps don’t provide these features because their customers don't need them.
Their customers bill for events; things like shipments, job completion, downloads, subscription expiration, etc.; timesheets don’t play a role. On the other hand, timesheets drive revenue for staffing firms. Billing for many staffing firms is a continous, weekly process. Timesheets are chosen for billing based on the timesheet period, usually the prior week, and Tempus can automatically export timesheets to popular invoicing apps so they can create invoices without additional data entry.
Staffing firms need systems that don’t require extensive training.
Extended training periods for administrators and employees in the field are common for timesheet apps whose customers have relatively low turnover.
Staffing firms move fast so simplicity is paramount. Turnover is high by most standards – but that’s just the nature of staffing. That turnover drives the need for simplicity – particularly among employees in the field. Working around unneeded timesheet features in general-purpose timesheet apps can impact training requirements. Intricate project and assignment setup procedures can slow on-boarding for administrators. Training temporary timesheet users and their supervisors can can create additional backoffice burdens.
Staffing firms need to prevent supervisors from accessing sensitive information.
Some general-purpose timesheet apps give supervisors administrative privileges.
General-purpose timesheet apps usually consider all users internal employees and give supervisors administrative privledges. But for staffing firms, supervisors and timesheet users must be prevented from seeing things like pay rates and bill rates. Timesheet history for prior assignments must be avoided for supervisors. Administrative abilities for supervisors like editing time entries, assignment details, and passwords must not be allowed.
Staffing firms need to provide information for sales reps and recruiters.
Most general-purpose timesheet apps don’t provide for sales and marketing access because these people aren’t typically involved in the time keeping process.
Recruiters and sales representatives play a significant role in many staffing firms. Commission plans are typically built around hours billed, new clients, new employees and new assignments created. Sales reps and recruiters need to see the activity in the accounts they support to help them meet their goals and quotas. Tempus supports reporting around these roles and can reduce the backoffice effort to manage and pay these people.
Staffing firms need special treatment for certain classes of employees.
Most general-pupose timesheet apps don’t distinguish between 1099 and W-2 workers, for example.
For staffing firms, built-in support for W-2, 1099 and corp-to-corp workers can help reduce the backoffice effort. Benefit plans and hours worked affect compensation, COGS, and tax reporting requirements for different employee types. Tempus can segregate the time for these groups and help you manage benefits and costs.
Staffing firms need forecasts of short-range revenue and expenses.
Since most business types don’t bill from their timesheets, revenue forecasts and payroll costs from timesheets are not part of most general-purpose apps.
Staffing firms need timesheet information that will help them balance income and payroll – and manage the credit line. Staffing firms need forecasts of future short-range revenue and expenses. For staffing firms, both these items are derived from timesheets.
Staffing firms need the ability to reframe timesheet periods to provide business information outside the boundries of weekly timesheet cycles.
Fixed weekly timesheet periods don’t always line up with staffing needs for business information. Payroll tax reporting typically involves monthly and quarterly time periods. Also, your clients can ask for information based on their needs, not your capabilities.
Tempus provides the ability to easily convert the weekly timesheet activity into periods of any length. For example, you could segregate all the activity for a certain client on a specific project for the last 47 days of the quarter. General purpose timesheet apps aren’t always oriented to payroll, and they don’t provide features for client involvment, so they may not help with these types of needs. Tempus supports calendar driven reporting features that help staffing firms align other business processes with the billing cycle.
Staffing firms sometimes need timesheet information for funding partners, firms that provide accounts receivble factoring to improve the cash flow.
Staffing firms sometimes need extra funding during startup or periods of rapid growth. Tempus reports and timesheets offer several ways to meet this need without resorting to building special spreadsheets every week to accommodate these partners.
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