Invoicing and Payroll - the Tempus API

An API is software that allows a web site to automatically exchange data with another web site or system. API stands for Application Program Interface.

Tempus provides integrated invoicing and payments through the Tempus API.

This non-technical article shows how the API can easily extend Tempus to automatically provide timesheet data for invoicing, payments to 1099 employees, accounting applications and other services offered by external web applications.

What can the API do for Staffing Firms?

The API can help you create invoices and pay your employees.

Tempus can automatically export timesheets to Quickbooks Online and other web sites to help you create invoices and payments on those sites without additional data entry.

Here’s an example of an invoice created from Tempus timesheet data by one of our partner sites, InvoiceNinja.com.


The data circled in red originated in Tempus and was posted to the external app when the timesheet was approved by the client supervisor.

If you want, your sales account in Quickbooks Online (or other accounting apps) can be automatically credited too.

Payments to 1099 employees work the same way.

When the timesheet is approved, Tempus can automatically send timesheets to external apps like Quickbooks Online to set up payments that wait for your approval to send – eliminating manual data entry. Your accounting system can be automatically debited when the payment is sent, further reducing accounting effort.

Other API capabilites help keep your client and user data synchronized with the external web apps. Tempus can automatically send updates to external apps when new clients and users are added to Tempus.

Last, Tempus has a REST API which will allow you to create custom data exchanges with Tempus. This capability could be useful if you want to send timesheet data to one of your business partners, for example. It requires custom programming for your requests, but it gives you great flexibility in using Tempus data.

Overall, the API can provide substantial flexibility and productivity opportunities with little effort and low cost.

How does it Work?

The Tempus API sends data directly across the web to other web applications when certain events occur within Tempus or when requests for data from your partners are received by Tempus.

Events like timesheet approvals, new clients and new users added to Tempus result in data being sent to receiving applications.

You can opt to subscribe to these events and send data to web applications of your choice.

These events happen automatically and unattended behind the scenes. API logbooks are provided to show all the actions carried out by Tempus on your behalf. Reports are also provided to help you verify that there are no differences between what was recorded in Tempus and what the remote partner received.

API Partners

We have identified several websites that provide complementary business services to Tempus clients and complementary technical services that make API operations easier.

Quickbooks Online QBO offers a full-service accounting application. Tempus timesheets and payments to 1099 employees can be transferred seamlessly to QBO, eliminating data entry for those tasks.

Also, QBO customers and employees can be transferred to Tempus as they are created in QBO, allowing you to use QBO as your system of record and helping you to keep the data synchronized between applications.

InvoiceNinja.com This site offers a robust invoicing application. Users of this site can open a new invoice, choose a customer, choose line items from a list, send the invoice via email, or print the invoice for hard-copy mailing. Tempus customers can be automatically transferred to Invoice Ninja to keep the data synchronized.

There are of course, several such sites on the web. What sets this one apart is:

  • they have an extensive API,
  • they provide the ability to customize their core data to fit the requirements of their clients.

Zapier.com Zapier is an API middleman. They receive API transactions from senders like Tempus, then convert data formats and protocols to conform to the requirements of receivers like QuickBooks and then pass the data.

Zapier relieves senders and receivers from having to customize each transaction they share. Each sender sends its own proprietary format, and each receiver gets exactly what they expect, with Zapier ironing out the differences.

For staffing firms this means that any website that integrates with Zapier can send and receive data from Tempus. This provides an opportunity for you to trade data with Applicant Tracking Systems, Customer Relationship Management systems or Payroll Applications at low cost and without custom programming.

Zapier integrates with more that 1500 websites - like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, SalesForce, Trello and many more - providing great reach and flexibility to Tempus clients. If you want to know if a certain website can easily communicate with Tempus, look for the Zapier logo on the site.

How much does it Cost?

Currently, there is no additional cost for using the API, no additional cost for support, and no additional cost for the automated process of trading data.

The one area that may carry a charge is setup – a one-time fee for getting Tempus hooked up and trading data with another web site other than Quickbooks Online and Invoice Ninja. So, there may be a charge for setup if your need is outside the capabilities of our partners if it requires coding or is unusually complex. Contact Tempus support for a free consultation.

Partner costs

Tempus partners charge for their services. For the most part they are cheap.

Zapier charges $20 a month for up to 750 transactions – clients, users and timesheets. InvoiceNinja charges $10 a month for unlimited invoices.

How to get started

Tempus provides self-service connections for Quickbooks and Invoice Ninja integrations. These services are available for all Tempus clients. Just check out the documentation on Admin Landing Page and create your integration.

The REST API however, is private. The Rest API allows clients to access Tempus data programmatically, using their own code. Contact Tempus support to create an account to access the REST API.

To learn more about the API integrations and how they might be able to help you, contact Tempus support to discuss your needs.