# Time tracking for secondment agencies > Timesheets for secondment agencies: long placements, hours per client project code, AI-read client exports, monthly approval by magic link, payroll exports. URL: https://timetracking.tech/for/secondment-agencies Language: en Last updated: 2026-10-26 Your professionals work at a client for months or years. They often use the client's own systems and project codes. TimeTracking keeps one approved month per placement. It is split the way the client wants to see it. Your office no longer compares two timesheets by hand. Start free for up to 5 users. ## How secondment agencies use TimeTracking 1. **Set up the placement once**: The placement holds the professional, client, function, rate, period and allowances. Add the client's projects or cost centres. Then every hour goes on the code the client uses. 2. **Professionals confirm their week**: Most seconded professionals work a steady pattern. On Pro, predictive time tracking proposes the usual week. The professional only fixes the exceptions. A timer and manual entry are always there. 3. **Client hours are compared**: Does the client keep its own record? On Pro, the AI parser reads its monthly export or timesheet. It compares it with what the professional logged. Differences show up before approval. 4. **Monthly approval and export**: The line manager at the client approves the month through a magic link. The approved period goes to payroll and is locked. Fixes land in the next period. ## Long placements, not weekly shifts Secondment is not the same as temp staffing. A professional often works at one client for a year or longer. They have fixed weekly hours, a monthly rhythm and a contact who knows them well. The total rarely goes wrong. The split across projects does. Or the travel allowance that changed halfway. Or the month the wrong person approved. TimeTracking stores all of that on the placement. The client, the function, the rate, the period, fixed allowances such as travel, and who may approve. Placement extended or rate changed? Update it once, and every new entry follows. - One placement: professional, client, function, rate and period - Monthly, four-weekly or weekly periods per client - Fixed allowances and mileage rates per placement - Several placements per professional, for part-time secondments ## Hours on the client's project codes Many clients want hours split per project, work order or cost centre, with their own codes. Set those up as projects under the client. The professional books each day on the right code, in the app or on the web. The client then approves hours in the layout its own controller expects. Your office keeps the same data per placement. Payroll sees the total. The client sees the split. Both come from one set of approved hours. ## Two timesheets, one approved month Seconded professionals often fill in the client's own time system too. At month-end the client sends an export. Then someone in your office compares it line by line with your records. On Pro, the AI timesheet parser does that reading. It reads the Excel or CSV export, the email or a scan of a signed sheet. It matches it to the professional and placement. Conflict matching then shows where the two versions differ. For example, a public holiday logged on one side only. Your office sorts out the difference before the client approves. The decision stays in the audit trail. ## Approval by the line manager, without a login The approver is usually a manager at the client. They approve one or two of your professionals once a month. They should not need an account. TimeTracking sends a secure magic link by email. The link expires. It shows the month per day and per project code. It saves their name and the time of approval. Is a period still waiting close to its deadline? A reminder goes out. Large clients with many managers can split approvals per department. Then each manager only sees their own people. ## Payroll and invoicing stay where they are Approved months go to payroll in one step. Live today: an SD Worx-format export, CSV and XLSX exports you set up yourself, and the REST API. Connectors for Loket, Nmbrs and AFAS are coming soon. TimeTracking does not create invoices. Export the same approved hours, with project codes and rates, to the invoicing tool you already use. So the payslip and the client invoice use the same numbers. ## Leave and sickness in the same month A month at a client also has holidays, sick days and the odd training day at your office. Leave requests and balances are part of Core. They sit in the period next to the worked hours. You approve and export them together. The client sees that a day was leave, but not why. Your payroll export has the right hour type for each day. All from €1 per user per month, with no add-ons. - Leave requests and balances - Sick leave in the same period - Separate hour types in the payroll export ## Frequently asked questions ### Can hours be booked on the client's own project codes? Yes. Add the client's projects or cost centres as projects in TimeTracking. Professionals book on them. The client approves the month per project code. ### Our professionals also fill in the client's time system. Do we still need to compare by hand? Not if you use Pro. The AI timesheet parser reads the client's export, email or scanned sheet. Conflict matching flags where it differs from the hours in TimeTracking. Your office only handles the exceptions. ### Can we use monthly periods? Yes. You choose the period per client or placement: weekly, four-weekly, twice a month or monthly. ### Does the client need an account to approve? No. The client approves through a secure magic link that expires. The audit trail saves their name and the time of approval. ### Does TimeTracking send invoices to our clients? No. It exports approved hours with project codes and rates to your invoicing tool. Use CSV, XLSX or the API. ### Which plan do we need? Core (€1 per user per month) covers placements, client approval, leave and payroll exports. Pro (€3) adds the AI timesheet parser, conflict matching and predictive time tracking. Up to 5 users is free, so start today.