# What is client approval?

> Client approval means the customer confirms the hours worked before they are paid or invoiced. Why staffing agencies need it and how it works.

URL: https://timetracking.tech/glossary/client-approval
Language: en
Last updated: 2026-10-24

**Definition:** Client approval is the step where the client, the company where the work was done, confirms the hours a worker recorded. It is standard for staffing agencies and contractors, because the client pays for those hours.

## Why client approval matters

When a staffing agency places a worker at a client, the agency pays the worker and invoices the client. Both depend on the same hours, so the client has to agree with them first. Without approval, disputes surface only when the invoice arrives, sometimes weeks later, and the agency has already paid the worker.

Traditionally the client signs a paper timesheet or replies to an email. That works until there are dozens of placements and approvers: signatures go missing, scans are unreadable and nobody knows which version is final.

## Approval without a login

Client approvers rarely want another account. TimeTracking sends them a secure magic link; they open the hours, correct or approve them and sign with a one-time code sent to their email. Every approval is stored with name, time and the version of the hours, and approved hours flow to the payroll export. Client approval is included in the Core plan (€1 per user per month).

- [Client approval feature](https://timetracking.tech/features/client-approval)
- [Magic link](https://timetracking.tech/glossary/magic-link)
- [Staffing agency](https://timetracking.tech/glossary/staffing-agency)
- [Client timesheet template](https://timetracking.tech/timesheet-templates/staffing-agency-client)