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Industry · Services

Staffing ERP for placements, timesheets and pay-bill margin

Staffing agencies run two businesses at once: recruitment (candidates, jobs, placements) and back office (timesheets, payroll, billing, compliance). Applicant tracking systems handle the first well; the second often lives in spreadsheets.
Discuss Staffing ERPImplementation roadmap
  • M01Timesheets
  • M02Sales / Billing
  • M03HR & Payroll
  • M04Accounting
  • M05Documents
  • M06Portal

Context

ERP in staffing & recruitment

We implement ERP for the back office, integrated with your ATS, so every hour worked becomes a pay line and an invoice line with the right margin.

01Operational challenges

What usually breaks before the ERP project starts

01

Timesheet chasing

Paper or emailed timesheets collected late.

02

Pay-bill errors

Rates and overtime rules applied inconsistently.

03

Compliance gaps

Right-to-work and certification documents expiring.

04

Margin blindness

Gross margin per placement unknown until month-end.

02Core flows

How the ERP should handle each part of the business

Sales flow
Client agreements with bill rates, permanent placement fees and contractor billing.
Procurement
Limited — subcontracted suppliers or umbrella companies where applicable.
Inventory
Not applicable.
Warehouse
Not applicable.
Accounting
Weekly client invoicing, contractor pay, placement fee revenue, margin per placement.
CRM
Client accounts and job orders, integrated with the ATS.

03Industry workflows

Workflows specific to staffing & recruitment

01

Placement setup

Placement records with pay rate, bill rate and rules from the ATS.

02

Online timesheets

Contractors submit, clients approve online.

03

Pay and bill run

Approved timesheets generate invoices and pay lines.

04

Compliance tracking

Documents and expiries per worker.

04 — Reporting

Reports that should come out of the system, not a spreadsheet

  • Gross margin by placement, client and consultant
  • Timesheets outstanding
  • Revenue by client
  • Compliance expiry status
  • Consultant performance
  • Debtor days

05 — Compliance

Compliance considerations

Employment and worker classification law, right-to-work checks, payroll taxes and data protection for candidate data. Confirm classification rules with employment advisors.

Regulatory requirements vary by jurisdiction. We configure the system to support your obligations; confirm specific rules with your auditor or compliance advisor.

06 — Integrations

Systems the ERP needs to talk to

Applicant tracking systems, payroll providers, client VMS portals, e-signature and background check providers are typical integrations.

07AI opportunities

Where AI is genuinely useful here

Practical uses that sit on top of clean ERP data. None of them replace getting the core transactions right first.

01

Timesheet capture

Read emailed or scanned timesheets into drafts.

02

Compliance document reading

Extract document types and expiry dates.

03

Invoice query responses

Draft responses to client billing queries.

08ERP modules

Modules a typical deployment includes

  • M01Timesheets
  • M02Sales / Billing
  • M03HR & Payroll
  • M04Accounting
  • M05Documents
  • M06Portal
  • M07CRM
  • M08Reporting

09Roadmap

Implementation roadmap

  1. 01

    Placement data

    Rates and rules from the ATS.

  2. 02

    Timesheets

    Online submission and approval.

  3. 03

    Pay and bill

    Invoicing and payroll integration.

  4. 04

    Compliance and insight

    Document tracking and margin reporting.

10Common mistakes

Mistakes we see repeatedly

01

Re-keying from the ATS

Integrate placements instead.

02

Rate rules hidden in spreadsheets

Configure overtime and rate rules in the system.

03

No client approval step

Client approval reduces disputes.

04

Weekly runs without checks

Exception reports catch missing timesheets.

Explore further

Related services, solutions and platforms

Services

Solutions

ERP platform

Insights

Related reading

All articles

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does the ERP replace our ATS?

Usually not. The ATS manages candidates and jobs; the ERP manages time, pay, billing and accounting.

Can clients approve timesheets online?

Yes, through a portal or email approval.

Can we see margin per placement?

Yes, from pay and bill lines generated from the same timesheets.

Similar industries

Industries with related workflows

Professional ServicesProjects, timesheets, utilisation, billing and resource planning for consultancies and agencies.Field ServiceWork orders, technician scheduling, mobile job completion, parts, contracts and service billing.Equipment RentalRental ERP for availability, contracts, check-out and returns, damage charges, maintenance and utilisation.

Next step

Chasing timesheets every week?

We will map timesheet-to-pay-and-bill in one flow.

Discuss Staffing ERPAll industries