Guide · For providers
How locum and travel nurse timesheets work
A plain-English guide to how timesheets work when you are an independent locum, travel nurse, or CRNA: what goes on one, how it gets approved, how it drives your pay and taxes, and the small mistakes that hold up your money.
The short answer
A locum or travel nurse timesheet is the record of the hours you worked for an agency or facility in a given week, plus any breaks, differentials, and reimbursable expenses. You fill it in, submit it to a supervisor for approval, and once it is approved it becomes the basis for your pay and for the agency's invoice to the facility. Getting it accurate and in on time is the single biggest thing that decides how fast you get paid.
What goes on a locum timesheet
Most healthcare staffing timesheets are weekly. For each day you worked, a complete entry usually includes:
- Hours worked. Your clock-in and clock-out times, and any unpaid break, so the total paid hours are clear.
- The facility and rate. If you cover more than one client or location, each day is tied to the right facility and pay rate.
- Shift differentials. Nights, weekends, holidays, or on-call, when your contract pays a different rate for them.
- Leave. Holiday, sick, PTO, or vacation time, entered separately from worked hours.
- Expenses and receipts. Mileage, lodging, meals, or supplies you paid for, with a photo of the receipt attached.
The cleaner and more complete the entry, the less back-and-forth there is before it gets approved.
How submission and approval works
The flow is almost always the same, whether it is on paper, a spreadsheet, or an app:
You fill it in
Enter each day you worked, plus leave and expenses, for the week.
You submit it
Send the week to the supervisor or supervisors who approve your hours.
It gets approved
They approve it, or send a day back with a reason for you to fix and resubmit.
It drives pay and billing
Approved hours flow into your pay and into the agency invoice to the facility.
How your timesheet drives pay and taxes
Your approved timesheet is what the agency pays you from, and what it bills the facility for, so it is the source of truth for your income. Two things are worth keeping in mind as an independent provider:
- 1099 vs W-2 changes the math. How you are classified affects what you owe and what you can deduct. See 1099 vs W-2 for locums and estimate your real pay with the take-home calculator.
- Your expenses can be deductible. Mileage, licensing, lodging, scrubs, and CME may lower your tax bill if you track them. The locum tax deductions page covers what independent providers often miss.
This is general information, not tax advice; a CPA who works with travelers is worth it.
Small mistakes that delay your pay
- Submitting late, so you miss the payroll cutoff and roll to the next cycle.
- Hours that do not match the contract or the schedule, which bounce back for review.
- Missing receipts, so expenses get held while someone chases the proof.
- The wrong facility or rate on a day, which has to be corrected and re-approved.
- Forgetting to resubmit after an edit, so the updated week never actually gets sent.
How to get paid faster
Submit from your phone the day you finish the week, attach receipts as you go, and double-check hours against your schedule before you send. With TempButton AI, a provider can do all of this free: log hours and snap receipts from your phone, submit to any agency, and keep a running total of earnings and expenses across facilities for tax time. The agency's side then checks each hour against the contract before it reaches payroll, so fewer timesheets bounce back.
Common questions
How do travel nurse timesheets work?
A travel nurse timesheet records the hours you worked for a facility in a week, along with breaks, any shift differentials, leave, and reimbursable expenses. You submit it to a supervisor for approval, and once approved it becomes the basis for your pay and for the agency billing the facility.
What is a locum timesheet?
A locum timesheet is the weekly record of the hours a locum provider worked for an agency or facility, plus expenses like mileage and lodging. It is approved by a supervisor and then used to pay the provider and invoice the client.
How often do I submit a timesheet?
Most healthcare staffing timesheets are weekly, with a cutoff for each payroll cycle. Submitting as soon as the week ends, rather than waiting, is the simplest way to avoid missing the cutoff and getting paid a cycle late.
Why is my timesheet taking so long to get paid?
The usual causes are submitting after the payroll cutoff, hours that do not match the contract, missing receipts for expenses, or the wrong facility or rate on a day. Each of these sends the timesheet back for review before it can be paid.
Can I track my own hours and earnings as an independent provider?
Yes. With TempButton AI you can sign up free, log hours and submit timesheets to any agency from your phone, and keep a running total of earnings and expenses across facilities for tax time, with no credit card.
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