Ascora to Tempus Timesheet Converter
Overview
This article walks you through the process of using the Ascora to Tempus Timesheet Converter. This tool is designed to quickly and accurately convert your timesheet export from Ascora into a .CSV file that is ready for direct import into Tempus.
What the converter does for you:
Combines each person's jobs into one shift per day. Ascora records each job as its own line, but Tempus takes one shift and one break per day.
Works out the unpaid break from the largest gap between a person's jobs, plus any meal break Ascora flagged.
Compares each day with the hours Ascora reported and flags anything that does not add up, including overtime and unusually long breaks.
Shows you the result, and lets you correct any time or break on screen, before anything reaches your pay run.
Keeps your data private. Your file is read in your browser and is never uploaded.
⚠️ Important: The converter does the arithmetic, but you are the final check. It flags the days it is unsure about, and the download stays locked until you have acknowledged each one. A day shaded red is different: it is left out of the file and does not lock the download, so look for red days before you download.
Accessing the Tempus Integration Tool
The converter is part of the Tempus Support site, the same site as this Help Centre.
Click "Sign in" in the top right corner, enter your email address and click "Continue". We will email you a 6-digit one-time passcode, which is only valid for a few minutes. Type it in and click "Sign in".
Then open the menu on the left (hover over it if it shows only icons), open "Integrations" and click "Ascora Timesheets".
⚠️ Note: If "Integrations" or "Ascora Timesheets" is missing from the menu, your login has not been given access yet. Please contact Tempus Support via support@payrollbytempus.com.
The converter works best on a computer or a tablet with a larger screen. On a mobile phone you will see a "Mobile Device Detected" warning and some features may not display correctly.
Uploading Your Ascora File and Configuring the Conversion Settings
In Ascora, use the "Timesheet" export as an .xlsx file and leave it exactly as Ascora produces it.
Drag the file onto the box that reads "Drop your Ascora timesheet export here or click to browse", or click the box and choose the file from your computer.
The converter reads .xlsx files and tells you if a column it needs is missing. If a file cannot be used, such as an older .xls file, a message explains what to do: open it in Excel and save it as an Excel Workbook (.xlsx) first.
⚠️ Important: Tempus matches each line to an employee using the employee's "external ID", which is typically their first and last name. The converter writes the Ascora User name as both the employee name and the external ID, so each User name in Ascora must match the external ID in Tempus. If a name does not match, Tempus will not be able to match that line to the employee.
The "Configuration" box has a default for every setting. "Automatic breaks" and "Meal break length" change what is paid, so check that they match how you pay breaks. Hover over the "?" beside a setting for a short explanation.
Regular Work Type: The Tempus work type given to every line, e.g. "Ordinary Time". You can leave it blank if you do not use one.
Include comments: "Yes" (the default) writes each day's Ascora job codes and names into the Tempus "Comments" column, so a reviewer can trace a shift back to its jobs.
Automatic breaks: "Yes" (the default) treats the largest gap between a person's jobs on a day as an unpaid break. "No" ignores gaps, so the only break written is one Ascora flagged as a "Meal Break".
Meal break length (minutes): Ascora records that a meal break happened but not when, so this is how long the converter treats it as being (default 30). It is added on top of any gap, once per day.
Warn if a break is over (minutes): Flags any longer break for a second look (default 120). It only applies while "Automatic breaks" is "Yes".
Reconciliation tolerance (minutes): How far a day's paid time (start to end, less the break) can differ from the hours Ascora reported before the day is flagged (default 5). Small differences are normal rounding.
Once a file is chosen, click "Begin Calculation". When it finishes, the button reads "Calculation Completed".
If you change a setting after that, an amber notice says the results are out of date and "Download Tempus CSV" is held back until you click "Recalculate". Recalculating reads your file again from the start, so any changes you made to the rows (times, breaks, "Include" and "Acknowledged" ticks) are lost, and the converter asks you to confirm first. If you choose "Keep my changes", the download stays held until you put the setting back or recalculate.
Previewing and Editing
When the calculation finishes, the results appear below the settings.
Rows the converter cannot use are listed in a box headed with a count, for example "2 rows not converted", with the row number and the reason. A line ending ", no action needed" is Ascora's totals row and is expected. Check any other line.
The "Employees" box lists everyone in your file in alphabetical order with their paid hours, for example "13.00 hrs (paid)". Click a name to open that person's days. You can open several people at once. A red information icon beside a name means that person still has a flagged day to acknowledge.
Each day is one line: the date, work type, start and end times, any break, and the total in decimal hours, so 7.50 means 7 hours and 30 minutes. The total updates as you edit.
You can change the data before you download:
Untick "Include" to leave a day out. The line fades and is not exported or counted in the person's paid hours.
Click a time in "Start", "End", "Break From" or "Break To" to change it.
Tick "Break?" to add a break and fill in its "Break From" and "Break To", or untick it to remove one. If you untick a break and tick it again, its times come back.
Hover over the information icon at the end of a line to see how the converter built that day: each Ascora entry behind it, Ascora's own total, and how the day compares with the hours Ascora reported. A wand icon beside it means Ascora flagged a meal break that day without saying when it was taken. Hover over the wand to see what the converter did about it, and change the break times on the line if that is wrong.
The converter also checks every break. If a break is outside the shift, if "Break To" is not later than "Break From", or if "Break?" is ticked with no times, the break boxes are outlined in red and a note explains what to fix. The download cannot go ahead until it is fixed.
Reviewing and Acknowledging Warnings
Days that need a second look are shaded amber, and the banner at the top of the "Employees" box counts them, for example "2 days need a check across 2 employees". Open each person, hover over the red information icon on the amber day to read the warning, and correct the line if it needs correcting. Then tick "Acknowledged".
Hovering over the icon shows the Ascora entries behind the day, Ascora's total, the reconciliation and the warning:
If you change a time or break on that line afterwards, the tick clears, so an acknowledgement can never cover a day that has since changed. When every day is done, the banner turns grey and reads "All warnings acknowledged".
A day is flagged when:
Ascora recorded overtime hours.
A break is unusually long (over your "Warn if a break is over" setting).
The day appears to cross midnight.
The day's paid time does not match the hours Ascora reported, beyond your "Reconciliation tolerance".
Ascora flagged a meal break but never took it off its own hours (or the converter cannot tell), or the flagged break will not fit in the shift.
Ascora reported negative hours.
An unclosed check-in was skipped on that day.
⚠️ Important: The converter writes a single work type, so overtime hours (time and a half, double time and two and a half times) are included in the shift but their premium rate is not coded. Each of these days carries a warning, so set the rate in Tempus manually.
An unclosed check-in is a Start Time with no End Time in Ascora. If the person has other complete entries that day, the converter leaves the unclosed one out and warns you. If it is their only entry that day, the line is shaded red and shows "End time missing", its "Include" box is locked and it is not exported. In both cases, correct the End Time in Ascora, export the timesheet again and upload the new file.
⚠️ Important: A day shaded red is left out of your file, but it is not counted in the banner and it does not lock "Download Tempus CSV". Look for red days before you download.
Downloading the Tempus CSV File
When the banner reads "No warnings" or "All warnings acknowledged", click "Download Tempus CSV" at the bottom of the page.
Until then the button is greyed out, and clicking it lists the days still to acknowledge. It is also held while your results are out of date. If a break still needs fixing, the converter tells you which line to correct. Before you download, check that no day is shaded red, because red days are left out of the file.
The file saves as TEMPUS_TIMESHEET_ followed by today's date, for example TEMPUS_TIMESHEET_2026-10-12.csv, with one line for every day that has "Include" ticked.
A pop-up confirms the download and links to Importing Timesheets From a 3rd Party App, which explains how to import the file into Tempus. Click "Open Tempus Payroll" to open Tempus in a new tab.
⚠️ Note: As with any import from a 3rd party app, the Tempus import is set up for you on our behalf. If it has not been set up, or Tempus reports a problem, contact Tempus Support via support@payrollbytempus.com with the CSV file and a screenshot of the message.
Key Takeaways
Use the Ascora "Timesheet" export as an .xlsx file, exactly as Ascora produces it.
Each User name in Ascora must match the employee's external ID in Tempus.
Acknowledge every flagged day before you download. A day shaded red is left out of the file and does not lock the download, so fix it in Ascora and upload again.
You can edit any time or break on screen, but changing a setting after you calculate means recalculating, which resets your edits.
Overtime premium rates are not coded, so set them in Tempus.