In this guide 6 sections
An ATS is outgrown when placements start needing timesheets, client billing and payroll inputs that the system cannot produce without rekeying, so ask the vendor what it can extend. If gaps remain, compare stitching tools together with a custom build, judging each on data ownership, rework per payroll cycle and deduction handling.
Signs the ATS has stopped being enough
An applicant tracking system follows the candidate through sourcing, screening, submission, interview and offer, then stalls once the candidate starts working and the money questions begin.
Check what happens after the offer letter. Do timesheets arrive by email and chat, does someone rekey hours into a billing sheet and into payroll, and do client rate cards sit in a folder nobody updates?
Count the repeated keystrokes. When the same hours figure sits in a timesheet, a billing sheet and a payroll file, the ATS has run out of road for the back office. Recruiters still need it.
- Timesheets collected outside the system
- Client invoices built from spreadsheets
- Payroll inputs prepared by hand each cycle
- Mark-up and rate changes tracked in emails
- No single view of a placement from offer to payment
What a placement needs after the offer
A placed worker brings a chain of records: an assignment with start and end dates, a client rate and a pay rate, approved hours, overtime rules and local deductions. Each one feeds the next.
Guard and facility manpower supply adds shifts. A security agency needs a duty roster, post-wise attendance, relief cover, uniform and equipment deductions, and a client invoice that reflects the contracted strength, not only hours.
Write the chain on one page first. That page becomes your requirement list and shows which part of your business is truly unusual, such as split billing or post-wise rosters.
Extend, stitch or build
Extending means using the ATS vendor’s own timesheet and billing modules, which is the least disruptive path, provided they handle your rate structures, approval flow and payroll export. Ask for a demo.
Stitching means linking an ATS, a timesheet app and an accounting package, and the seams are the risk, because each handover is a place where a figure drifts. It suits a small desk.
A custom build fits when your rules are the business itself, as with multi-client rate cards, split billing or site-wise manpower supply. It costs more to start, yet it removes the rekeying and keeps candidate, worker and billing data in a place you control.
What to demand from each option
Ask each vendor the same questions. Show a real month. Give them ten workers, three clients, one overtime rule and one deduction, and ask for the resulting client invoice and the payroll input file.
Demand a plain CSV export of every candidate, assignment, timesheet and invoice, because if your placement history cannot leave the tool, you are renting your own business.
- Client and worker rate cards with effective dates
- Timesheet approval by client contacts
- Overtime, holiday and shift rules
- Deduction handling and payroll file format
- Audit trail on every edited hour
- Full data export without a fee
Decide on rework, not on features
Count the hours your team spends each cycle fixing mismatches between timesheets, invoices and payroll, because that total is the real cost of staying put with the current setup.
Set that total beside the effort of each option, including the migration of assignment history, rate cards and open timesheets from the old tool. Leave candidates for last. They already work fine.
Next step: pick your busiest client, trace one month of their workers from timesheet to invoice to pay, and mark every manual touch. That marked page decides your path.
ATS outgrown test sheet
Two blocks share this worksheet page. The first traces one client’s month through six stages (timesheet, approval, invoice, payroll input, deduction, payment), with a column for who handles each and whether it is manual. The second block scores extend, stitch and build against data export, rate rules, deductions and rework, with a total row and a note on the biggest manual touch.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Do we have to drop our ATS if we build?
No. Many agencies keep the ATS for sourcing and submission, build only the post-placement side for timesheets, billing and payroll, and link the two through a shared worker ID.
Can one system serve office staffing and guard supply?
It can, but the rules differ. Office staffing runs on timesheets, while guard supply runs on duty rosters, post-wise attendance and contracted strength, so a single system must model each as a separate assignment type.
How do we handle payroll for several states or countries?
Keep statutory rules as configurable tables per state or country, and have the system produce payroll inputs while your payroll process or provider applies the legal calculation.
What is the riskiest part of moving?
Cut-over mid-cycle. Switch at a payroll boundary, run both systems for one cycle and reconcile the invoices before you turn the old one off.