Managing Locum Doctor Sign-offs Without Admin Friction
Managing temporary medical staff, sessional GPs, and locum consultants requires precise administration. Locum doctors often work across multiple GP practices, private clinics, and NHS settings within a single month. When timesheets rely on paper slips, email attachments, or complex software portals that require endless password resets, sign-offs become delayed.
Practice managers spend valuable time chasing physical signatures, while locum staff face delayed agency payments and administrative frustration. Using modern locum doctor timesheet approval software resolves these bottlenecks, providing a clean digital workflow that protects practice budgets and respects clinician time.
Why Portal Logins Hinder Locum Timesheet Submissions
Traditional workforce management platforms often fail because they demand too much effort from temporary clinicians. Requiring a locum doctor to download a specific mobile app, create an account, and remember login credentials for a facility they visit infrequently creates unnecessary friction.
With TidyTimeSheets, locum doctors never need an account or a password. Instead, staff complete their timesheet directly using a secure link emailed to them.
Whether a locum covers a single weekend on-call shift or works regular weekly sessions, they open the emailed link on any smartphone, tablet, or laptop browser, enter their worked hours, and submit. This zero-login approach ensures timesheets are submitted promptly as soon as a shift finishes.
How TidyTimeSheets Streamlines Medical Hours Approval
Once a locum doctor submits their hours, designated practice managers, rota coordinators, or department administrators receive an immediate notification to review the submission. The manager approval workflow provides total control and flexibility:
- Direct Sign-off: Managers inspect logged shift times, sessional rates, or on-call hours and approve them in a single click.
- Request More Information: If submitted hours do not match the rota schedule, managers can request clarification directly through the platform.
- Amendments with Audit Trail: Practice managers can adjust logged entries when required, provided a recorded reason is entered for complete operational transparency.
- Rejection Notes: Managers can reject inaccurate submissions with clear notes so the doctor can review and re-submit corrected hours.
Key Features of Our Locum Doctor Timesheet Approval Software
Healthcare providers need a reliable system built for speed, transparency, and accuracy. TidyTimeSheets delivers essential tools without bloated features you will never touch.
Customising Hour Types for Medical Settings
Every medical setting structures temporary shifts differently. TidyTimeSheets allows your organisation to fully customise its own hour types and custom wording. Rather than being forced into rigid default templates, you can establish clear categories that match your exact operational requirements, such as:
- Standard Sessional Hours
- Out-of-Hours (OOH) Coverage
- Weekend On-Call Duties
- Extended Surgery Hours
- Sessional Consulting
Two-Stage Approvals for Governance and Budgeting
Clinical governance and strict financial controls mean healthcare organisations often require dual-tier authorisations. A practice manager might oversee shift verification, but a partner, clinical director, or finance manager must approve final expenditure before payment processing.
TidyTimeSheets includes an optional second approval stage that can be switched on per organisation. Once the primary manager signs off the locum timesheet, it automatically routes to the secondary approver. This maintains rigorous budgetary oversight without slowing down weekly processing.
Comparing TidyTimeSheets to Complex Healthcare Platforms
Many software suites designed for the healthcare sector are bundled with unnecessary extras like complex rota engines, agency booking portals, or full HR suites. These enterprise platforms come with heavy price tags and steep learning curves.
TidyTimeSheets focuses purely on simple, effective timesheet submission and manager sign-off. It remains uncluttered and intuitive for both clinicians and administrators.
| Feature Focus | Enterprise Healthcare Software | TidyTimeSheets |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Login Requirement | Mandatory account creation & app downloads | Zero login required (emailed link access) |
| Approval Workflow | Rigid, multi-layered portal steps | Flexible approval, rejection, & amendment with notes |
| Dual Approvals | Often complex setup required | Optional 2nd approval stage toggleable per org |
| Pricing Model | Expensive per-user or per-doctor fees | Predictable flat-rate pricing per organisation |
| Software Complexity | Heavy, bloated with unused modules | Simple, clean, and dedicated to hours sign-off |
Straightforward Pricing for Healthcare Organisations
Unlike software vendors that charge per clinician or per active user, TidyTimeSheets uses a simple flat-rate pricing structure per organisation. You pay a single monthly fee regardless of how many locum doctors submit timesheets during busy periods.
- Lite Plan: £5 per month plus VAT
- Starter Plan: £10 per month plus VAT
- Team Plan: £29 per month plus VAT
- Business Plan: £59 per month plus VAT
- Multi-site Plan: £99 per month plus VAT
Every plan includes custom hour types, manager approval workflows, analytics, and reporting tools. Annual billing options are available for additional savings, and a 14-day trial is offered on your first paid plan. Review our transparent pricing tiers to select the ideal tier for your practice or clinic group.
Instant Reporting and CSV Export for Payroll and Agencies
Exporting approved locum hours for finance teams, accountants, or staffing agencies is swift and accurate. TidyTimeSheets provides clear built-in analytics and instant CSV exports. Practice administrators can quickly filter time records by date range, department, or worker, eliminating manual data entry and invoice disputes.
If your organisation also manages temporary healthcare workers or support staff across broader clinical teams, explore our guide on NHS bank worker hours approval systems for further insights into streamlined staff management.
Streamline Your Locum Hours Approval Today
Eliminate administrative overhead and simplify hours sign-off for your temporary medical staff. Contact our team today or sign up to try TidyTimeSheets free for 14 days.