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Free Timesheet Template

Pick the pay period and the grid builds itself. Type the time in, time out and break for each day, and the sheet totals the hours in hours:minutes and decimal hours, splits overtime at the threshold you set and estimates gross pay if you add a rate. Print it filled in or blank, save it as a PDF, copy it as text or download a CSV for payroll.

A template for recording hours, not payroll or time-tracking software. Your employer's records and payroll calculation govern.

What a timesheet includes

  • Who, where, which period

    Employee, employer or company, project or department, and the pay period with its start and end dates, so payroll can match the sheet to the right pay run.

  • One row per day

    Time in, time out and the unpaid break in minutes, with an optional second in and out for a split shift, and a project or notes column for the job, training or paid time off.

  • Hours per day

    Each day's worked time after the break, in hours:minutes and in decimal hours (7:30 is 7.50), which is what payroll systems multiply by the rate.

  • Totals and overtime

    The period total, the days worked, and regular against overtime hours at the weekly or daily threshold you set, counted in 7-day blocks from the period start.

  • Pay estimate

    Optional: an hourly rate gives regular pay, overtime pay at the multiplier and a gross figure for the period, clearly an estimate before taxes and deductions.

  • Signatures

    Lines for the employee and the supervisor or approver to sign and date, so the sheet is a record both sides agreed to.

How to fill in a timesheet

Choose the period your employer pays on: weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly (1st to 15th and 16th to month end) or monthly. Set the start date and the grid lists every day of the period. Enter times as you would say them: 9, 9:00 AM, 0900 or 17:30 all work, and a time out at or before the time in is read as the next day for night shifts. Put the unpaid break in minutes; the sheet subtracts it. Use the notes column for the job or customer, training, or paid time off so the day is explained.

If your pay splits regular from overtime hours, turn on the overtime split and enter the thresholds that apply to you. The English page starts at 40 hours a week because, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, covered employees receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at not less than one and a half times their regular rate; some states and contracts add a daily rule, which you can enter as the daily threshold. Hours over the daily figure count as overtime first, and the weekly figure applies to the rest. The sheet shows the rule you entered; it does not decide which rule applies to you.

Before you hand it in, read the totals once: the days worked should match your calendar and the total hours should look right against your usual week. Print it or save a PDF, sign it, and keep a copy. The CSV has one row per day, so a bookkeeper can paste it into a spreadsheet; the text version pastes into an email or a chat message.

Only need one week added up fast? The time card calculator sums a week of punches without the template.

Not sure how overtime is paid in your case? The overtime calculator explains the federal rule and shift differentials.

Weekly timesheet template, biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly

Weekly
Seven days from the start date, the simplest for hourly staff and the one most overtime rules are written for. This is the weekly timesheet template most people are looking for.
Biweekly
Fourteen days, paid every other week. Overtime is still counted week by week, so the sheet checks each 7-day block on its own.
Semi-monthly
The 1st to the 15th and the 16th to the end of the month: 24 pay periods a year. The grid is 13 to 16 days long depending on the month.
Monthly
From the start date to the day before the same date next month, or the whole calendar month when you start on the 1st. Common for salaried staff who still record hours for projects.

Tips for timesheets payroll accepts first time

  • Write the break down, do not net it out

    Enter the real time in and out and the break as its own number. A sheet that says 9 to 5 with 7:30 worked and no break shown raises a question; one that shows the 30 minutes does not.

  • Use decimal hours for the rate

    Payroll multiplies decimal hours by the rate: 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75, not 7.45. The sheet shows both so the number on the sheet matches the number on the pay stub.

  • Record the split shift as two pairs

    A morning visit and an evening call-out are two in-out pairs on the same day, not one long shift with a four-hour break. Turn on the second in/out and the break stays a break.

  • Keep your own copy

    The sheet you sign is the record if a pay stub looks wrong later. Save the PDF or the CSV with the period in the file name before you hand the paper in.

More for people whose hours are spent out in the field: sales admin tasks, the construction daily report, nurse time management, HVAC sales training.

Source

The hours are easy to write down. The notes from those hours are not.

A timesheet full of visits and calls means a day of conversations to write up afterwards. Record each one with ParrotNotes on your phone and get the summary and action items, so the notes are done when the day is and the timesheet is the only admin left. Free for 100 minutes of recording a month.

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