What every timesheet should include
- Pay period: the first and last day, weekly or bi-weekly, matching your employer’s workweek.
- Employee and employer: your name, the company or client, and the job or site.
- Clock-in and clock-out for every shift, plus a second pair for split shifts.
- Unpaid breaks such as lunch, taken off each day.
- Daily hours as hours:minutes and decimal hours (7:45 = 7.75).
- Weekly totals split into regular time, overtime and double time, with holiday hours marked.
- Signatures and dates from the employee and the supervisor.
Example weekly timesheet
| Day | In | Out | Break | Hours | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 6:30 AM | 3:00 PM | 30 min | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| Tue | 6:30 AM | 4:00 PM | 30 min | 9:00 | 9.00 |
| Wed | 6:30 AM | 3:00 PM | 30 min | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| Thu | 6:30 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 10:00 | 10.00 |
| Fri | 6:30 AM | 3:00 PM | 30 min | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| Week | 43:00 | 43.00 |
Under the US federal rule that is 40 regular hours and 3 overtime hours. Under a daily rule such as California’s (overtime after 8 hours a day), the same week is also 40 regular and 3 overtime, but the overtime comes from Tuesday and Thursday instead.
Weekly or bi-weekly?
Use whichever matches how you are paid. A bi-weekly timesheet covers 14 days, but overtime is still counted for each 7-day workweek on its own, so show a total for each week. More in the bi-weekly guide.
Sign-off
A signature from the worker and the supervisor turns a list of hours into an agreed record. It settles questions about missed punches or long lunches before payday, not after.
How long to keep timesheets
- United States: under the FLSA, employers keep time cards and other records used to work out wages for at least 2 years, and payroll records for at least 3 years.
- Ontario: employers keep records of hours worked for 3 years after the work was done.
- Workers: keep your own copies. If a paycheque is ever short, your timesheet is your evidence.
Sources: US DOL Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked · Ontario: ESA guide, hours of work and eating periods
Paper, PDF or spreadsheet
The law does not require a particular form, only accurate records. Print the calculator’s timesheet and sign it, send the PDF, or open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets.
Questions
Is there a free printable timesheet?
Yes. Enter your hours in the free time card calculator and press Print or Download PDF. You get a one-page timesheet with daily hours, weekly totals, overtime, gross pay and signature lines.
Should a timesheet show decimal hours?
It helps. Payroll software uses decimal hours (7.75), while people read hours and minutes (7:45). The calculator’s timesheet shows both.