Free Timesheet Template (Fillable PDF, Word, Excel)

What is on the timesheet template

Employee, ID, department, pay period

Who the hours belong to and which payroll run they feed. Weekly or biweekly matches most US pay cycles.

Time in, lunch out, lunch in, time out

Clock times, which are what the US Department of Labor expects employers to keep for non-exempt employees. The weekly design records them; the biweekly design records start, end and break length.

Regular and overtime hours

Hours up to the standard day or week, and hours beyond it. Federal overtime starts at 40 hours in a week; some states (California among them) also have daily overtime.

Sick, vacation, holiday hours

Paid time not worked, kept separate so it is paid at the right rate and deducted from the right balance.

Hourly rate, overtime multiplier, gross pay

On the weekly design, type the rate and the multiplier (usually 1.5) and the Excel version calculates gross pay for the week.

Project rows (project timesheet)

One row per client, project or job code, hours per day across the week, a billable tick and a note for invoicing.

Certification and approval

The employee certifies the hours; the supervisor approves them. Both signatures are part of the wage record.

What the law expects you to keep

Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must keep, for every non-exempt employee, the hours worked each day and each workweek, the basis of pay, regular and overtime earnings, and the pay period dates. The records must be kept for at least three years (two years for the supporting timesheets). There is no required form, but a timesheet with daily hours, weekly totals and signatures satisfies it. Many states add rules: California requires meal-break records and daily overtime; several states require employees to have access to their time records on request.

In the UK, the Working Time Regulations require employers to keep records showing weekly limits are met, and HMRC expects records supporting pay. In the EU, a 2019 ruling requires member states to make employers record daily working time. A signed weekly or biweekly timesheet covers all of these.

Which sheet to use

• Weekly with clock times: hourly, non-exempt staff paid weekly. Lunch columns, overtime, gross pay.
• Biweekly: two-week pay cycles. Two weeks, weekly subtotals (overtime is calculated per week, not per fortnight), leave column.
• Project timesheet: consultants, agencies, trades and anyone who needs hours by job for invoicing or job costing. Landscape, six projects, billable flag.

How to fill it in

1. Fill the header: name, ID, department, pay period, supervisor.
2. Record times as they happen, not from memory on Friday. Round to the nearest quarter hour if your policy allows rounding; the US DOL permits rounding that averages out fairly.
3. Split hours into regular and overtime by the rule that applies (over 40 in the week federally; over 8 in a day in some states).
4. Enter leave hours in their own column or boxes.
5. Total the week (Excel does it), sign the certification, submit for approval before the payroll cutoff.

Mistakes that cause wage claims

• Automatic lunch deductions when the employee worked through lunch. Record actual lunch times.
• Overtime calculated over two weeks instead of each week which underpays.
• Unapproved overtime refused payment. If it was worked, it must be paid; discipline is a seperate matter.
• Timesheets altered after the employee signed, without initials and a date.
• Records discarded after a year. Keep them for three.

Timesheets, schedules and attendance

The shift schedule says who was supposed to work; the timesheet says who did; the attendance tracker rolls the pattern up across the month, and the sick leave tracker keeps the leave balances the Sick/PTO column draws down. For billable work, the project timesheet is the source for the hourly invoice.

Editing the Word and Excel versions

Excel totals daily and weekly hours; the weekly sheet calculates gross pay from the rate and overtime multiplier, and the project sheet totals each project row and the week. Enter the employee details once and copy the sheet each week. The project timesheet is landscape in all formats. In Word, the tables are plain and can be printed for staff who fill them by hand.

Questions

How long do I have to keep timesheets?

In the US, at least two years for the timesheets themselves and three years for payroll records (FLSA). Some states require longer; keeping everything for four years is the safe choice.

When does overtime start?

Federally, after 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt employees, paid at 1.5 times the regular rate. Some states add daily overtime (California after 8 hours in a day) and double time. Salaried exempt employees do not get overtime.

Can I round hours on a timesheet?

Yes, to the nearest quarter hour or less, as long as rounding doesn't consistently favour the employer. Recording exact times and rounding in payroll is the safer approach.

Do salaried staff need a timesheet?

Exempt salaried employees don't need hours recorded for overtime purposes, but many businesses still use the project timesheet for job costing and leave tracking.

Does the PDF calculate hours?

No. The fillable PDF is for recording and printing. The Excel versions total hours, calculate gross pay on the weekly sheet, and total projects on the project sheet.