Running a business means taking the proper steps to ensure your employees are working efficiently and are paid accurately for their time. To ensure this happens and to improve workflow management, you have to use timesheets. These confirm that your employees will be paid correctly for the amount of time they’ve worked.
Use the links below to jump to a particular section, or read the article in full for a comprehensive guide to filling out a timesheet.
Step 1: Enter the employee’s name
Enter the person’s name whose working hours you are recording.
Step 2: Add a date range
Enter the date range of working days on the timesheet; this may be a daily, weekly or monthly timesheet.
Step 3: Add project details
Include the tasks the employee was working on during this time period; in some cases, you may be able to group these tasks into projects or categories to gain insight into how the employee’s time was spent.
Step 4: Include working hours for work days
Within each day of the week, record the hours an employee worked. This view will help you see on which days an employee puts in the most or least hours.
Step 5: Determine total hours
Once all days are filled in, calculate the total amount of hours worked within the time period, and fill in the total time in the total column.
Step 6: Get approval from supervisor
After the timesheet is filled out, it should be given to a designated supervisor for approval. After the details have been verified, the timesheet should be signed and submitted to the appropriate parties.
A timesheet is a record of the number of hours an employee works during a specific period of time. It also records projects and tasks and how many hours an employee spends completing them. Timesheets are usually filled out by the employee, and it’s important they always submit them on time. If you’re struggling to get your employees to submit timesheets on time, send out reminders in advance so employees know exactly when they’re due. It’s good to discuss the significance of timesheets with your employees so they know to be punctual in completing and submitting them.
There are various types of timesheets that may work for your business. Timesheets essentially require employees to record the number of hours worked during a specific time period and the tasks that they completed. This information is recorded on a daily basis and then totalled at the end of the workweek. While this is generally how timesheets work, the information that you actually have to input differs for each type. These are the different types of timesheets:
There’s also a difference between hourly and salary timesheets. For a salaried employee, a timesheet is used only for recording overtime hours, holiday or sick time hours. It’s not used to record the number of regular hours worked on a daily basis. However, for hourly employees, a timesheet is needed daily. A timesheet is essential to make sure that hourly employees are paid accurately for the time they work. You should record all hours worked for hourly employees, as well as overtime, holiday and sick time.
Timesheets are useful for many reasons beyond just paying your employees correctly. There are myriad reasons why it’s important to fill out your timesheet, such as:
A timesheet should be organised and easy to read. Regardless of the type of timesheet you use, this is what should be included on it:
It’s also important to note any holiday leave, overtime or sick time that your employees take. If they earn annual leave or overtime pay, this will help ensure they’re compensated appropriately.
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