What is a timesheet?

A timesheet is a record of the hours someone worked: usually the date, the time they started and finished, any unpaid breaks, and the total for each day and week. Employers use timesheets to calculate pay, overtime and project costs.

What goes on a timesheet

Employee name and the pay period or week
For each day: time in, time out and unpaid break time
Daily and weekly totals, often in decimal hours
Sometimes the job, project or client the time was spent on
Signatures from the employee and a supervisor

You can print a free timesheet template that does the math, or punch in and out with an online time clock.

Timesheet vs time card

The terms are mostly used interchangeably today. Traditionally a time card was a paper card stamped by a punch clock at the door, while a timesheet was a form the worker filled in, often with the project for each block of time. Modern time-tracking apps do both.

How to figure time for payroll

Work out each day. Subtract the start time from the end time. 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM is 8 hours 45 minutes.
Take out unpaid breaks. A 30-minute lunch leaves 8 hours 15 minutes.
Convert minutes to decimals. Divide the minutes by 60: 15 minutes is 0.25, so 8 hours 15 minutes is 8.25 hours. See the minutes to decimal chart.
Add up the week and multiply by the hourly rate.
Check overtime. Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees get at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Some states, such as California, also have daily overtime.

The time card calculator does all of this for a week, including overtime.

Rounding time

Many employers round punches to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes. In the US that is allowed only if it is neutral over time, so it doesn't consistently shortchange workers.

Questions people ask

What is the purpose of a timesheet?

To record hours worked accurately so pay, overtime and project costs can be calculated, and so employers meet record-keeping rules.

How do I calculate hours worked in decimal?

Divide the minutes by 60 and add them to the whole hours. 7 hours 40 minutes = 7 + 40/60 = 7.67 hours.

How long must employers keep timesheets?

In the US, the Department of Labor requires employers to keep time cards and similar records for at least two years, and payroll records for three.

Sources

Last updated October 21, 2026. Menu names can differ slightly between versions. Found a step that's changed? Tell us.