Timesheet template

What a timesheet template does

A timesheet template is a ready-made grid for recording the hours a person works over a pay period, usually a week or two weeks. Instead of scribbling times on a sticky note, you fill the same columns each day, add up the totals, and hand a clean record to whoever runs payroll. The value of a template is that it never changes shape, so the person filling it in and the person approving it both know exactly where each number goes.

This page is about the template itself, the columns and the layout, and how to complete one accurately. If you want a deeper walk through the daily habit of logging your time, see the related how to fill out a timesheet guide, which pairs well with the sample here.

The columns on a timesheet

Most weekly timesheets share the same core columns. Once you can name them, filling one out takes a minute a day.

• Date. The calendar date for the row, so each entry maps to a real day.
• Day. The weekday, from Monday through Sunday, which makes the sheet easy to scan.
• Time in. The clock time you started work.
• Time out. The clock time you stopped.
• Break. Unpaid break time, usually in minutes, that gets subtracted from the day.
• Total hours. Time out minus time in, minus the break, for that day.
• Overtime. Any hours above the normal threshold, tracked separately.
• Notes. A short reason for anything unusual, such as a late start, sick time, or a client site visit.

Some sheets split the day into a morning block and an afternoon block with two sets of time in and time out columns. That is handy when a lunch break sits in the middle, because each block is a clean stretch of paid time and you do not have to subtract the break by hand.

Free weekly timesheet template you can copy

Copy the text below as your starting point, or open it in the fill tool and type your hours straight onto the page. Every blank space is a field you complete.

WEEKLY TIMESHEET

Employee name: ______________________   Employee ID: __________
Manager: ____________________________   Department: __________
Week starting: ______________  Week ending: ______________

Date        Day    Time In    Time Out   Break    Total    OT     Notes
________    Mon    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________
________    Tue    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________
________    Wed    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________
________    Thu    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________
________    Fri    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________
________    Sat    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________
________    Sun    ________   ________    _____    _____    ___    __________

                                 Regular hours total: __________
                                Overtime hours total: __________
                                   Total hours worked: __________

Employee signature: ____________________   Date: ____________
Manager approval:   ____________________   Date: ____________

How to fill out the timesheet template

1. Open the template in the fill tool. Copy the text above, or load a blank timesheet into the fill a PDF tool so you can type into the columns.
2. Fill the header. Add the employee name, any ID, the manager, the department, and the week starting and ending dates. Getting the week right matters, because it decides which pay period the hours land in.
3. Enter each day. Write the date, the time in, the time out, and any unpaid break for that row. Use a consistent clock format so nobody has to guess.
4. Work out the daily total. Subtract the break from the gap between time in and time out. Six hours in the morning and two in the afternoon with a thirty minute lunch is seven and a half hours for the day.
5. Mark overtime separately. If a day or the week crosses the overtime threshold, put those hours in the overtime column rather than folding them into the regular total.
6. Add the weekly totals. Sum the regular hours, sum the overtime, and add both for the total hours worked.
7. Sign and get approval. The employee signs to confirm the hours are true, and the manager signs to approve them for payroll. You can draw or type a signature with the sign a PDF tool.

Working out weekly totals

The totals are where a timesheet earns its keep, so it helps to be careful with them. Add up the daily totals to get the regular hours for the week, keep overtime in its own line, then add the two for the grand total. If your sheet uses decimal hours, remember that minutes are not the same as decimals: fifteen minutes is 0.25 of an hour, thirty minutes is 0.5, and forty five minutes is 0.75. Writing 7.30 when you mean seven hours and a half is a common slip that throws the whole week off.

Double check that the total hours match the daily rows before anyone signs. A single mistyped time in or a break left out is the sort of small error that turns into a wrong paycheck, and it is far easier to catch on the sheet than to fix after payroll has run.

Hourly versus salaried timesheets

Not everyone fills out a timesheet for the same reason. For an hourly worker, the sheet is the basis for the paycheck: hours multiplied by the rate, plus any overtime, is the pay. Every recorded hour matters, so accuracy is the whole point.

For a salaried worker, pay usually does not change with the exact hours, but a timesheet can still be required. It may track paid time off, sick days, and holidays, or it may record hours spent on different projects or clients for billing and planning. In that case the sheet is less about the paycheck and more about where the time went. Either way, the same template works. You simply fill the columns that matter for your situation and leave the rest.

Rounding time the fair way

Some workplaces round clock times to a set interval, often the nearest quarter hour, to keep the math simple. If your employer rounds, the rule should be applied evenly, so a start at 8:07 and a start at 8:23 are treated by the same standard rather than always in the employer's favor. The cleanest approach is to record your actual time in and time out, then let any rounding happen consistently when the totals are calculated. That way the raw record is honest and you can always show what really happened.

Time and pay rules vary. This is general information, not legal or payroll advice. Overtime thresholds and rounding rules differ by state and province, so check your local rules or your employer's policy for the exact numbers that apply to you.

Approval and signatures

A timesheet is a record two people stand behind. The employee signs to say the hours are accurate, and the manager signs to approve them for payroll. That double check is not a formality. It is the moment a wrong entry gets caught before it becomes a pay problem, and it gives both sides a dated record if a question comes up later. If you fill out timesheets digitally, add both signatures with the sign a PDF tool before you send the sheet on, and keep a copy for yourself.

Why accurate timesheets matter for payroll

Payroll can only pay what the timesheet says. If the hours are wrong, the paycheck is wrong, and fixing it after the fact means a correction, a delay, and a frustrated worker. Accurate timesheets also feed into overtime, paid time off balances, and, for many businesses, the invoices sent to clients for billable work. A clean, signed sheet protects everyone: the worker gets paid correctly, the manager has a record they approved, and the business has proof of the hours behind each payment. Building the habit of filling the sheet in daily, rather than reconstructing the week from memory on Friday, is the single best way to keep those numbers honest.

Fill and save your timesheet online

You do not have to print a grid and fill it in by hand. Open our fill a PDF tool, add a blank timesheet or the sample above saved as a PDF, and type your hours into the correct columns for a clean, readable copy. The document is processed in your browser and is not uploaded, so your name, your hours, and any employee details stay on your own device. When you need related paperwork, the form templates library has other work and payroll documents you can fill the same way. Once your sheet is done, download it or sign it and send it to your manager.

Create a free account on fillable.ca to save your filled timesheet and reuse it every pay period, changing only the dates and the hours. Open the fill tool, add your sheet, and see how quickly a clean weekly record comes together.