Download the template
The spreadsheet works out hours and flags common mistakes. The CSV has the column headings only, because a CSV can't hold formulas, checks or formatting. We checked the spreadsheet in LibreOffice Calc.
Filling it in
- One row per shift actually worked. Two shifts on one day get two rows.
- Start date and time, end date and time, as they happened.
- Unpaid break minutes for that shift, or 0.
- A note for anything unusual: a late start, a missed punch filled in, an overnight shift.
- The employee signs, and whoever approves hours signs and dates it.
The spreadsheet calculates hours as (end date and time − start date and time) − unpaid break, in decimal hours to two places. If you add up times by hand, the minutes to decimal hours converter explains why 7:45 is 7.75.
An example week with an overnight shift
| Start | End | Unpaid break | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Jan 11, 7:02 AM | Mon Jan 11, 3:06 PM | 30 min | 7.57 |
| Tue Jan 12, 6:58 AM | Tue Jan 12, 2:31 PM | 30 min | 7.05 |
| Wed Jan 13, 12:00 PM | Wed Jan 13, 4:00 PM | 0 min | 4.00 |
| Fri Jan 15, 10:00 PM | Sat Jan 16, 6:15 AM | 30 min | 7.75 |
| Week | 26.37 |
The Friday shift ends on Saturday. With Saturday as the end date it's 8 hours 15 minutes, less the break: 7.75. Written with Friday as the end date, the end would look earlier than the start; the template flags that instead of guessing.
What the checks catch
- A row with a start but no end, or missing dates.
- An end that isn't after the start, usually an overnight shift with the wrong end date.
- A break longer than the shift.
- A shift over 16 hours, which is usually a missed clock-out, not a real shift.
Before it goes to payroll
Compare the timesheet with the schedule, settle anything flagged, and keep the signed copy. The payroll timesheet checklist covers the rest of the handoff, and schedule vs timesheet shows why the two rarely match exactly.