Whether you’re running a small startup or a large corporation, keeping track of employee hours and productivity is directly related to your bottom line.
Using employee timesheets for this purpose not only ensures accurate payroll processing but also helps streamline your operations and stay compliant with labor laws.
We’ll explore various types of timesheets, their benefits, and how going digital can help you transform the way you manage your team.
We’ll also provide a free employee timesheet template that you can customize to meet the needs of your company.
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What Is An Employee Timesheet?
An employee timesheet is a document that records the amount of time an employee spends on various tasks or projects during a work period.
It typically includes information about the start and end times of work, breaks and the specific tasks or projects.
Timesheets can come in various forms, including:
- Physical paper documents
- Digital spreadsheets
- Integrations into specialized software systems
Employee timesheets are used by different departments and specialists, such as:
- Project managers, to distribute resources, manage budgets and control costs
- HR and payroll staff, to calculate wages, overtime, and ensure employees are paid correctly
- Finance departments, to bill clients for services rendered
In addition to internal teams, employee timesheets are used by compliance officers to review if your company adheres to labor laws and industry regulations regarding work hours and overtime.
Types Of Employee Timesheets
Depending on the operational needs and frequency of reporting, there are various types of employee timesheets that your business can use to track employee hours and tasks.
Daily Timesheet
A daily timesheet records your employee’s work hours for a single day. It is used in businesses that need to have precise tracking of daily activities.
For example, if you are running a construction company, you can use daily timesheets where workers log hours for different tasks, such as framing, electrical work and inspections.
This can help you obtain a detailed account of their activities for the day.
Weekly Timesheet
A weekly timesheet tracks an employee’s work hours over a week, providing a broader view of the activities and total hours worked across multiple days.
For example, if you are managing a cleaning services company, you can use weekly timesheets where your team members record the hours spent on cleaning tasks at different locations along with the travel times between client sites.
This can help you ensure efficient use of time and accurately bill clients for the services provided by your company.
Monthly Timesheet
A monthly timesheet records an employee’s work hours over an entire month, providing information about employee productivity and attendance.
For example, as a retail manager, you might use a monthly timesheet to track hours for store operations, staff training, inventory management and customer service, ensuring efficient time management and accurate payroll processing.
Multiple Employee Timesheet
A multiple employee timesheet tracks the working hours of several employees within a single document. It simplifies payroll processing and helps monitor attendance and productivity across multiple employees.
For example, as a restaurant manager, you can use multiple employee timesheets to record the working hours of kitchen and wait staff, ensuring accurate scheduling, payroll processing and shift management over a period of time.
Employee timesheets contribute to workflow efficiency, payroll accuracy and regulatory compliance
Benefits Of Using Employee Timesheets
Implementing timesheets in your organization can change the way you manage your workforce and projects.
Timesheets offer various advantages that go beyond mere record-keeping. Some of them include:
Improved Workflow Efficiency
Employee timesheets provide visibility into how employees allocate their time and resources throughout the workday.
This data allows you to understand which areas require more staff or better tools to handle the workload so that you can distribute tasks evenly and ensure that all team members are utilized effectively.
Timesheets help you streamline your processes, prioritize projects and optimize workflows and workforce management.
Payroll Accuracy
Employee timesheets provide a detailed record of hours worked, which allows for correct payroll calculations and accurate payment of wages.
They help reduce errors and discrepancies, fostering trust and satisfaction among your team members regarding compensation and working conditions.
Compliance
Employee timesheets ensure compliance with labor laws and regulations which define maximum working hours, rest periods, and overtime pay rates.
They serve as a crucial record for audits and regulatory inspections, showing that your business maintains fair labor practices. These comprehensive records help you mitigate legal risks and avoid penalties.
Performance Evaluation
Employee timesheets provide insights into employee productivity and performance over time.
They allow you to track the amount of time employees dedicate to specific tasks, projects, or clients, see which tasks consume the most time and which employees consistently meet or exceed their productivity targets.
This information can help identify high performers and recognize areas where additional training or resources may be needed.
There are various types of employee timesheets, including daily, weekly and monthly ones
What Information Does An Employee Timesheet Contain?
An employee timesheet contains several key sections to ensure a comprehensive and accurate record of an employee’s work activities and hours.
These include:
- Employee Information, such as name, ID number and department
- Dates for which the timesheet is recording work periods
- Times when the employee begins and finishes work
- Lunch or other breaks taken during the workday
- Total hours worked each day or for the entire period
- Descriptions of tasks or projects the employee worked on
- Overtime hours beyond the standard time
- Signature of employee
- Signature of supervisor
- Additional comments or notes that provide context or explanations for variations in the timesheet
Employee Timesheet Template
Below is a template for an employee timesheet that you can use to capture and organize essential details of daily work hours and tasks for your team members.
Employee Information
- Fill in employee name
- Fill in employee ID
- Fill in employee department
Information About Dates
- Add the starting date for which the timesheet is being filled out
Information About Time
- Add the start time when the employee began working
- Add the end time when the employee finished working
Information About Breaks
- Fill in the duration of breaks taken
Tasks Information
For each day of the week, record information about:
- The tasks or projects worked on during that period
- Add comments or notes related to the day’s work
Total Hours
- Sum up the total hours worked for each period
Signatures
- Add an employee signature
- Add a supervisor signature
Create Custom Employee Timesheets With doForms
Using traditional paper timesheets often results in manual errors, time-consuming data entry and difficulties with storage and retrieval.
These challenges can lead to inaccurate payroll calculations, compliance risks and inefficient use of administrative resources.
The solution? Implementing digital timesheets with doForms.
doForms is a mobile forms software solution designed for data collection, workflow management and business form automation.
It allows you to create digital timesheets and automate the time tracking process. These timesheets eliminate the need for manual data entry, reducing the likelihood of errors and ensuring more accurate records.
Your employees can log their hours easily from any location using their smartphones, tablets, or computers, regardless of whether they are in the office, working remotely or on the go at a job site.
doForms help you stop worrying about compliance with labor laws as they allow you to automatically calculate overtime and ensure accurate documentation of work hours and breaks.
But there is even more good news about digital timesheets.
Using doForms, you can integrate your timesheets with the payroll and HR software, streamlining the entire process from time tracking to payroll processing. This integration saves time and ensures that all records are up-to-date and accurate.
In addition to timesheets, doForms allows you to create various mobile forms, from HVAC inspection checklists and fire inspection checklists to construction forms, mobile device management (MDM) policies, substance abuse assessment templates and waivers.
Ready to say goodbye to paper forms?
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FAQs About Digital Timesheet Forms
To learn more about how digital employee timesheets can optimize your operations, check out our frequently asked questions.
Can digital employee timesheets do overtime calculations?
Yes, doForms allows you to calculate overtime automatically based on predefined rules. This reduces manual errors and ensures accurate compensation for overtime hours worked.
Are digital employee timesheets customizable?
Yes, using doForms you can create customized timesheets that fit your company’s needs. This includes adjusting fields, adding project codes and integrating with payroll software.
Are there automated reminders for employees to complete and submit their timesheets?
Yes, doForms offer automated reminders or notifications that ensure timely submission and streamline administrative processes.
What reporting capabilities do mobile forms software tools offer?
doForms offer robust reporting capabilities, including summaries of employee hours, project costs and overtime. These insights help you make data-driven decisions and suggest improvements.
Can digital employee timesheets be accessed offline?
Yes, doForms offer offline access, allowing your employees to log their hours even without an internet connection. The data is synchronized once connectivity is restored.
Ready to create custom digital forms?
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