Tracking the time your employees spend working on tasks and projects is critical. Businesses commonly record their employee’s working hours through an employee timesheet. This provides Managers with visibility of their employee’s working hours ensuring the payroll is accurate and clients are billed correctly.
Recording hours can be tedious. That’s where templates can help - speeding up and simplifying the process. An Employee Timesheet Template is a ready-made table or spreadsheet that employees record their working hours in. There are a variety of templates to choose from.
The Benefits
Employee timesheets offer insight into the team’s capacity and provide data on the number of hours specific tasks require. Timesheet templates track every hour of an employee’s day giving managers greater clarity. This capacity understanding can then be used to accurately project manage and forecast project timings to maximise the business’ productivity.
Wanting to streamline your payroll system? Employee timesheet templates mean that the method of time tracking is consistent across the business’ teams, making payroll processing much more straightforward and efficient. Saving time and money.
What information does an Employee Timesheet include?
The information contained in employee timesheet templates can vary depending upon their purpose. In general, employee timesheets will include:
Employee Name & Information
This is the name of the employee completing the timesheet, and any extra information about them such as their employee ID number, their job title or the department they work in.
Timings & Date
A timesheet will detail the employees’ start time, end time and lunch break times. A date will always be included on a timesheet.
Task or Project Description
Details of the specific task or project that the employee has been working on and the client that this work is for is also often included in a timesheet.
Overtime, Vacation & Sick Leave
On the timesheet any overtime that an employee has worked can be recorded, often with a notes section for the reasoning for the overtime. An employee will also need to record their vacation days or any days they must take away from work due to sickness.
What are the different types of Employee Timesheet Templates?
There are a range of different types of employee timesheet templates, opting for the right template for your business is important. Consider which suits your needs best based on the detail you require, the pay period lengths of your business and the employment that you are tracking. The internet has an exhaustive range of timesheet templates. Here is an overview of the four main types of Employee Timesheet templates.
Excel timesheet templates
There are a bunch of timesheet templates to choose from on Excel. Employees fill in the template with basic data of their hours worked and a description of the task. These are ideal for small businesses, offering a basic and simple process to recording hours. But waste valuable productive business hours due to inputting hours manually.
Google Sheet timesheet templates
Google Sheets offers similar employee timesheet templates to Excel, meaning employees still have to manually enter their working hours, which risks accuracy errors.
Manual timesheet app templates
These apps most usually operate by manually tracking time spent on various tasks and projects, and then logging these hours onto a spreadsheet. Then you import your spreadsheet data into the app’s timesheet template, creating a professional timesheet. Accuracy is also a risk due to manual timing of hours.
Automatic timesheet apps
There are also apps that automatically track the hours an employee works during a day, removing the manual requirements of tracking and inputting. To automatically generate a timesheet, you select the date range you would like on the timesheet. Automatic timesheet apps bring efficiency and accuracy to the employee timesheet process.
How to effectively use Employee Timesheet Templates
Once you have selected the best Employee Timesheet Template for your business, you need to implement a usage system. It is all well and good having a great template, but you also need to be using the template in the right way.
And while all templates are designed to be simple and easy to use, there are two key elements to using an Employee Timesheet Template: Consistency & Accuracy.
Consistency
Set a specific day or time for your employees to complete their timesheet template and keep this consistent. Some businesses opt for the start and end of each day, and others opt for the end of every work week. Whatever timing you select,stick to it every day or week. This will form a routine for your employees ensuring they consistently complete their timesheets.
Consistency also is important when inputting data into the timesheet template. Inputting information in the same format reduces the risk of confusion and streamlines the process further. For example, ask your employees to fill the date in the same way on every timesheet, such as writing the date in this format: 15/03/2023 and not switching between: 15th March 2023 or 15.03.23, to remove any added confusion.
Accuracy
Timesheets must be completed accurately, with correct inputted information. This not only saves time making corrections later, but it also ensures that your employees receive accurate pay, clients are billed correctly, and any project management and timing calculations are accurate.
Alternatively – opting for automatic timesheet template apps builds both accuracy and consistency into the employee timesheet process for you. Simple.
In Summary
Selecting the best Employee Timesheet Template for your business can streamline the process of recording working hours.
This creates a simpler process for employees to track their working hours, enabling them to remain productive and focused on their tasks and projects. It also ensures a more accurate payroll and invoicing client system.
By having visibility of your employees’ working hours, Managers have a clearer view of their productivity and capacity. This awareness also improves capacity and project management. This means your business will be productive, achieving your goals and aspired growth.
