No matter what type of company you work for, employees need to be paid. More importantly, they need to be paid correctly. With companies employing a wide range of positions and ranks, it can easily get chaotic and complicated to calculate wages for each employee. Chaos in a fast paced company is not helpful to anyone and can lead to delays and wasted time. So in the age of technological resources how can this chaos be avoided? The answer: weekly timesheets. The productivity tool that hands the power back to the employee, creating an efficient and reliable system.
So what is a weekly timesheet?
A weekly timesheet is a document for employees to document the time they have worked.
These timesheets can be adapted to different types of employees from full time, part time, freelance or by contract.
It can also include documentation of breaks, sick days, and vacation days. Once the hourly rate is added to the timesheet, the document can automatically calculate weekly pay.
Why is a weekly timesheet beneficial to a company?
Time wastage is a massive issue for companies: wasted money, reduction in productivity and decreased morale of employees. With a weekly timesheet, the method of calculating wages becomes much easier for both employees and accountants. Employees can focus more on the job in hand rather than their timesheet, and HR can efficiently calculate weekly wages for all employees by having clear documentation of hours worked. With a timesheet also being able to calculate the daily and weekly wage, work load is reduced.
For freelancers, a weekly timesheet is hugely beneficial. It ensures that their work is being paid accordingly and they have direct feedback to their employer. Nobody wants confusion or miscommunication, especially when it comes to billable hours. The simple format of a weekly timesheets means it is easily operable for everyone. This also means those who need to can easily read and understand the timesheet.
What is included on a weekly timesheet?
A weekly timesheet has a few key factors included. These factors are easily adaptable to suit each company and with it being a table can easily have additions to it.
These basic factors include:
- Employee name and ID
- Date
- Start time
- Finish time
- Total break time
- Contracted hours
- Overtime hours
- Record of sick days or vacation days
- Total hours worked for the day and the week
- Rate per hour
- Calculation of the total pay for the week
The types of weekly timesheets
A weekly timesheet is not only great for the above basic factors, but it is also great for customisation.
The timesheet can be for an individual or multiple employees, giving clarity to accountants and HR.
For employees working on contract or in construction, the weekly timesheet can be adapted to include a section documenting the different tasks completed that day, improving management of daily activities for employees.
If you’re a freelancer or work part time, try customizing the timesheet so that it breaks down every hour of the day for the week. This ensures you don’t miss any billable hours for the various projects you’re working on. It also provides management with an idea of who is present in the office at certain times.
How do you use a weekly timesheet?
A weekly timesheet is very simple to use. Employees fill the timesheet out themselves, therefore it eliminates the chaos of miscommunication or lost emails.
Once a weekly timesheet is introduced into the workplace, it is very easy for employees to get into the habit of recording their hours. At the start and end of every shift, the employee notes down the time. Any time the employer takes a break, they write down the start and end time of that break. Likewise, if an employee is sick or takes vacation, they note how many hours they’ve been absent.
At the end of the week, the timesheet is sent to accounting or HR who overview the total hours worked and calculate the weekly pay accordingly.
Using a weekly timesheet will transform your workplace. Employees are more accountable and can trust that they are being paid the right amount. Accountants have greater clarity on hours worked and managers have visibility on how time has been spent. This harmony created with a weekly timesheet will create a more efficient and fast tracked method of time logging. With so many readily available templates, giving one a go is easy.
