Timesheet
A timesheet is the formal record of hours worked — who did what, when, for how long. The legal artifact that underpins payroll, client billing, and compliance.
A timesheet is the formal record of hours worked: who did what, on which project or matter, for how long, on which date. It is the legal artifact that underpins payroll, client billing, overtime calculations, FLSA compliance, and (for law firms) trust-accounting audit trails.
Example
A 10-person design agency runs weekly timesheets. Each designer submits time entries by Friday at 5pm:
Entry: Sarah M. · Project: Acme rebrand · Task: Wireframes · 3.5h · Thu 2026-05-15 · Billable
Entry: Sarah M. · Project: Internal · Task: Team standup · 0.5h · Thu 2026-05-15 · Non-billable
The agency PM approves the timesheet; payroll runs from approved hours; the client receives an invoice line: “Design: 3.5h @ $120/hr = $420.”
The difference between a digital timesheet and time tracking software
A spreadsheet timesheet (Excel, Google Sheets) requires manual entry and is typically filled in at end-of-day or end-of-week from memory. Studies consistently show that reconstructed timesheets understate billable time by 10–25% because people forget short tasks, context-switches, and interruptions.
Time tracking software replaces the reconstruction process with real-time capture: start a timer when you begin a task, stop it when you finish. The timesheet is generated from the timer data, not from memory. The 10–25% recovery in captured hours is the primary ROI case for any time tracking tool.
Related concepts
- Billable hours — the subset of timesheet entries that can be invoiced
- Idle detection — pauses timers automatically during inactivity
- Project tracking — organises timesheet entries by project and task
- Payroll integration — exports approved timesheet hours to payroll software
Why it matters for FLSA compliance
The US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires accurate records of hours worked for all non-exempt employees. A timesheet that is estimated, reconstructed, or fudged exposes an employer to back-pay claims if the records cannot withstand audit. For field/construction crews and hourly retail workers, this compliance requirement drives the entire clock-in/clock-out workflow.
Tools that handle timesheets
- Toggl Track review — best for real-time timer-based timesheets
- Harvest review — best when timesheets drive client invoicing
- Hubstaff review — best when timesheets must withstand compliance audit (GPS + screenshot evidence)