Quick answer
- For most hourly employees, start with the weekly timesheet with lunch breaks: it totals each day, flags hours over 40 and calculates gross pay.
- Paid every two weeks? Use the biweekly timesheet template, which counts overtime for each workweek separately, as federal law requires.
- All 8 are free, need no sign-up, and come as Excel or Word files plus a printable PDF. The spreadsheets also work in Google Sheets.
A free timesheet template is the quickest way to record the hours your hourly employees work and turn them into a correct paycheck. This page is for US small-business owners, managers and bookkeepers who pay people by the hour, and for employees who want to keep their own record. Below are eight templates for different jobs: a weekly timesheet with lunch breaks, a biweekly timesheet, a semimonthly one, a monthly sheet with leave columns, a California version with daily overtime and double time, a team sheet for managers, a project timesheet for billable work, and a printable time card for crews who fill it in by hand. Each comes with a filled-in example using realistic US sample data, and the spreadsheets calculate hours, overtime and gross pay for you.
Which timesheet template do you need?
Match the free timesheet template to how often you pay and where your people work. The pay period decides the layout; the state decides how overtime is counted.
| Situation | Best template | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly staff paid weekly | 1. Weekly timesheet with lunch breaks | Excel, PDF |
| Paid every other week | 2. Biweekly timesheet | Excel, PDF |
| Employees in California | 3. California daily overtime timesheet | Excel, PDF |
| Paid on the 15th and the last day of the month | 4. Semimonthly timesheet | Excel, PDF |
| Part-time or salaried staff tracking hours and leave | 5. Monthly timesheet | Excel, PDF |
| A manager entering hours for a whole crew | 6. Team weekly timesheet | Excel, PDF |
| Billing clients or jobs by the hour | 7. Project and job timesheet | Excel, PDF |
| Job sites with no computer | 8. Printable weekly time card | Word, PDF |
1. Weekly timesheet with lunch breaks and overtime
Best for hourly employees paid every week, with an unpaid lunch
Weekly timesheet · Carlos Mendez, warehouse associate · Gateway Supply Co., Columbus, OH · Week starting November 9, 2026 · $19.50 an hour
| Day | Date | Time in | Lunch out | Lunch in | Time out | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 11/9 | 7:00 AM | 11:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 3:30 PM | 8.00 |
| Tuesday | 11/10 | 7:00 AM | 11:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 3:30 PM | 8.00 |
| Wednesday | 11/11 | 7:00 AM | 11:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 9.50 |
| Thursday | 11/12 | 7:00 AM | 11:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 3:30 PM | 8.00 |
| Friday | 11/13 | 7:00 AM | 11:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 4:30 PM | 9.00 |
| Saturday | 11/14 | 8:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 4.00 | ||
| Sunday | 11/15 | 0.00 | ||||
| Total hours | 46.50 | |||||
| Regular hours | 40.00 × $19.50 = $780.00 |
|---|---|
| Overtime hours (1.5x) | 6.50 × $29.25 = $190.13 |
| Gross pay | $970.13 |
This is the weekly timesheet template most small businesses need. Type the week’s start date once and the dates fill in; type times like 7:00 AM and the hours appear. Leave the lunch cells empty on short days, as on Saturday in the example, and the sheet uses time in to time out. Overnight shifts that end after midnight count correctly. The overtime threshold sits in a yellow cell, set to 40, so you can see exactly where the 6.5 overtime hours come from.
2. Biweekly timesheet with overtime by workweek
Best for businesses that run payroll every two weeks
Biweekly timesheet · Tyler Brooks, sales associate · Hollis Outdoor, Boise, ID · Pay period November 1 to 14, 2026 · $16.00 an hour
| Week | Day | Date | Time in | Time out | Unpaid break | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun | 11/1 | 0.00 | |||
| 1 | Mon | 11/2 | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 |
| 1 | Tue | 11/3 | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 |
| 1 | Wed | 11/4 | 9:00 AM | 6:30 PM | 30 min | 9.00 |
| 1 | Thu | 11/5 | 9:00 AM | 6:30 PM | 30 min | 9.00 |
| 1 | Fri | 11/6 | 10:00 AM | 6:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 |
| 1 | Sat | 11/7 | 10:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 2.00 | |
| Week 1 total | 44.00 | |||||
| 2 | Mon to Wed | 11/9 to 11/11 | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 a day |
| 2 | Fri | 11/13 | 9:00 AM | 5:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 |
| 2 | Sat | 11/14 | 10:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 4.00 | |
| Week 2 total (off Sunday and Thursday) | 36.00 | |||||
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Pay period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular hours | 40.00 | 36.00 | 76.00 × $16.00 = $1,216.00 |
| Overtime hours | 4.00 | 0.00 | 4.00 × $24.00 = $96.00 |
| Gross pay | $1,312.00 |
This biweekly timesheet template exists to prevent the most expensive payroll mistake on a two-week schedule. Tyler worked 80 hours, which looks like two normal weeks, but 44 of them fell in week one. The Department of Labor says averaging hours over two or more weeks is not permitted, so he is owed 4 hours of overtime. Paying all 80 hours at straight time would shortchange him by $32 in this period alone. Set “pay period starts” to the first day of your workweek so the weeks line up.
3. California daily overtime timesheet
Best for non-exempt employees in California
California daily overtime timesheet · Rosa Alvarez, baker · Sunrise Bakery, Fresno, CA · Week starting November 9, 2026 · $20.00 an hour
| Day | Time in | Time out | Meal breaks | Hours | Regular | Overtime 1.5x | Double time 2x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 11/9 | 6:00 AM | 4:30 PM | 30 min | 10.00 | 8.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 |
| Tue 11/10 | 6:00 AM | 2:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Wed 11/11 | 5:00 AM | 7:00 PM | 60 min | 13.00 | 8.00 | 4.00 | 1.00 |
| Thu 11/12 | 6:00 AM | 2:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Fri 11/13 | 6:00 AM | 2:30 PM | 30 min | 8.00 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Sat 11/14 | 6:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 5.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Daily totals | 52.00 | 45.00 | 6.00 | 1.00 | |||
| Regular hours over 40 move to overtime | −5.00 | +5.00 | |||||
| Hours to pay | 40.00 | 11.00 | 1.00 | ||||
Regular $800.00 + overtime 11 × $30.00 = $330.00 + double time 1 × $40.00 = $40.00 · Gross pay $1,170.00
California’s Labor Commissioner says overtime is due after 8 hours in a workday or 40 in a workweek, double time after 12 hours in a workday, and on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek the first 8 hours are overtime and the rest are double time. A weekly-only timesheet misses most of that. In the example, the federal 40-hour rule alone would pay Rosa $1,160.00; California rules pay $1,170.00, because Wednesday’s 13th hour is double time. Mark the seventh day with a Y only when the employee works all seven days of the workweek. Our California overtime law guide covers exemptions and alternative workweeks, which this sheet does not.
4. Semimonthly timesheet
Best for employers who pay on the 15th and the last day of the month
Semimonthly timesheet · Hannah Kim, front desk coordinator · Pinecrest Dental, Raleigh, NC · November 1 to 15, 2026 · $22.00 an hour · Workweek starts Sunday
| Dates | Time in | Time out | Unpaid break | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 11/2 to Fri 11/6 | 8:30 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 8.00 a day, 40.00 |
| Sat 11/7 | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 3.00 | |
| Mon 11/9 to Wed 11/11, Fri 11/13 | 8:30 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 8.00 a day, 32.00 |
| Thu 11/12 | 8:30 AM | 6:30 PM | 30 min | 9.50 |
| Sun 11/1, Sun 11/8, Sun 11/15 | 0.00 | |||
| Total hours in the period | 84.50 | |||
| Workweek starting | Hours in this period | Overtime hours |
|---|---|---|
| November 1 | 43.00 | 3.00 |
| November 8 | 41.50 | 1.50 |
| November 15 | 0.00 | 0.00 (week continues into the next period) |
Regular 80.00 × $22.00 = $1,760.00 · Overtime 4.50 × $33.00 = $148.50 · Gross pay $1,908.50
Semimonthly pay periods have 15 or 16 days and never line up with a workweek, which is why overtime on these sheets is often wrong. This template groups the hours by workweek automatically, using the start day you choose. When a workweek straddles two periods, like the one starting November 15 in the example, add the hours from the next period before you decide on overtime, and pay any overtime on the payday for the period in which the workweek ends.
5. Monthly timesheet with leave columns
Best for part-time and salaried staff who report hours and time off once a month
Monthly timesheet · Denise Walker, part-time bookkeeper · Harbor Insurance Agency, Tampa, FL · November 2026
| Date | Day | Worked | PTO | Sick | Holiday | Unpaid | Paid hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/2 | Mon | 6.00 | 6.00 | |||||
| 11/4 | Wed | 6.00 | 6.00 | |||||
| 11/6 | Fri | 6.00 | 6.00 | |||||
| 11/16 | Mon | 6.00 | 6.00 | Called out sick | ||||
| 11/25 | Wed | 6.00 | 6.00 | Thanksgiving travel | ||||
| 11/27 | Fri | 6.00 | 6.00 | Office closed | ||||
| 11/30 | Mon | 4.00 | 2.00 | 4.00 | Left early, unpaid | |||
| November totals (all 13 workdays) | 58.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 6.00 | 2.00 | 76.00 | ||
Rows for the other Monday, Wednesday and Friday shifts (6.00 hours each) are hidden here to save space. Weekends are shaded in the file.
A monthly timesheet suits people whose hours rarely change, and it doubles as a simple leave record. Paid hours include PTO, sick and holiday hours; unpaid leave is tracked but not added. Monthly pay is not the right pay period for every employee: if the person is non-exempt, overtime is still owed for each workweek over 40 hours worked, so use a weekly or biweekly sheet for anyone who might work long weeks. Feed the leave columns into your PTO tracker spreadsheet each month.
6. Team weekly timesheet
Best for managers who submit hours for a whole crew or shift
Team weekly timesheet · Juniper Café, Nashville, TN · Week starting November 9, 2026
| Employee | Role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Total | OT | Rate | Gross pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ana Lopez | Shift lead | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 46 | 6 | $18.50 | $906.50 | |
| Ben Carter | Barista | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 0 | $16.50 | $528.00 | ||
| Chloe Nguyen | Barista | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 0 | $16.50 | $511.50 | ||
| Diego Ramos | Cook | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 41 | 1 | $19.00 | $788.50 | ||
| Erin Walsh | Dishwasher | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 0 | $16.00 | $320.00 | ||
| Totals | 26 | 31 | 25 | 31 | 27 | 22 | 8 | 170 | 7 | $3,054.50 | ||
This multi-employee timesheet gives a manager one page to check before payroll: who is close to 40 hours, which day ran heavy, and what the week cost in wages. Ana’s 6 overtime hours add $166.50 at time and a half; spotting that on Thursday is how you avoid it next week. The daily numbers should come from each person’s own in and out times, not memory, so keep the individual time records too. For faster math on raw punches, try our time card calculator.
7. Project and job timesheet
Best for field service, trades and agencies that bill clients by the hour
Project and job timesheet · Luis Herrera, HVAC technician · Summit Heating & Air, Phoenix, AZ · Week starting November 9, 2026
| Date | Client or job | Job no. | Task | Start | End | Break | Hours | Billable | Bill rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/9 | Patel residence | J-4411 | AC tune-up | 8:00 AM | 10:00 AM | 2.00 | Y | $95.00 | $190.00 | |
| 11/9 | Oak Ridge Apartments | J-4415 | Furnace repair, unit 12 | 10:30 AM | 2:30 PM | 30 min | 3.50 | Y | $95.00 | $332.50 |
| 11/9 | Shop | Parts pickup, truck restock | 2:45 PM | 4:30 PM | 1.75 | N | $0.00 | |||
| 11/10 | Desert Bloom Clinic | J-4420 | Rooftop unit inspection | 7:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 4.50 | Y | $110.00 | $495.00 | |
| 11/10 | Shop | Safety training | 1:00 PM | 4:30 PM | 3.50 | N | $0.00 | |||
| Totals so far this week | 15.25 | $1,017.50 | ||||||||
Billable hours 10.00 · Non-billable hours 5.25 · Billable share 66%
Use this project timesheet when you need hours for two reasons at once: paying the employee and invoicing the customer. Each job gets its own row, so one day can have three or four lines. Keep in mind the two totals answer different questions. Luis is paid for all 15.25 hours, including the shop time and the safety training, and all of them count toward overtime; only the 10 billable hours go on invoices.
8. Printable weekly time card
Best for crews on job sites who fill in a printable timesheet by hand
Paper still works where phones are not allowed or there is nowhere to plug in a tablet. Print a stack, keep them on a clipboard in the truck, and ask employees to write times as they happen, not at the end of the week. The certification line matters: it reminds people to record work before or after the shift and through lunch, which is time you must pay for. To total handwritten times, convert minutes with our hours to decimal calculator.
How to use these timesheet templates
- Pick the sheet that matches your pay period. Weekly, biweekly or semimonthly, plus the California version for anyone working in that state. Use the same template for everyone in a pay group.
- Set the inputs once. The yellow cells hold the week or period start date, the hourly rate and the overtime threshold. Green cells are formulas; leave them alone. Set the start date to the first day of your workweek, which is a fixed, recurring 168-hour period you choose and keep.
- Record times daily. Ask employees to write or type in and out times as they happen. A timesheet filled in on Friday from memory is how unpaid minutes and disputes start.
- Approve before payroll. The supervisor checks the hours against the schedule, signs, and sends it to whoever runs payroll. Fix errors with the employee, not by quietly changing the sheet.
- Pay and file. Enter regular and overtime hours in payroll, then keep the signed timesheet with the payroll record. Our guide on how to process payroll covers the steps after this one.
Every free timesheet template here opens in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice. To use Google Sheets, upload the .xlsx to Drive and open it; the formulas keep working. Spreadsheets hold up for one location and a handful of people. Once you have more than a few people clocking in at different sites, the weak points are late submissions, retyped hours and lost sheets, which is when teams compare free time clock apps.
US timekeeping rules to know
These principles are checked against Department of Labor fact sheets and the California Labor Commissioner. State and city rules vary, so check your state labor department too.
- Any format is fine if it is accurate. The DOL says employers may use any timekeeping method they choose, as long as it is complete and accurate. For non-exempt employees, the records must include hours worked each day and the total for each workweek, along with pay details such as the regular rate and overtime earnings.
- Keep timesheets at least two years. Under the FLSA, time cards and the records used to calculate wages are kept for two years, and payroll records for three. Many employers keep everything for three to make it simple. California requires payroll records showing daily hours to be kept for three years.
- Overtime is counted per workweek. Non-exempt employees earn 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. The DOL says averaging hours over two or more weeks is not permitted, which is why the biweekly and semimonthly templates total each workweek separately. Learn more about how to calculate overtime with bonuses and different rates.
- Short breaks are paid, meal breaks may not be. The DOL says rest periods of short duration, usually 20 minutes or less, count as hours worked. A meal period is unpaid only if the employee is completely relieved from duty. Eating at the desk while answering phones is work time.
- Rounding must even out. Federal rules accept rounding start and stop times to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, but only if over time it does not shortchange employees. Rounding that always favors the employer is not allowed, and some states restrict it further.
- Some states add daily overtime. California pays overtime after 8 hours in a day and double time after 12, as template 3 shows. Check your state’s rules before you rely on a weekly-only sheet.
Exempt employees do not need hour-by-hour timesheets for overtime, but a free timesheet template is still a simple way to track their leave. Not sure who is exempt? Read exempt vs non-exempt first, and see what is a timesheet for the basics.
Frequently asked questions
What should a timesheet include?
The employee’s name, the workweek or pay period dates, the hours worked each day and the total for each workweek. For hourly employees, record start and end times and unpaid meal breaks, then split regular and overtime hours. Add paid leave hours by type, and signatures from the employee and the supervisor who approves it.
Do employers have to use timesheets?
Employers must keep accurate records of hours worked by non-exempt employees, but the Department of Labor says they may use any timekeeping method they choose. A paper time card, a spreadsheet or a time clock app all work if the record is complete and accurate. Some states add their own requirements, such as recording meal periods.
How long should I keep employee timesheets?
Under the FLSA, keep time cards and the records behind wage calculations for at least two years, and payroll records for at least three years. Many employers simply keep timesheets for three years with payroll. Several states require longer periods, so check your state labor department before you throw anything away.
How is overtime calculated on a biweekly timesheet?
Separately for each workweek. Federal law does not allow averaging hours over two or more weeks, so 44 hours in week one and 36 in week two means 4 overtime hours, even though the total is 80. Our biweekly timesheet template has a subtotal and overtime line for each week for exactly this reason.
Can I round employee time on a timesheet?
Federal rules accept rounding start and stop times to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, as long as it averages out so employees are paid for all the time they actually work. Rounding that always favors the employer is not allowed. Some states are stricter, so some employers simply pay to the minute.
Do these timesheet templates work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets; the formulas for hours, overtime and pay keep working. The Word time card opens in Google Docs. Each template also has a printable PDF for teams that fill in timesheets by hand.