How to Fill Out a Timesheet Correctly

A timesheet is the record your paycheck is built from. For hourly (non-exempt) employees it is also the employer’s proof that every hour was paid correctly, so small habits matter: writing AM or PM, recording the lunch you actually took, initialing corrections. This guide walks through a typical paper or electronic timesheet for employees and the supervisors who approve them. If you need a blank form, use the printable timesheet.

What goes on a timesheet

Federal recordkeeping rules (29 CFR Part 516) require employers to keep the hours each non-exempt employee works each workday and each workweek, which is why both daily and weekly totals matter.

Record a workday step by step

1. Time in. Write the time you actually start working, including required tasks such as a pre-shift meeting or setting up equipment. Don’t copy your scheduled start time.
2. Meal out and meal in. Record when an unpaid meal begins and ends. If you worked through it, leave it blank or write “no lunch”; never record a lunch you didn’t take.
3. Time out. Write the time you stop working, not the time your shift was supposed to end.
4. Daily total. Subtract time in from time out, then subtract the meal period.

Write times to the minute unless your employer tells you otherwise; rounding, covered below, is payroll’s job.

Writing times: 12-hour, 24-hour and decimal

• 12-hour clock. Always include AM or PM. Noon is 12:00 PM and midnight is 12:00 AM; writing “12:00” alone is a classic source of 12-hour errors.
• 24-hour (military) clock. Hospitals, security firms and transportation companies often use four digits with no colon: 0755 for 7:55 AM and 1631 for 4:31 PM. See how to read military time if your form uses it.
• Decimal hours. Daily and weekly totals are usually written in decimal hours because pay is rate × hours. Divide the minutes by 60.

So 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75, not 7.45. The time to decimal calculator converts any value.

Breaks: what to record

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes are paid work time (29 CFR 785.18), so don’t deduct them, even if you step away from your work area. A bona fide meal period, typically 30 minutes or more with you completely relieved of duty, can be unpaid (29 CFR 785.19); that is the break you record with meal out and meal in. If you ate while answering calls or watching equipment, it wasn’t a bona fide meal period: record the time as worked, or tell your supervisor. Some states, including California, set their own meal and rest break requirements.

Rounding policies

Many employers round punches to the nearest 5 minutes, 6 minutes (a tenth of an hour) or 15 minutes. With 15-minute rounding, the worked example above becomes 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 12:30 PM and 4:30 PM, or 8.00 hours instead of 8.10. Under 29 CFR 785.48(b), that is allowed only if the policy is neutral: it rounds both up and down, so that over time employees are paid for all the time they actually work. A policy that only ever rounds down doesn’t qualify. Employees should write their actual times and let payroll apply the published policy.

Overtime and pay codes

Federal overtime is based on the workweek, not the pay period. Non-exempt employees earn at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a fixed workweek of 168 hours. Weeks can’t be averaged: 30 hours one week and 50 the next means 10 overtime hours, even though the two-week total is exactly 80. Some states add daily overtime: California after 8 hours in a day (double time after 12), Alaska after 8 and Colorado after 12.

Overtime counts whether or not it was approved in advance. Under 29 CFR 785.11, work that is “suffered or permitted” is work time, so record the emails you answered or the task you finished after clocking out. An employer may discipline workers for unapproved overtime, but must still pay for it.

Pay codes separate hours worked from paid time off. Codes vary by employer, but a typical set looks like this:

For example, an employee works 9.00 hours Monday, 9.50 Tuesday, 8.00 Wednesday, 10.00 Friday and 6.00 Saturday, and takes Thursday as an 8-hour paid holiday. Hours worked total 42.50, so the timesheet shows 40.00 REG, 2.50 OT and 8.00 HOL, or 50.50 paid hours. The holiday hours don’t create extra overtime under the FLSA, though some policies count them. The time card calculator is a quick way to check the math, and FLSA overtime rules explained covers the details.

This guide summarizes federal rules for general information and is not legal advice. State law, local ordinances and union contracts may be stricter.

Signatures, approvals and deadlines

The employee signs and dates the timesheet to certify that it is complete and accurate. Sign after the last day of the period, never in advance. The supervisor then reviews and approves it. A quick review checklist:

• Every worked day has both a time in and a time out.
• Meal periods look realistic, and no lunch is recorded on a day the employee worked through.
• Daily and weekly totals add up, with decimals converted correctly.
• Overtime is calculated per workweek, not per pay period.
• Leave hours carry the right code and match approved requests.

Submit the sheet by your employer’s payroll cutoff, and ask payroll how late or corrected sheets are handled. In most timekeeping systems, electronic approval takes the place of a signature.

Correcting mistakes

On a paper timesheet, never use correction fluid, tape or an eraser. Draw a single line through the wrong entry so it stays readable, write the correct time beside it, and initial and date the change; the supervisor should initial it too. For example, 8:15 AM 7:55 AM, JR 10/6. A missed punch gets the same treatment: write the actual time with a short note explaining why.

In an electronic system, use the edit or missed-punch request so the audit trail shows who changed what and why. Supervisors shouldn’t change an employee’s hours without telling them; any adjustment should be documented and acknowledged.

Record retention

Under 29 CFR Part 516, employers must keep payroll records for at least 3 years, and the time cards and work schedules used to compute wages for at least 2 years. Many states require longer. Employees should keep their own copies of timesheets and pay stubs too: federal back-wage claims can generally reach back 2 years, or 3 years for willful violations.

Common mistakes

• Writing the schedule (8:00 to 5:00 every day) instead of actual times.
• Leaving off AM or PM, or writing 12:00 without saying noon or midnight.
• Writing 7.45 for 7 hours 45 minutes; the correct decimal is 7.75.
• Deducting paid rest breaks, or recording a lunch that wasn’t taken.
• Working off the clock: answering messages at home, setting up before clocking in, or finishing tasks after clocking out.
• Arithmetic errors in totals. If your team keeps time in a spreadsheet, see calculate hours worked in Excel.
• Signing before the period ends, or forgetting to sign at all.