# What Are Company Timesheets? How Businesses Track Employee Hours Timesheets are a method to track and record employee hours worked and help with attendance, payroll, and schedule management. They serve as a structured way to document how employees spend their time throughout the workday. Whether a business employs a small team or large group, using timesheets helps reduce errors in workforce management and time tracking. Understanding what company timesheets are and the role they play in a business helps employers strengthen their productivity and labor cost management while ensuring employees are paid correctly. ## What are Company Timesheets? **[Company timesheets](https://managetrix.com/resources/what-is-a-timesheet/)** are records, documents, or forms that help businesses track the hours that employees work in a given timeframe. Timesheets may record the start and stop time of an employee’s shift, the total hours worked in that shift, whether overtime was worked, how long an employee took for a break, and what projects or tasks an employee worked on. Timesheets can be created in a variety of ways. They can be created by hand using a notepad or a spreadsheet, or they can be created digitally through a computer program. Employees may be required to turn in timesheets to management for approval and/or submission. ## What Information Does a Company Timesheet Contain? A company timesheet may contain the following information: * The full name of the employee * The employee ID number * The date and day of work * The start and stop time of a shift. * The total hours worked. * Whether overtime was worked and breaks were taken * A description of a project or task worked on * Project or task details, where applicable * Manager approval and submission status The information recorded may vary based on the company’s policies and processes. ## Using Timesheets to Track Employee Hours While there are several different ways companies track employee hours, the process generally involves a timesheet of some kind. ### 1. Employees Fill Out Timesheets Depending on their company’s policy, employees may be required to record their start and finish times as well as the length of their breaks. In addition, some employees may be required to provide a summary of their total hours worked. Flexible schedules often used by remote employees may require digital timesheets in order to capture hours worked by employees in various locations. ### 2. Managers Review Timesheets Upon submission, Timesheets are generally reviewed by a manager for accuracy and completeness. This may include reviewing timesheets for the submission of overtime and ensuring hours worked are in line with project deadlines. Managers may also review timesheets to catch irregularities or discrepancies. If any irregularities are caught, a Timesheet may be reviewed further. ### 3. Payroll and HR Review Timesheets Once a Timesheet is approved for accuracy, it’s reviewed further by HR or payroll to determine if overtime or regular hours are owed to an employee. Payroll discrepancies may occur without an approved timesheet and through the use of a company policy, labor laws, or in accordance with timesheet rules. ### 4. Timesheets and Productivity A company may track timesheet data to analyze how employees spend their time throughout the day, which may be beneficial in improving project costs, billable hours, and resource allocation. ## What Are the Different Kinds of Company Timesheets? The type of timesheet a company requires of its employees may be influenced by the payroll cycle or schedule, and what type of reporting is required. ### 1. Daily Timesheets Daily timesheets may be required by companies with a shift-based work schedule. Construction and other related industries may require employees to fill out a daily timesheet to document attendance and/or hours worked. ### 2. Weekly and Biweekly Timesheets A weekly timesheet captures an employee’s work hours for a given week. Biweekly timesheets cover a two-week period. The various timesheet formats are useful to businesses in reviewing their employees’ attendance and preparing their payroll records. ### 3. Monthly Timesheets A monthly timesheet captures an employee’s hours worked for the given month. They are useful for businesses to identify attendance trends and overtime worked for the month. ### 4. Project-Based Timesheets Project-based timesheets capture the hours an employee works on a particular project or assignment. This type of timesheet is beneficial to a business to review how their resources are utilized for a project, calculate billable hours for a project, and monitor a project’s budget. ## What are the advantages of Company Timesheets? Company timesheets are beneficial to employees and the employer in a number of ways. * **Accurate payroll** - Timesheets assist payroll personnel in calculating standard pay and overtime pay. * **Attendance management** - Timesheets help an employer identify lateness and absence, and assist in reviewing attendance trends. * **Productivity** - Timesheets help a manager evaluate how work hours are distributed for tasks. * **Cost** - Timesheets assist a business monitor their expenses for a project, and identify unexpected project overruns. * **Reliable records** - Approved timesheets are used to provide documentation to the payroll department during payroll reviews and during internal audits. ## Conclusion Company timesheets are critical in tracking employee time, attendance, and assisting with the payroll and labor cost functions of a business. Maintaining accurate timesheets helps increase business process visibility and lessen administrative errors. **[Managetrix](https://managetrix.com/)** HRMS helps eliminate many administrative tasks to increase process visibility in the workforce management area and allows HR teams to focus on employee-centric activities. To learn more, contact Managetrix HRMS or other HRMS vendors to help simplify employee time management.