Every payroll dispute, overtime claim, and wage audit comes down to one question: what do the time records show? A simple, consistent timesheet protects both you and your employees. Here’s what goes on one and the rules that keep it compliant.
What’s on a good timesheet
- Employee name and pay period dates (the specific week or two-week span).
- Daily rows with columns for: date, time in, time out, time in, time out (for meal breaks), and total hours.
- A totals row showing regular hours and overtime hours separately.
- PTO/sick time used during the period, if applicable.
- Employee signature and date — the employee’s attestation that the hours are accurate.
- Supervisor approval line with signature and date.
Timesheet rules that keep you compliant
- Record all hours worked. Every minute counts, including pre-shift setup and post-shift closeout for nonexempt staff.
- Never let managers “fix” timesheets silently. If a correction is needed, the employee should initial it or be notified — secret edits look like wage theft.
- Don’t use rounding to systematically short employees. The FLSA allows neutral rounding (e.g., to the nearest quarter hour) only if it doesn’t consistently favor the employer over time.
- Get sign-off every period. An unsigned timesheet is just a suggestion.
- Keep them 3 years. The FLSA requires payroll records — including time records — be kept for at least three years.
Paper vs. apps
Paper timesheets work for very small teams but create math errors and “lost” sheets. Once you pass ~10 employees, time-tracking software usually pays for itself in recovered admin time and fewer payroll mistakes. Either way, the rules above apply identically. Our free HR Starter Kit includes printable HR templates to get you started.
Tie it to overtime
Timesheets are where overtime compliance lives or dies. If hours aren’t captured accurately, your overtime math can’t be right — and “we didn’t know they worked late” is not a defense.
FAQ
Can employees fill out their own timesheets? Yes — that’s standard. The employer’s duty is to ensure the system captures all hours accurately, not to fill them in personally.
Do salaried exempt employees need timesheets? Not for FLSA purposes, but many employers still track time for PTO accounting and project costing.
What if an employee forgets to submit? Have a written procedure: supervisor documents best-known hours, employee confirms at the next opportunity, and repeated failures are addressed through discipline.
General information only — not legal advice.