Free excel timesheet template + optimisation tips

Managing a business often means confronting a daily puzzle of tasks and deadlines. For anyone on the team, from the leadership to the staff, tracking time should be straightforward, not another complex piece to fit into your busy schedule. Yet, sticking with manual timesheets can eat into your productivity, leave room for errors, and provide limited actionable data on how hours are being spent.

What if you could streamline this process, not just for yourself, but for the whole team? Imagine a solution that automates the nitty-gritty: one that keeps a systematic tab on regular hours, lunch breaks, and project timesheets. An efficient system that accurately records worked hours and pay, potentially on a weekly, daily, or monthly basis, without the traditional hassle.

It’s time to look at automated timesheet solutions, your ticket out of the administrative labyrinth. These tools can provide a clearer, more efficient way to track employee work hours, offering the insight and oversight necessary for your evolving business needs.

Download Your Free Timesheet Template Now!

To ease into better time management, we’ve crafted a straightforward, easy-to-use free timesheet template designed to take the grunt work out of tracking regular hours and calculating pay. Whatever role you’re in—whether you’re overseeing the team or part of it—this template serves as a stepping stone towards a more organised way of recording time.

It’s a simple yet effective tool, ready for you to personalise. With fields for tracking daily work hours, accounting for lunch breaks, and even factoring in overtime, this template helps ensure that total pay is reflected accurately for each pay period.

Setting up your Free Employee Timesheet Excel Template

Step #1: Download the free timesheet template

Simply download the free timesheet template, and save it to your computer.

Tip! Keep organised right from the get-go by creating a folder for your new template on your computer, then add another folder into that one and name it “Timesheet Template”.

Once that’s done, copy the template and insert it into another new folder called, “Customised Timesheet Template”. This way, if you happen to mess up while doing your customising, you can easily just make another copy of the original template and start again.

Step #2: Customise the timesheet format

Now it’s time to make the timesheet template your own. Here’s a screenshot of what the first sheet looks like:

The columns currently include:

• Site
• Shift date
• Day
• Shift
• Hours
• Overtime
• Rate
• Comments

The “totals” sheet includes the following fields, which can be changed to suit your requirements:

• Total Hours Worked
• Total for Normal Rate
• Total Overtime @ 1.5
• Total for Sunday (Non-Overtime)
• Total for Sunday (Overtime)
• Total for Holiday (Non-Overtime)
• Total for Holiday (Overtime)
• Total for Over Hours (+) (For Info)
• Total for Short Hours (-) (For Info)
• Total for Sick
• Total for Absent
• Total for Non-Fin Allowances
• Total for Fin Allowance
• Total for Earnings
• Total Number of Worked Shifts
• Wage per Hour
• Basic Wage
• Subtractive Hours
• Subtract from Basic Wage
• Amount added for Premium Hours
• Total Gross Remuneration

Change what you need to, and delete the example text in both sheets.

Once that’s done, you should have a nice clean template to start inserting real data into.

Tip! Save the customised version into a new folder. This one must be kept blank so that each time you need to use a new timesheet, the entries are blank and waiting for you to insert new data.

Step #3: Optimise your timesheets process

You may already have a process in place and you’re just looking for a better timesheet template, in which case you can skip this step. Otherwise, let’s continue:

You want to make your process as smooth, fast, and error-free as possible so that you don’t spend too much time on it, because you have better things to do than fiddle unnecessarily with the number of hours and time worked.

The first thing to decide is how will your employees complete and submit their hours?

You can either print out copies of the first sheet once you’ve customised it, and get employees to complete and submit it by hand, or you can add the sheet to a special folder on Google Drive or Dropbox, and send each staff member a link to their own timesheet, giving them a deadline by when the sheet must be completed.

Tip! New ways of doing things can be scary, but if you don’t absolutely have to – for logistical reasons – have employees complete their timesheets by hand, getting them to complete them online will make your life so much easier and organised.

In fact, if you really want to simplify the process, use a free tool such as Trello to make a card for each staff member, including the link to their timesheet. If you or the employee needs to discuss something pertaining to the timesheet, you can do it right from within the tool so you can keep track of everything instead of using emails to go back and forth, which can get confusing.

Step #4: Add in employees numbers

It’s now time to take the numbers your employees added to the timesheet, and do the calculations.

But first you’ll need to either do the maths if employees submitted the numbers by hand. In this case, it’s best to keep duplicating the “shifts” sheet so that each staff member has their own sheet on your computer. Now insert the numbers they gave you, and then calculate the totals in the second sheet. Note! The template cannot automatically add up the numbers, so you will need to calculate them yourself.

Tip! Unfortunately, there is no way we could automate this process for you in a template. Workforce management software does that, to save you a lot of time and effort. However, if you can’t yet afford that option, and it’s logistically possible, consider using a free online time card tool.

Automate Timesheets and Boost Productivity with EasyRoster

Progressing from a basic timesheet to a more dynamic and efficient system becomes crucial as your team grows and your time tracking needs evolve. At this junction, EasyRoster emerges as a comprehensive solution, bringing the sophistication of robust time tracking and payroll management into your workflow.

What Makes EasyRoster Stand Out?

Let’s dissect the core advantages that EasyRoster presents over a free timesheet template:

Seamless Automation: With EasyRoster, the repetitive and prone-to-error task of data entry and calculations becomes automated, saving you a considerable amount of time and significantly reducing discrepancies.

Real-Time Insights: Access to real-time reports provides an instant overview of worked hours and pay, overtime, and costs—empowering you with data to make timely and informed decisions.

Enhanced Accuracy: Automated calculations mean that human error is substantially reduced, ensuring a higher level of precision in your time tracking.

Streamlined Management for Multiple Locations: Whether your team operates from one location or multiple sites, EasyRoster simplifies the management of complex schedules and payroll, integrating all elements into an easy-to-use platform.

Integration with Your Favourite Tools

Navigating employee attendance and location tracking across different sites is a breeze with EasyRoster’s adaptable solutions that effortlessly integrate with an array of third-party devices. Our system provides you with the convenience of automatic attendance registration through compatibility with various supported time and attendance systems. Staff can easily check in and out using advanced biometric (finger or facial recognition), RFID, or proximity card technologies, and EasyRoster will interface smoothly with the technologies you already have in place.

Beyond attendance, EasyRoster simplifies the transition of data to payroll systems—significantly reducing the burden of manual overtime calculations and other time categories. No more manual input of hours or shifts into payroll; EasyRoster handles it all.

To further streamline your operation, integrate EasyRoster with a range of other systems, including:

• TrackForce: Enhance security operations with a robust workforce management system that EasyRoster works in tandem with.
• Oryx Listener: Benefit from a powerful communication platform that connects with EasyRoster for increased coordination.
• Online Intelligence: Leverage intelligence-led risk management solutions that integrate seamlessly with EasyRoster, bringing sharper insights into your workflow.

Adaptability for Your Growing Business

As your business expands, so does the challenge of maintaining clear and accurate records of hours worked and pay. EasyRoster is designed to scale with you, offering a robust framework that can handle an increasing number of employees and complex work patterns without missing a beat.

Empower Your Business with EasyRoster

By opting for EasyRoster, you’re choosing to streamline your operations and dedicate more time to the strategic areas of your business. With the weekly, daily, or monthly timesheet templates and a host of other features, EasyRoster automates the mundane while granting you the insights to make strategic decisions, motivate your staff with accurate pay for their hard work, and grow your business with confidence.

Are you ready to see how EasyRoster can transform your time tracking processes? Book a free demo today and experience the seamless transition to automation.

Free vs. Paid: Making the Right Choice for Your Timesheet Management

Selecting the optimal timesheet management solution often hinges on evaluating the balance between your immediate needs and the long-term effectiveness. This is particularly relevant when deciding whether a complimentary timesheet template or a more sophisticated system like EasyRoster is right for your business.

The Considerations for Free Timesheet Templates:

Pros:

• Accessible immediately, with no upfront costs.
• Simple to use for tracking regular hours and calculating pay.
• Handy for those familiar with spreadsheets like Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.

Cons:

• May struggle to keep pace as your business grows and complexities increase.
• Time-intensive manual entry and susceptibilities to human error.
• Lacks the capacity for real-time analytics, comprehensive automation, and direct payroll integration.

The Benefits of Opting for EasyRoster:

Pros:

• Streamlines timesheet and payroll processes through complete automation, enhancing time management.
• Instant access to detailed reports helps you understand worked hours, pay, and additional expenses.
• Effectively coordinates complex employee schedules and integrates smoothly with numerous external systems.
• Grows and adapts with your business, handling intricate workflows across various sites with ease.
• Provides a range of advanced features including secure biometric check-ins and integrations for improved operations management.

Considerations:

An investment in your business’s efficiency, accuracy, and scalability that may initially seem daunting but offers long-term benefits.

When you’re deciding which direction to take, think about where your business stands today and where you see it going. For startups or small operations with straightforward timekeeping needs, starting with a free template can get the job done. But as your operations expand and the stakes get higher, the robust features and time-saving capabilities of EasyRoster can be a game-changer, empowering you to make more informed decisions, reduce administrative burdens, and focus on propelling your business forward.

For businesses that are growing, or those already feeling the pinch of manual tracking, choosing a comprehensive system like EasyRoster can significantly enhance efficiency and provide a level of accuracy that inspires confidence in your workforce management.

Take the Next Step: Streamline Your Time Tracking Today

Whether you’re already feeling the pinch from tracking time manually or simply looking to preemptively sidestep potential hassles, it’s clear that automated time tracking systems offer considerable advantages. With EasyRoster, the transition from manual to automated becomes not just a leap towards efficiency but also a strategic move for your business’s future.

Streamlined processes, real-time insights, and user-friendly interfaces are within reach. Take the opportunity to start with our free template to understand the benefits of structured time tracking. Then, when you’re ready to unleash the full potential of automation and integration, consider how EasyRoster can fit into your business’s growth trajectory.

Embark on a smoother time tracking journey – here’s how:

Test the Waters: Download our free timesheet template and start experiencing the simplicity and structure it brings to your time tracking process.

See EasyRoster in Action: Book a demo and explore the functionalities and features that make EasyRoster a leader in time management solutions.

Don’t let time tracking be the cog that slows down your business machine. By embracing EasyRoster, you’ll not only optimise your current workflows but also lay down a scalable foundation for future success.