Dashpivot article – how to do timesheet hours
How to do timesheet hours
What are your time increments
Most businesses and organisations use standardised time increments when recording hours on a timesheet. Common increments include:
- Hourly: Time is recorded for every hour worked.
- Quarter-Hourly (15 minutes): Time is rounded to the nearest 15-minute increment (e.g., 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75).
- Tenth of an Hour (6 minutes): This is popular in some professions like law. Time is rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour (e.g., 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, ...).
- Five-Minute Increments: Time is rounded to the nearest 5-minute mark.
The chosen increment often depends on the industry, the organization's billing practices, labor laws, and other considerations. For instance, legal professionals often bill in 6-minute increments (or tenths of an hour) because it provides a good balance between granularity and simplicity. On the other hand, many other industries prefer 15-minute increments for ease of calculation.
When using increments, it's essential to have a clear rounding policy. For example, if using quarter-hourly increments, one might round up after 8 minutes and round down if the time is 7 minutes or less.
Do you need to calculate breaks?
When calculating how to do timesheet hours, breaks can fall into one of two main categories:
- Paid Breaks:
- Often short, such as 5, 10, or 15 minutes.
- Employees are not required to deduct these from their total hours worked.
- Many employers mandate these short breaks after a certain number of continuous work hours.
- Unpaid Breaks:
- Typically longer, such as lunch breaks or dinner breaks.
- Employees must deduct these from their total hours worked.
- Common durations are 30 minutes to 1 hour, but this varies by employer and local labor laws.
How to Account for Breaks in Timesheets
- Manual Timesheets:
- Start and End Time: An employee records their start time and end time. If they take an unpaid break, they would subtract the duration of the break from the total hours worked. For example, if an employee worked from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with a 1-hour lunch break, they'd record 7 hours of work.
- Break Columns: Some timesheets have separate columns for breaks. Employees can note down the duration of their break, and either they or administrative personnel will subtract it from the total hours worked.
- Digital Timesheet Apps:
- Automatic Deduction: Some apps automatically deduct a default break duration after a certain number of hours worked unless manually adjusted.
- Timers: Employees can stop the timer during their break and restart it when they resume work.
- Break Button: Some apps have a specific "break mode" where the timer continues, but the time isn't counted toward work hours.
- Rounding Policies:
- If a company uses time rounding (e.g., to the nearest quarter-hour), it's essential to understand how breaks factor into this rounding. For example, a 20-minute break might round to 15 minutes in some systems.
Lastly, local labor laws often dictate break policies, including the minimum duration, frequency, and whether they're paid or unpaid. Always ensure your timesheet calculations comply with local regulations.
How to do timesheet hours
1. Determine the Time Format:
Make sure you know if the timesheet is in:
- Decimal Format: e.g., 8.5 for 8 hours and 30 minutes.
- Hour:Minute Format: e.g., 8:30 for 8 hours and 30 minutes.
2. Calculate Daily Hours:
a. For Decimal Format:
- Subtract the start time from the end time.
- Deduct breaks, if any.
- The result is the total hours worked for the day.
b. For Hour:Minute Format:
- Subtract the start time from the end time.
- Convert the minutes to a 60-minute scale. For example, 1 hour and 75 minutes become 2 hours and 15 minutes.
- Deduct breaks, making sure to adjust the minutes as described above.
3. Weekly Total:
Sum the total hours worked for each day to get the weekly total.
4. Overtime:
If applicable, determine which hours count as overtime. Usually, this might be any hours worked over a set limit per day (e.g., 8 hours) or per week (e.g., 40 hours).
5. Convert to Decimal (if needed):
For payroll purposes, you might need to convert hours and minutes into a decimal format. Here's how:
- Divide the number of minutes by 60.
- Add this to the number of hours.
For example, 8 hours and 30 minutes become 8+3060=8.5 hours.
6. Account for Special Rates:
Factor in any hours that might be billed at different rates, such as holidays, night shifts, or weekends.
7. Double-Check:
Always review the timesheet for any errors or discrepancies. Ensure that all entries are logical (e.g., no workdays longer than 24 hours).
See how a completed timesheet should look below to see how to do timesheet hours.
Make it easy to do timesheet hours with this digital timesheet template
Calculate hours easily with a digital timesheet
Make it easy to figure out how to do timesheet hours by standardising how you record your timesheets.
This digital daily construction timesheet template to help keep track of your start time, end time, breaks and what work you did.
Use required fields to ensure that all start times and end times are completed so your timesheet hours are calculated correctly.
Pre-filled dropdowns and tables make it easy to enter categories of work done for consistent timesheets.
Manage daily timesheets electronically
Ensure good working practices around your timesheet processes by using this digital timesheets app.
Access the timesheet format on site via mobile or tablet so you can fill it out quickly and easily so you don't need to remember when you started and finished work to calculate your hours.
Attach photos and attachments directly to your timesheet.
Automated workflows make it easy to get signoff approval for timesheets, with an approval manager getting a notification when a timesheet has been submitted and needs their signature.
Post QR posters around your work areas to take you directly to the digital timesheet so your team always has easy access.
Get your timesheets automatically into Xero using the Xero timesheet integration.
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