How to Fill Out a Timesheet Correctly (With Example)

To fill out a timesheet correctly, record your clock-in and clock-out times for each day, subtract unpaid breaks, convert the leftover minutes to decimal hours (minutes ÷ 60), add up daily totals into a weekly total, and flag any hours over 40 as overtime. Below, I'll walk through the exact fields and math with a worked example.

I'm Marcus Reyes, and I've processed payroll for small businesses for over a decade. The good news: a timesheet is mostly addition and one division step. Get the structure right once and it becomes routine.

What fields go on a timesheet?

Every accurate timesheet needs the same core fields, and they aren't arbitrary. Federal law requires employers to record the hours worked each day and the total hours worked each workweek for non-exempt employees, per the U.S. Department of Labor's FLSA recordkeeping requirements (Fact Sheet #21). Your timesheet is what makes that possible.

At minimum, include:

• Employee name and the pay period dates (for example, the workweek start and end).
• Date for each row, usually one row per workday.
• Time in and time out for the start and end of the shift.
• Break time deducted (unpaid meal periods).
• Daily total in decimal hours.
• Weekly total, split into regular and overtime hours.

If you'd rather not build this by hand, our free time card calculator handles the totals for you, and a free time clock captures the in/out punches automatically so there's nothing to transcribe.

How to record in/out times and breaks

Write down the actual time you start and stop, not a rounded guess. If you start at 8:02, record 8:02. Use a consistent format (either 12-hour with AM/PM or 24-hour) so nobody misreads 7:00 as morning when it was evening.

Breaks are where most mistakes happen, and the rule depends on the type of break. According to the DOL's Fact Sheet #22 on hours worked, short rest breaks of 20 minutes or less must be paid and counted in your hours worked, so you do not subtract them. Bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more are generally unpaid when you're completely relieved of duty, so those you do subtract. A typical 30-minute lunch comes out of the total; a quick 10-minute coffee break stays in.

How do you convert minutes to decimal hours?

Payroll multiplies a pay rate by decimal hours, not hours and minutes. You can't multiply $18.00 by "8 hours 15 minutes," so convert the minutes first by dividing them by 60.

• 15 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.25
• 30 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.50
• 45 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.75
• 10 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.17 (rounded)

So a shift of 8 hours and 15 minutes is 8.25 hours. To find a daily total, subtract your time in from your time out, take out any unpaid meal period, then convert what's left to decimal. For example, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM is 8 hours 30 minutes; subtract a 30-minute unpaid lunch and you're left with 8 hours 0 minutes, which is 8.00 hours.

Worked example: a full week

Here's a filled timesheet for an employee earning $18.00/hour with an unpaid 30-minute lunch each day. Watch how the daily totals roll up to a weekly total, then split into regular and overtime.

The weekly total is 41.75 hours. Federal overtime kicks in after 40 hours in a workweek at 1.5 times the regular rate, per the DOL's overtime pay requirements (Fact Sheet #23). That means 40.00 regular hours and 1.75 overtime hours.

The pay math: 40.00 × $18.00 = $720.00 regular. Overtime rate is $18.00 × 1.5 = $27.00, so 1.75 × $27.00 = $47.25. Gross pay for the week is $767.25. One detail to remember: a workweek is a fixed, recurring 168-hour period, and hours can't be averaged across two weeks, so a 35-hour week followed by a 45-hour week still produces 5 overtime hours.

Common timesheet mistakes to avoid

• Leaving minutes unconverted. Writing "8:15" in the total column and treating it as 8.15 hours underpays. It's 8.25.
• Subtracting paid short breaks. A 15-minute rest break stays in your hours; only 30-minute-plus unpaid meals come out.
• Averaging hours across weeks to dodge overtime, which the FLSA does not allow.
• Estimating instead of recording. Round to real punch times, not memory.
• Filling it out at the end of the pay period. Log times daily so you don't guess two weeks later.
• Forgetting AM/PM or mixing time formats, which flips a shift's length.

Finally, keep the records. Under FLSA rules, time cards must be retained for at least 2 years and payroll records for at least 3 years. If math errors are your worry, run your numbers through the time card calculator as a second check, or switch to a free time clock that totals everything automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert minutes to decimal on a timesheet?

Divide the minutes by 60. For example, 15 minutes is 15 ÷ 60 = 0.25, so 8 hours 15 minutes becomes 8.25 hours. Payroll runs on decimal hours, not minutes, so always convert before multiplying by your pay rate.

Do I subtract my lunch break on a timesheet?

Yes, if it is an unpaid meal period. Under the FLSA, bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more are generally unpaid when you are fully relieved of duty, so you subtract them. Short rest breaks of 20 minutes or less must be paid and stay in your total.

When does overtime start on a weekly timesheet?

Federal overtime begins after 40 hours worked in a single workweek, paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. Hours can't be averaged across two weeks. Some states add daily overtime rules, so check your state on top of the federal 40-hour threshold.

How long do employers have to keep timesheets?

Under FLSA recordkeeping rules, time cards and similar records on which wage calculations are based must be kept for at least 2 years, while payroll records must be kept for at least 3 years.