What it's for

Staff who fill in their own hours each week or fortnight.
Managers who sign off hours before payroll.
Shifts that run past midnight.
US teams that need hours over 40 a week, or over 8 and 12 in a day (the California preset), split out.

What's inside

How to use: Short instructions and the colour key: yellow cells are yours, grey cells calculate.
Settings: Name, approver, the first day of your week and an overtime preset.
Week 1 and Week 2: One row a day: start, finish, unpaid break, leave, and the hours each day works out to.
Summary: Totals for each week and the fortnight, with signature lines for the employee and the approver.

Preview

Worked example: week 1, with the California preset
Day	Start	Finish	Unpaid break	Hours	Overtime (1.5×)	Double time (2×)
Mon 1 Mar 2027	09:00	17:30	30 min	8.00	0.00	0.00
Tue 2 Mar	08:30	19:00	30 min	10.00	2.00	0.00
Wed 3 Mar	09:00	17:30	30 min	8.00	0.00	0.00
Thu 4 Mar	22:00	06:30 (next day)	30 min	8.00	0.00	0.00
Fri 5 Mar	07:00	20:30	30 min	13.00	4.00	1.00

The week totals 47.00 hours. With the California preset that is 40.00 regular hours, 6.00 at 1.5× and 1.00 at 2×. With the US federal preset it is 40.00 regular and 7.00 at 1.5×. With no preset, all 47.00 are regular hours.

How to use it

Open the file in Excel, or in Google Sheets with File > Import.
On Settings, type the employee, the approver and the first day of week 1. Your week can start on any day.
Choose an overtime preset, or None. Custom lets you type your own daily and weekly limits.
Each day, type the start and finish time (like 9:00 and 17:30) and any unpaid break in minutes. Leave days you didn't work blank.
For leave or a public holiday, pick the leave type and type the hours.
Weekly? Use Week 1 only. Fortnightly or biweekly? Use both weeks. Then print the Summary, sign it and pass it on.

The formulas, explained

Hours worked: =IF(OR(B5="",C5=""),0,MAX(0,MOD(C5-B5,1)*24-D5/60))

MOD(finish − start, 1) is the time between the two, even when the shift ends after midnight. Times 24 turns it into hours, and the unpaid break (minutes ÷ 60) comes off.
Double time: =IF(Settings!$B$15="",0,MAX(0,E5-Settings!$B$15))

Hours in the day past the double-time limit: 12 with the California preset.
Daily overtime: =IF(Settings!$B$14="",0,MAX(0,E5-Settings!$B$14-J5))

Hours past the daily limit (8 with the California preset) that aren't already double time.
Weekly overtime: =IF(Settings!$B$16="",0,MAX(0,H12-Settings!$B$16))

Regular hours in the week past the weekly limit: 40 with both US presets. It counts regular hours only, so daily overtime isn't counted twice.
Seven-day warning: =IF(B21=7,"Worked all 7 days…","")

Flags a week with work on all seven days. The file doesn't work out any seventh-day overtime, so check the rules that apply to you.

Every formula uses functions that Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice all have. There are no macros or scripts.

The rules where you are

Record-keeping, overtime and leave rules depend on where you work and they change, so check them with the regulator: the Fair Work Ombudsman in Australia, GOV.UK in the UK or the US Department of Labor in the US.

Questions

What should a timesheet show?

At least the dates, start and finish times, unpaid breaks and total hours, with the employee's name and the approver's sign-off. What else you have to record depends on where you are, so check with the regulator linked on this page.

How do I work out overtime?

Pick a preset on the Settings sheet. US federal splits out regular hours over 40 in the week. California splits out hours over 8 and over 12 in a day, then regular hours over 40 in the week. Custom takes your own limits, for example from an Australian award. The presets split hours; they don't decide whether overtime applies to you.

How long should I keep timesheets?

It depends on where you are, and the rules change. The regulators linked on this page say how long to keep time and pay records.

Decimal hours or hours and minutes?

The file shows decimal hours, which is what most payroll and invoicing tools want: 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75. To convert, divide the minutes by 60.

Can I use this for payroll?

You can use the totals as the input to payroll. The file doesn't work out pay, tax or award rates.

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload it with File > Import. It only uses functions Excel and Google Sheets both have (IF, OR, MOD, MAX, SUM and COUNTIF). It also opens in LibreOffice.

About this template

Last reviewed 4 October 2026.

Changes: 4 October 2026: first published.

Free to use and change in your own business. Please don't resell the files or publish them as your own. More free templates.