Time tracking can be a nightmare if you don’t have an effective system in place. Maybe you’re chasing employees to submit their time tracking info each week and missing out on billable hours spent on low-value tasks such as emailing and filing. Perhaps you have a shared spreadsheet or maybe you even still use paper time tracking.
Either way, you need a timesheet template that works, and you need it now. In this article, we’ll share a free timesheet template for Google Sheets that will streamline your time tracking system in minutes.
What is a timesheet template for Google Sheets?
A timesheet is a time tracking tool you can use to track your employees’ worked hours. It allows you to track time spent on a particular task, client, or project, or based on hourly rates. A timesheet template usually consists of a spreadsheet-based document that employees use to log their hours worked on each task.
You can of course create your timesheet template from scratch, but luckily there are many free options for time-saving templates, for example, in Google Sheets. Choosing cloud-based online templates like these allows your team to access and update their timesheets from anywhere — just one of the benefits of timesheet templates that we will cover in the next section.
Why use a timesheet template for Google Sheets?
The main purpose of timesheets is to ensure accurate client billing and payroll management, but a timesheet template for Google Sheets also has other benefits, which include:
- Cloud-based timesheets can help project managers with task and workflow management and make sure their teams meet their deadlines.
- A Google Sheets timesheet can help with employee workload management — for example, reallocating tasks to other team members from a colleague who is swamped.
- Hosting your timesheets on Google Sheets allows the whole team to record their time tracking in one place.
- It also gives project managers, HR professionals, and finance staff easy access to all the time tracking information they need, preventing information silos.
Now let’s take a closer look at the benefits of using a timesheet template for Google Sheets in different areas of your business.
Project management
Project managers can use timesheets to see how long team members spend on each task and monitor progress against the timeframe set to achieve them. If employees take longer than expected to complete their tasks, a timesheet will reflect this and help the project manager anticipate delays and manage the budget accordingly. A timesheet also shows project managers how much time team members spend on manual tasks — such as data entry — that could be automated.
Human resources
Tracking the time employees spend on their tasks allows HR professionals to monitor employee performance and identify areas for training and development. For example, if an employee takes longer than average to complete a specific task, they may need training to improve their skills and be able to carry it out more quickly. On the other hand, if an employee is faster than average at completing tasks, it may indicate they’re highly skilled in that area and ready for career advancement.
Finance
According to a 2020 Deloitte survey, payroll error rate is the number one key performance indicator for payroll efficiency. Timesheets save your accounting team time by reducing payroll errors and enabling them to automate the billing process. A timesheet template can make automatic calculations that reduce the margin of error. This allows you to send accurate invoices and be transparent with your clients, thus building trust and improving client relationships.
What are some examples of a timesheet template for Google Sheets?
Now that you’re familiar with the advantages of using a Google Sheets timesheet template, let’s take a look at some examples of timesheets and different use cases.
Accounting firm timesheet for Google Sheets
Accounting firms need to work efficiently since their bottom line depends on how much time their accountants spend working with each client. This means they need a streamlined way to track their time and bill their clients in an efficient and timely manner. An accounting firm might break down its timesheet by:
- Client
- Project
- Activity
This allows them to see exactly how much to charge to each client or project and issue accurate and timely invoices.
Freelancer timesheet for Google Sheets
Freelancers usually work with diverse clients on a range of projects. If a freelancer has an organized, shareable way of tracking their time, such as a timesheet template for Google Sheets, it gives them a transparent way to collaborate with their clients. Google Sheets allows freelancers to control permissions when sharing their timesheets with clients, such as view-only permissions.
Project management timesheet for Google Sheets
One of the most common uses of timesheets is to track your team’s tasks. A busy project manager can save a lot of time by having a centralized system where employees can log their hours.
They might overwrite or change a colleague’s information by mistake or use the wrong version of the document.
That’s why we recommend using a Work OS like staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud for project management time tracking. It centralizes and updates you time tracking data in real-time and offers time-saving automations that reduce the margin for human error.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s timesheet template for Google Sheets
If you’ve been searching for a more accurate time tracking system than a basic timesheet template for Google Sheets, you might want to consider a Work OS like staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud. Our features allow you to track your hours worked at the click of a button and share your time tracking data across all teams and departments, saving time on manual data entry processes such as payroll and invoicing.
staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s time tracking features include the Time Tracking Column — simply click the button to start the timer on a task. You can also pause the timer whenever you take a break, making it more accurate than manual time tracking.
We’ve also created the Time Tracking Widget, designed to give project managers an overview of the time their team is spending on tasks across one or multiple boards. You can zoom right out to view the entire team’s tasks or focus in on one individual team member.
Plus, staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud’s board views enable you to visualize your time-tracking data in any way that makes sense to you.
How to use timesheet templates for Google Sheets
Ready to start using timesheet templates for Google Sheets? Let’s take a closer look at some of the different types of templates and their most common uses.
Hourly timesheet template
An hourly timesheet tracks the number of hours an employee works over a period of time. It’s mostly used by people who are paid by the hour. It allows them to track the number of hours they work in a week or month and make sure they receive payment for all of the hours worked.
Daily timesheet template
Use daily timesheets to track employee hours throughout the day. This type of timesheet is most commonly used for managing the time of salaried employees who work a traditional 9-to-5.
Weekly timesheet template
A weekly timesheet tracks the number of hours worked during a week. This type of template is often used by shift workers who work irregular hours or freelancers who work with several clients.
Biweekly timesheet template
Some companies prefer their employees to track hours on a biweekly basis — i.e., every two weeks. This frees up time for the accounting team by reducing the amount of paperwork they have to handle.
Monthly timesheet template
A monthly timesheet tracks the number of hours an employee works during a month. Like daily timesheets, they are most often used by employees working regular hours.
FAQs about timesheet templates for Google Sheets
How do I make a timesheet in Google Sheets?
Log in to your Google account and go to Google Sheets. Open a new sheet — it will look similar to an Excel spreadsheet. Then, copy and paste a timesheet template into it or create your own by labeling the columns.
How do you make a simple timesheet?
The easiest way to make a timesheet is to use a free template. But if you want to make one from scratch, open a new Excel Spreadsheet and create a table using the appropriate fields. Decide whether your timesheet will be hourly, weekly, biweekly, or monthly. If you need more than one type — for example, hourly and monthly — you’ll need to create 2 separate spreadsheets.
How do I log hours in Google Sheets?
Once you’ve created your timesheet in Google Sheets, all you have to do is start tracking your hours by entering them into the fields provided. One of the advantages of Google Sheets is that it automatically saves your work. However, you might want to consider keeping a backup copy on your hard drive just in case.
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