How to Fill Out a Timesheet (Step by Step)
Built & reviewed by Nandu Kannan · Overtime rules cited to primary statutes
A timesheet does one job: turn the hours you actually worked into the number payroll multiplies by your pay rate. Get the format wrong — minutes written as decimals, breaks deducted that should have been paid — and the error lands directly in your paycheck. This guide covers the correct way to fill out paper and digital timesheets, the legal rules on rounding and breaks, and the conversion table that fixes the most common mistake.
Under federal law, short breaks of 5–20 minutes must be paid work time, while a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more may be unpaid — so a timesheet should deduct lunch, but never coffee breaks (29 CFR 785.18–.19).
Step 1: Record the four facts for every day
Whatever the format — paper grid, spreadsheet, or app — every workday needs the same four entries:
- Date (and day of week, so the workweek is unambiguous).
- Time in — when you actually started work, not when you arrived in the parking lot.
- Time out — when you stopped working for the day.
- Unpaid break minutes — usually just the meal break.
Write times with AM/PM (or use 24-hour format) so 5:00 can never be read as morning. If you work past midnight, note it — an overnight shift from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM is 8 hours, but a careless reading makes it −16.
Step 2: Subtract unpaid breaks — and only unpaid breaks
The federal rule is simple and frequently violated in both directions:
- Short rest breaks (about 5–20 minutes) are paid working time. They stay on the timesheet and are never deducted.
- Bona fide meal periods (30 minutes or more) can be unpaid — but only if you are completely relieved of duty. If you eat at your desk while answering the phone, that time is compensable.
Several states add their own requirements (California, for example, requires a 30-minute meal break before the end of the fifth hour, with a one-hour pay premium if it is missed), so check your state rules — but the paid-versus-unpaid logic above is the federal floor everywhere.
Step 3: Convert minutes to decimal hours
Payroll math needs decimals: hours worked × rate = pay. The conversion is always minutes ÷ 60. Writing 8 hours 45 minutes as "8.45" instead of 8.75 shorts you 18 minutes of pay — every single day it happens.
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 5 min | 0.08 |
| 10 min | 0.17 |
| 15 min | 0.25 |
| 20 min | 0.33 |
| 25 min | 0.42 |
| 30 min | 0.50 |
| 35 min | 0.58 |
| 40 min | 0.67 |
| 45 min | 0.75 |
| 50 min | 0.83 |
| 55 min | 0.92 |
For odd amounts, our decimal hours calculator does the division and rounding for you.
Step 4: Apply rounding correctly (if your employer rounds)
Employers may round punches to the nearest 5 minutes, 6 minutes (a tenth of an hour), or 15 minutes under 29 CFR 785.48 — but rounding must be neutral or favor the employee over time. With quarter-hour rounding, the common "7-minute rule" applies: 1–7 minutes past the quarter rounds down, 8–14 minutes rounds up. So an 8:07 AM clock-in becomes 8:00, while 8:08 becomes 8:15. If you fill out a manual timesheet, write the actual times and let payroll apply rounding — never pre-round yourself, because two layers of rounding compound the error.
Step 5: Total the week — a worked example
Here is a complete week filled out correctly. The totals are computed by the same engine as our timesheet calculator:
| Day | Time in | Time out | Unpaid break | Hours (h:mm) | Decimal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8:30 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| Tuesday | 9:00 AM | 5:15 PM | 45 min | 7:30 | 7.50 |
| Wednesday | 8:00 AM | 4:10 PM | 30 min | 7:40 | 7.67 |
| Thursday | 8:30 AM | 6:00 PM | 60 min | 8:30 | 8.50 |
| Friday | 9:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 30 min | 7:30 | 7.50 |
| Week total | 39:10 | 39.17 |
Note Wednesday: 8:00 AM to 4:10 PM minus a 30-minute lunch is 7 hours 40 minutes, which converts to 7.67 — not 7.40. That one row is where most manual timesheets go wrong.
Step 6: Sign, submit, and keep a copy
A standard approval workflow has four stops, and knowing them helps you chase a late paycheck to the right desk:
- Employee signs (or e-signs), attesting the hours are accurate — by the deadline, typically the last working day of the pay period.
- Manager reviews and approves, correcting only genuine errors like missed punches, ideally with your acknowledgment.
- Payroll processes the approved hours, applying overtime and deductions.
- Records are retained — employers must keep payroll records at least 3 years and supporting time cards at least 2 years under the FLSA.
Keep your own copy. A phone photo of a paper timesheet, or a screenshot of a digital one, settles most pay disputes before they start.
The five errors that delay paychecks
- Minutes written as decimals — 8:30 entered as 8.30 instead of 8.50.
- Missing AM/PM, which turns an 8-hour day into a 4-hour or 20-hour one.
- Deducting paid breaks — 15-minute rest breaks come out of nobody's timesheet.
- Forgetting overnight shifts cross a date line — log the shift on the day it starts and flag it.
- Late submission — your pay is still owed, but it will likely slide to the next payroll run.
If you are paid every two weeks, total each workweek separately before combining — overtime is computed per workweek, not per pay period. Our biweekly timesheet calculator handles the two-week layout, and the time card calculator covers a single week with breaks and overtime built in.
Frequently asked questions
Should I write timesheet hours as minutes or decimals?
Payroll systems multiply hours by your pay rate, so hours must end up in decimal form: 8 hours 30 minutes is 8.50, not 8.30. Writing "8.30" for 8:30 is the single most common timesheet error and underpays you by 12 minutes. Divide the minutes by 60 (30 ÷ 60 = 0.50) or use a decimal hours converter.
Do I include my lunch break on a timesheet?
Record it, but understand it is usually unpaid. Under federal rules a bona fide meal period of 30 minutes or more where you are fully relieved of duties can be deducted from paid time. Short breaks of roughly 5 to 20 minutes must stay on the clock as paid time. If you worked through lunch — answering emails at your desk counts — that meal period is compensable and should not be deducted.
Is timesheet rounding legal?
Yes, within limits. The federal regulation (29 CFR 785.48) allows rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour, or quarter hour — but the rounding must be neutral over time. An employer that always rounds clock-ins up and clock-outs down is systematically underpaying, which is illegal.
What happens if I forget to submit my timesheet?
Your employer still owes you pay for hours actually worked — federal law does not let an employer withhold wages because paperwork is late. In practice, though, a missing timesheet usually means your pay slips to the next payroll run, so submit a corrected sheet to your manager as soon as possible.
Can my manager change my timesheet?
Managers can correct genuine errors (a missed punch, a wrong date), and many approval workflows expect them to. They cannot legally edit time down to erase hours you actually worked — that is wage theft. Best practice is that any edit is documented and acknowledged by the employee.
How long should timesheet records be kept?
The FLSA requires employers to keep payroll records for at least three years, and the time cards and schedules behind them for at least two years. As an employee, keeping your own copies (a photo of a paper sheet is fine) is cheap insurance in any pay dispute.
Related tools
Timesheet Calculator · Biweekly Timesheet Calculator · Decimal Hours Calculator · Time Card Calculator
General information based on the FLSA and U.S. DOL regulations (29 CFR Part 785). Not legal or payroll advice.