A time card template is a very handy tool when you need to keep track of the time spent at work or on a specific project within a given time period. You can download printable time cards for students, employees, team members, and more. Customize the template you download or create one on your own to use.
Contents
Time Card Templates
Benefits of using a time card
A time card template is very useful for logging in work hours. A time card or timesheet template is important for the purpose of calculating pay including vacation hours, overtime, holiday pay, and sick leave. You can also use it to keep track of the number of hours spent on a specific project.
After creating your Excel time card template, you can itemize the provided services or the project tasks which you have already completed. These cards are also useful for keeping track of work hours which aren’t paid like in the case of community service or volunteer hours.
In the past, printable time cards used to be actual cards used by employees to clock in and clock out of their shifts. Although some companies still use these cards, there are now different templates to use for different purposes. Nowadays, people can use time cards and time sheets interchangeably depending on their needs and preferences.
For smaller businesses, a time card or timesheet template is the best option for keeping track of employee’s working hours to make the calculation of payments easier. There are several benefits that come with using these templates including:
- Planning and providing quotations with high accuracy
Using the Excel time card template you create gives you an idea of how much time tasks or projects generally need for completion. Knowing this information can help you plan for the future. This information can also increase your confidence when you send quotations to potential clients.
When you keep detailed records of the amount of time you spend on projects, this can help you plan realistic and achievable timelines more accurately for similar projects and tasks in the future. - Keeping precise records
Both the employers and their employees require precise records so that they can issue correct balance and payment budgets. Using a time card template each day helps you keep track of specific tasks to help the payroll department perform correct calculations for compensation. - Keeping track of employee performance
When you keep track of attendance using printable time cards or even how employees spend their time at work, you can get a good sense of your employees’ performance. This is great insight which can help you pinpoint problem areas so you can deal with any issues right away. - For the resolution of disputes
A time card also provides you with documentation which you can use to help you resolve misunderstandings, conflicts, and legal actions, especially those related to payment received or hours worked.
Time Card Examples
Types of time cards
A time card or timesheet template helps you monitor the number of hours your employees have worked during a certain period of time. Small businesses can use these sheets as well as freelancers, independent contractors, and any other individuals who charge depending on how much time they do work.
Here are some types of Excel time card templates you can download or create:
- For employees
Use this template to count how many hours your employees have spent in the office each day. Include columns for the check-in time, check-out time, regular hours, breaks, and overtime hours. - For daily tasks
This template is perfect for when your employees need to work on a list of tasks each day. You can also use it for when employees must work at an event or spend the whole day at a training session outside of the office.
Make sure that all employees sign their names on this sheet along with all the other information you have included on it. Non-profit organizations can also use this template when holding events which last for the whole day. - For a bi-weekly time period
This template allows you to keep track of all the relevant details of your employees’ office hours in a bi-weekly format. You may also include overtime hours and breaks in this template. - For a semi-monthly time period
If you pay your employees two times each month, then you may want to use this template. Here, you would include fields to keep track of time worked for the days of the first and second half of the month. You can print a blank time card template then manually input the information.
You can also download a template then customize it according to your needs. Then all your employees have to do is input the data you have included in the different fields of your template. It’s also important to file all of these templates which your employees have filled out in case any issues arise in the future. - For projects
Finally, this template is perfect for freelancers who would like to keep track of the hours they have worked on each of their projects. You can also use this template for companies where they keep track of the time employees spend on projects.
Things to consider when creating your time card template
Choosing the best template for your company is an important aspect of creating an effective system for paying your employees. But before you create an Excel time card template, here are some things you must first consider:
- Make sure that your time card template complies with government standards
Apart from the state laws, there is something known as the Fair Labor Standards Act which sets guidelines with regards to record-keeping, overtime, wages, and other employment issues.
To make sure that you’re not violating any government standards, you can consult with the FLSA. Doing this also allows you to record hours and calculate pay correctly. - Opt for a simple, easy to understand template
If you want your employees to fill out your printable time cards correctly, aim for simplicity. After creating your template, orient your employees on how to use it and how to fill in the information correctly. This helps avoid confusion and ensures that operations run smoothly.
There are different ways for how employees can fill in and submit time cards and timesheets. You can print these out or have an online process. Whichever process you choose, make sure that your employees understand everything. Also, you may want to send out reminders to your employees, especially at the beginning. - Make use of project codes
If you want your employees to maintain a record of how much time they had spent on various projects, assigning a project code makes it easier for you. With these codes, you can monitor which resources go to certain projects. This helps you create accurate invoices no matter how many clients you’re working with.
After considering all of these things, it’s time for you to start working on your template. As aforementioned, you can either download a time card or timesheet template or make one using a word processing software of your choice.
Timecard Forms
How to create your own time card template?
When it comes to creating a time card template, you don’t need expensive software to accomplish this. To make things easier for you, there are templates which you can download and use right away. But if you really want to make the template on your own, here are some steps to guide you:
- Launch Microsoft Excel. Click on the “File” tab, “New”, and “Time Sheets” under the Office.com Templates. Click “Time Card” then “Download” after choosing a template of your choice. This opens a new template for a time card as a worksheet.
- Include all of the fields you want to make part of your template. This is the information you want your employees to fill in each time they write on your template.
- Don’t forget to type the title of your template at the top of the sheet. Then type the information about the employer and the employees on the lines. Some information you may want to include is the employee’s name, position, log-in time, log-out time, date, hours worked, overtime, vacation pay, sick pay, and more. The information to include depends on you.
- If you’re creating a template to record information from printed templates, then you have to be very careful. Make sure that the information you input into the computer exactly matches the information on the printed document. That way, you won’t have any issues when employees don’t receive the payments they expect.
- After finalizing your template, you can start formatting it. It’s easy to change the look of the time card template if you choose to. You can choose from the different themes or you can manually change the colors and fonts on your own.
- When you’re happy with your template, don’t forget to save it. This serves as your blank template. Each time you need to make changes, save the template under a different file name so you have a new template to work with.
