A timesheet is a method for recording and tracking the amount of an employee’s time spent on each job. A timesheet improves project execution, decision-making and compliance with labor and government regulations, e.g. Sarbanes Oxley Act). According to one definition, it is a document or a program that tracks the number of hours you work, either in one week or on a particular project. In other words, a timesheet is a record that you can look back on to find out how much time you spent doing something.

Timesheets were originally developed for employers to track the number of hours worked for payroll. However timesheets are no longer used just for payroll.

What is a Timesheet Used For?
Timesheets are used to record the start and end time of tasks or simply the duration of the task. Timesheets may contain a detailed breakdown of tasks accomplished by the individual(s) who worked on the task. The timesheet information can be used for project accounting, job estimation, project tracking, project management, client billing and payroll.

Tracking time can reduce an organization’s costs by making payroll processing more efficient, by making costs visible so you can lower them, and by automating billing and invoicing. Tracking time can also increase revenue through automated billing. Automated billing facilitates client invoicing by providing access to accurate data for all the hours worked by consulting staff. This in turn expedites the invoicing process avoiding billing backlog. In turn, payments are received much faster and the inconvenience of missed bills is eliminated.

In addition to providing data about the amount of time devoted to tasks, and hence the costs associated with those tasks, timesheets can also be used to build a body of knowledge about how much effort tasks take to develop. For example, if developing a training plan has historically taken a month, then it can be assumed that creating a new one will take a month.

A timesheet is a great asset in project management.