Small business owners track everything from their financial accounts to marketing analytics. As insightful as these reports are, you’ll get even more benefit by tracking your most important resource: time.
Enter timesheets. These simple yet powerful records increase productivity and optimize workloads while helping you bill clients accurately.
In this article, you’ll learn what to include in a timesheet, why they’re so valuable, whether to choose paper or digital and which employee timesheet software is best. We’ll even cover how your sales team can use timesheets.
What is a timesheet?
A timesheet is a log of your employee’s work hours. It records the time they spend on each project, client and task.
Employees complete timesheets daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly. Some companies use paper timesheets, but many use timesheet software to automate and centralize the process. Here’s an example of a digital timesheet from Clockify:
Timesheets are commonplace across industries, including:
Any company with hourly paid employees
While timesheets look the same across industries, companies use them differently. For example, marketing agencies use timesheets to track project progress and allocate resources. Law firms, on the other hand, use timesheets to track billable hours and invoice clients.
Sales teams use timesheets to track sales activity, tweak sales processes and uncover what top-performing reps do differently.
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What to include on a timesheet
Timesheets are adaptable. Tailor them to your needs by changing the information employees must record.
You’ll know the things that matter most to your business, but here’s a list of standard timesheet fields to get you started:
Employee data like name, job title and employee ID
Client, project and task information
Time entries, including start and end times
Hourly rate
Total hours worked
Signatures of the employee and manager
Note: Alter the level of detail you request based on how often you ask employees to fill out timesheets. Daily timesheets can be extensive since employees’ work is fresh in their minds. However, limit the information you request on weekly employee timesheets since they may struggle to remember details at the end of the week.
Why use timesheets?
Whether you use daily or weekly timesheets with two fields or 20, they have a range of benefits.
Improve productivity
Timesheets are an effective motivator. People work harder when they have to justify how they spend their time.
Employees also use their time more effectively when filling out timesheets. They tend to focus on high-value, billable tasks since no one wants to admit to spending six hours a day on admin.
Where administrative work is unavoidable, timesheets highlight low-value tasks to managers. Once you identify these timesinks, automating or eliminating them becomes more manageable.
For example, a sales leader may need timesheets to learn how long employees spend personalizing sales content. Once a timesheet clarifies this, installing a generative AI tool that automates the process is simple.
Optimize project management
Timesheets are every project manager’s secret weapon. They inform them who’s working on each project, how long it takes and whether they completed it on time and within budget.
Timesheets also let project managers:
Identify worker availability when assigning a project
Track project progress and anticipate delays
Estimate timescales and costs for future projects
Timesheet data improves estimations for future projects and increases business profitability. It ensures you give clients accurate quotes and don’t go into the red because of inaccurate estimates based on assumptions or hunches.
Automate client billing
Timesheets bring speed and accuracy to invoicing. With timesheet software that logs how long employees spend on each account, it’s virtually impossible to under or overbill clients.
Invoices go out the door faster because account managers don’t waste time chasing employees for their time at the end of each month. Integrating timesheet software with your accounting platform allows you to automate the entire process.
Manage payrolls
Timesheets streamline payroll processing by giving HR an accurate tally of your team’s work, PTO and overtime hours. For example, use a simple setup (like this one from ClickTime) to track time off:
If you work with freelancers or contractors, use a template that includes their hourly rate. The timesheet calculates the amount you owe weekly, so that’s one less task for your team.
Track remote and flexible working
Make timesheets part of your remote team management process to monitor the productivity and workload of employees on flexible schedules.
Use timesheets alongside other strategies like regular check-ins and a cloud-based project management tool to keep a virtual eye on employees and ensure you aren’t overworking them.
A cloud-based time-tracking tool can check how long your team spends serving clients each week, so you don’t need to hop on a Zoom call and ask them one by one.
Paper vs. digital timesheets
There are two ways to create employee timesheets: manually (with paper) or digitally using timesheet software. Here are the benefits and challenges of each method.
Paper timesheets
Paper timesheets are easy to create and use, whether a time card employees punch to clock in or a form.
The best thing about paper timesheets is that they can be used immediately. They are also cost-efficient, especially if you use an employee timesheet template to create them. There are no ongoing costs either, save for the paper.
However, paper timesheets can increase your team’s workload. For example, a project manager must compile data from individual timesheets, total the time spent on each project and calculate billable hours. As a result, it can take longer to analyze timesheets and gain insights, such as which low-value tasks to automate.
Think about human error, too. Anyone can make typos, but mistakes are harder to spot on paper than in a software program that flags issues. The risk of error also increases if HR teams copy hours into an online timesheet app, which further muddies insights.
Digital timesheets
Digital timesheets are employee management software that tracks billable hours and provides interactive reports or dashboards.
Create a Microsoft Excel timesheet or use purpose-built employee timesheet apps and platforms. Using an app is a better choice for most companies because of these advantages:
Feature | Benefit |
Data storage in the cloud | Retrieve timesheets more easily by using a digital solution |
Real-time dashboards and automated reports | Analyze productivity and spot inefficient processes |
Software integrated with other apps and tools | Automate workflows |
Automatic employee time tracking | Reduce the cognitive demand on employees to track their time |
Automatic time-tracking tools are compelling because they facilitate a fundamental time-saving principle: eliminating multitasking. Reps don’t lose focus by switching between apps at the end of every task or logging hours on a paper timesheet.
What to look for in timesheet software
There are plenty of timesheet software solutions to choose from. Find the right one for you by assessing these factors:
User interface. Increase adoption and usage rates by choosing a great-looking and intuitive tool.
Reporting functionality. If an app only tracks time, it’s not timesheet software. It must have reporting capabilities that let managers analyze how their team spends its time.
Integrations. Look for apps that integrate with the rest of your tech stack.
Customization. Consider how much you can adapt the software to your needs. Does it have custom fields, for example?
User reviews. Check out review sites like G2 and TrustRadius to learn what other users think about the app. Pay particular attention to reviewers working at companies of a similar size or in the same industry.
Pricing. Timesheet software may not require another subscription. Several options offer generous free plans that will be enough for small teams.
Note: Research timesheet software and compile a list of options that meet your criteria. Schedule a demo or access a free trial to get hands-on experience with each platform before making your final choice.
5 of the best timesheet tools
To help get started, we’ve compiled five of the best timesheet apps based on the above factors:
1. Timely
Timely is a time-tracking app that works in the background to record how your team spends its time. Its aim is to free employees from administrative work and let them focus on the tasks that matter. The app also increases accuracy and ensures you track every minute.
A billable rates feature helps team members maximize profitability and simplify running payroll. Here’s what Timely’s dashboard looks like:
Timely’s Pipedrive integration tracks your team’s time on the platform. It also:
Determines your sales team’s lead time
Monitors your company’s communication burdens
Optimizes team productivity and sales efficiency
Timely integrates with Asana, Basecamp, ClickUp and other popular tools.
Timely pricing: Plans start at $9 per user per month, billed annually.
2. Taliscape
Taliscape is a project management and timekeeping tool that helps you estimate projects, forecast staffing, manage financials and track time.
It features a staffing grid that tracks your team’s availability in real time, so you can see each employee’s spare capacity. Here’s what Taliscape’s dashboard looks like:
Taliscape’s timesheet tool is clear and straightforward. Employees bill time for pre-defined projects, and managers can see when forecasts don’t match reality.
Taliscape pricing: Taliscape is free to use for up to three members. Paid plans start at $20 per month, billed monthly.
3. Toggl Track
Toggl Track is a feature-rich time-tracking software. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to read and analyze reports.
A background time clock tracks how employees spend their time, and the platform uses the data to populate timesheets. Here’s what Toggl Track’s dashboard looks like:
Employees can access their account through a browser, desktop or mobile device and record time away from their computer. Toggl Track integrates with productivity tools like Asana, Evernote and Google Calendar.
Toggl Track pricing: A free plan is available for up to five users. Paid plans start at $9 per user per month, billed annually.
4. Clockify
Clockify is a free time tracking software that millions of businesses use to create timesheets and manage client projects.
The one-click time tracker makes it easy for employees to track time. It also facilitates popular time management methods like the Pomodoro technique. Here’s what Clockify’s dashboard looks like:
Detailed reports make it easy to analyze how employees spend their time and who hasn’t logged any work. Export reports as PDF or CSV files or share them via links.
Clockify is available as a macOS or Windows desktop app in every major browser and as an Android or iOS mobile app.
Clockify pricing: A free time tracking plan is available. The Standard plan costs $5.49 per month, billed annually.
5. Everhour
Everhour is a team time-tracking tool that lets you create timesheets, manage projects and invoice clients.
It has a team timesheet feature that centralizes individual employee information, showing your team’s workload at a glance. Dive into detailed individual reports to see how each employee spends their time across projects, then approve or reject timesheets with the touch of a button.
Here’s what Everhour’s dashboard looks like:
Everhour is a standalone product available as a web app, iOS app and browser extension. It integrates with project management tools like Jira, Asana and Monday.
Everhour pricing: Up to five users can use Everhour for free. The team plan costs $8.50 per month, billed annually, and requires a minimum of five seats.
How to use timesheets to enhance sales performance
The sales industry demands exceptional time management skills. Activity correlates with outcomes; the more time reps spend on the phone, the better their numbers. With that in mind, here are three ways to use timesheets in sales.
Hone your team’s sales processes
Use timesheets to fine-tune your organization’s processes, measure sales performance, improve productivity and better allocate resources.
For example, track where reps spend too much or too little time and adjust as needed. Cold calling is important, but it can derail your process if your team spends three-quarters of the day making cold calls without following up on leads.
Encourage them to balance time spent prospecting, nurturing and closing by creating an ideal timesheet that illustrates how reps should spend their days.
That plan could entail spending two hours in the morning following up on leads from the previous day, two hours cold calling new prospects after their lunch break and several hours running product demos in the afternoon.
If they still spend too long on tasks, implement workflow automation to eliminate repetitive activities. With Pipedrive:
End manual data entry
Trigger automated emails to prospects
Automate follow-up emails
Create multi-step sales workflows
Check in several months after implementing these solutions to see how productivity has improved. Your reps should be spending less time on administrative tasks than before.
Identify and fix areas of weakness
Sales managers can use timesheets to measure sales activity and spot improvement areas.
For example, compare a rep’s input (the time they spend on each activity) with their output (opportunities, pipeline and closed revenue).
If a rep’s timesheet shows they spend a lot of time making calls but they don’t have many meetings to show for it, it’s a sign their cold calling might need work.
Go over cold calling tips in a coaching session, then use timesheets to track performance increases. If reps spend the same amount of time making sales calls after the coaching session, they should book more meetings. If booking rates don’t increase, run another coaching session or investigate further.
Uncover how top-performing reps differ
Some high-performing sales reps are better salespeople. However, others may have better time management strategies.
These reps plan their days and manage their workloads so they can follow up promptly, meet with clients, reach out to new leads and exceed sales targets.
Use timesheets to understand how your top-performing reps spend their time compared to the rest of your team.
They may call prospects at different times or give more attention to another part of the sales process. Whatever it is, timesheets help you uncover these time management strategies and share them with the rest of your team, boosting revenue numbers across the board.
Note: When reps understand the benefits of recording their time, they’ll be more willing to spend five minutes filling out a timesheet at the end of their day. Explain these benefits to increase adoption.
Final thoughts
Timesheets are valuable for tracking employee productivity, optimizing internal processes, billing clients and managing remote teams.
Software-based solutions are the way to go, but you may not need an add-on or new tool in your tech stack to get started.
If you want to track and manage sales activity, try Pipedrive’s built-in activity calendar. It lets you schedule your week in advance. Choose which calls you make daily and use integrations with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook to invite prospects, write notes and send agendas. Link activities to deals or leads in your pipeline and keep everything connected in one place.
Start managing your time by trying Pipedrive free for 14 days.
