Free construction timesheet template for your crew

Download the timesheet template

How to fill it in

1. 1Write the company, worker name and the date the week ends at the top. Most crews end the week on Saturday or Sunday; pick one and keep it.
2. 2For each day, write the job name or cost code, start time, end time and unpaid break.
3. 3If the worker moved between jobs, use the second line for that day: one line per job, so each job gets its own hours.
4. 4Work out the hours for each line: end time minus start time, minus the break.
5. 5At the end of the week, add up the total, then split it into regular and overtime hours.
6. 6The worker signs to confirm the hours; the supervisor signs to approve them. Nothing goes to payroll unsigned.

Counting overtime correctly

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees are owed overtime at one and a half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. That is why the template totals the week, not each day: the federal rule counts the week as a whole, no matter which job the hours were on.

Some states go further. California, for example, also requires overtime for hours over eight in a single workday. Check the rules for the state where the work happens, and if you are unsure, ask your payroll provider or accountant before you run payroll, not after.

Independent contractors paid on a 1099 are not employees, and overtime rules do not apply to them in the same way. Getting that classification wrong is its own risk, so be sure which one each person on the crew actually is.

Why one line per job matters

Labor is usually the largest cost on a construction job and the easiest one to put in the wrong place. If a worker spends the morning on one job and the afternoon on another, and the timesheet only shows eight hours, the office will guess which job to charge, and the guess is usually "the job they were on most of the week".

Do that for a few weeks and one job looks cheaper than it was while another looks like it's losing money. Splitting the day on the timesheet costs the worker ten seconds and keeps the job cost honest.

A five-minute weekly approval routine

Approving timesheets is where most of the value is caught or lost. A supervisor who signs a stack of sheets without reading them is approving whatever was written, including the rounded, the guessed and the forgotten. Five minutes of checking, done the same day each week, catches nearly all of it before it reaches a paycheck.

1. 1Collect every sheet on the same day each week, before payroll, not the morning it runs.
2. 2Check that every line has a job on it. A line without a job cannot be costed, so send it back.
3. 3Compare hours against what you know happened: the day the job was rained off, the afternoon the crew left early for an inspection.
4. 4Check the week total and the overtime split. If someone is over 40, confirm it was approved in advance.
5. 5Sign, date, and pass the sheets to payroll together, with any corrections initialled by the worker.

If a worker disputes a correction, settle it before payday with the daily log or the job photos in front of you. A dispute sorted on Thursday is a conversation; the same dispute after payday is a grievance.

Common timesheet mistakes

• Filling in the whole week on Friday from memory.
• Writing total hours only, with no start and end times.
• Leaving out the job, so hours cannot be charged to the right job.
• Forgetting unpaid breaks, which quietly adds paid time nobody worked.
• Treating 1099 subcontractors' hours the same as employees' for overtime.
• Approving timesheets without looking, then disputing them after payday.

Paper timesheets, spreadsheets, or an app

Paper works if someone collects the sheets every week and types them into payroll without errors. A spreadsheet saves the typing but still depends on each worker remembering to fill it in. Both break down in the same places: late entries, missing job names, and hours nobody can prove were worked on site.

SiteLedger replaces the sheet with a clock-in on the phone. The worker taps in at the job, a geofence checks they are actually on site, and the hours land on that job straight away. The supervisor approves the week from their phone, and the totals export ready for payroll. If you are not ready for that, the template above will do the job; just fill it in every day.

Common questions

Is this construction timesheet template free?

Yes. Download the PDF or the spreadsheet version, print or copy it as often as you like, and use it for your crew. No sign-up is required.

How do I calculate hours on a timesheet?

For each line, subtract the start time from the end time, then subtract any unpaid break. Seven in the morning to half past three, with a thirty-minute unpaid lunch, is eight hours. Add the lines up for the weekly total.

When does overtime start for construction workers?

Under federal law, non-exempt employees earn overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, at one and a half times their regular rate. Some states, such as California, also require daily overtime, so check the rules for the state where the work is done.

Should crew timesheets be daily or weekly?

Fill them in daily and total them weekly. Daily entries are accurate and easy to defend; weekly totals line up with the federal overtime rule and a normal payroll cycle.

How long should I keep construction timesheets?

The federal rules require employers to keep the time cards that wages are calculated from for at least two years, and payroll records for three. States can require longer, so check yours and keep them somewhere they cannot get wet or lost.