Free monthly timesheet template (printable and Excel)

How to use the timesheet generator

1. Choose the month and year you want the timesheet for.
2. Choose the country. Public holidays for that country are marked automatically, together with Saturdays and Sundays.
3. Type the employee names, one per line. Each employee gets their own section of the sheet.
4. Set the normal start and end time (for example 08:00–16:30). These are pre-filled on working days so you only change the exceptions.
5. Print or download. Use your browser's print dialog to save a PDF or print on paper, or download the Excel file to edit it on your computer.

You don't need an account. Generate a new sheet each month, or keep the Excel file and copy it for the next month.

What a timesheet should contain

A timesheet is only useful if someone else can read it months later and understand exactly who worked when. At a minimum, include:

• Company name and, if you have several sites, the location.
• Employee name (and an ID if two people share a name).
• Period – the month and year.
• Date of every day, with weekends and public holidays clearly marked.
• Start time and end time for each working day – not just the number of hours.
• Breaks, either as start/end or as total minutes.
• Daily total and monthly total of hours worked.
• Overtime, night or weekend hours in separate columns if you pay them differently.
• Absence codes – leave, sick leave, unpaid leave, public holiday.
• Signature or confirmation from the employee and the manager at month end.

Why start and end times rather than just "8 hours"? In the EU, the Court of Justice ruled on 14 May 2019 (case C-55/18) that member states must require employers to have a system that measures each worker's daily working time. National rules differ, so check yours with your accountant, but a record of real start and end times is the safe common ground.

Monthly or weekly timesheet?

Most small businesses in Europe pay monthly, so a monthly timesheet template is the natural choice. If you pay weekly or invoice clients by the week, print a monthly sheet and check it every Friday – you get the lower paperwork of monthly sheets with fewer surprises at the end.

Common timesheet mistakes

• Filling it in at the end of the month from memory. Times end up rounded ("8:00–16:00" every day), which no one believes.
• Only writing total hours. Without start and end times you cannot show when someone actually worked.
• Forgetting breaks. Totals look higher than real working time, and overtime is miscalculated.
• Mixing absence types. Sick leave, annual leave and unpaid leave are paid differently – use clear codes.
• Corrections without a trace. Crossing out or overwriting cells with no note of who changed what and why.
• No employee sign-off. If hours are disputed later, you have nothing showing the employee agreed.
• Losing the sheets. Paper gets wet on site; spreadsheets get overwritten. Keep copies for as long as your local rules require.

When to switch from a timesheet to an app

A printable timesheet is fine for a handful of people at one location. It starts to cost you time and money when:

• you have more than 5–10 employees, or people on several sites;
• staff work in the field, at client addresses or on construction sites;
• you suspect buddy punching – one person signing in for another;
• typing the sheets into payroll takes hours every month;
• employees dispute their hours and you can't prove the real times.

A time tracking app records the real start and end time when it happens. With QRtimetrack, employees clock in by scanning a QR code, inside a GPS zone or at a kiosk tablet. At month end you close the period, employees confirm their hours from their phone, and you export Excel, CSV or PDF with start and end times, breaks and totals – the same layout as this template, without the typing.

Pricing: €19/month for 1–9 active employees, then €1.99 per active employee per month from 10 employees (excl. VAT). 14-day free trial, no card.

Try QRtimetrack free for 14 days

Frequently asked questions