Timesheet
A timesheet is a structured record of a worker's hours over a defined period (usually a week or two weeks), used to feed payroll. The terms timesheet and time card are often used interchangeably.
The terms timesheet and time card are usually interchangeable. Both refer to a per-period record of a worker's hours: each row is a day, columns include in time, out time, breaks, and total. A timesheet may be paper or digital, filled in by the worker or auto-generated from a time-tracking app.
Two common shapes:
- Weekly timesheet: 7 rows. Most common for small employers on a weekly pay cycle.
- Biweekly timesheet: 14 rows, usually grouped as week 1 + week 2. Common for US private-sector payroll.
A timesheet that includes a signature line at the bottom (worker + supervisor) is an audit-ready record. Most payroll providers accept a signed PDF timesheet as backup documentation even when the actual data feed is a CSV import.
See also
Related terms