Free timesheet template for trades teams

Paper timesheets go missing in vans. This free Excel template gives each worker one clean weekly sheet, links hours to jobs so you can cost them, and adds everything up for payroll.

What does the timesheet template include?

• Worker name, week commencing date and pay rate
• One row per job per day: date, job reference, site address
• Start time, finish time and unpaid break (minutes)
• Travel time between jobs, kept separate from time on site
• Normal hours and overtime hours, split automatically after a threshold you set (for example 40 hours)
• Daily and weekly totals, plus total pay at normal and overtime rates
• Worker and supervisor sign-off boxes

The job reference column is the useful bit. It lets you add up labour hours per job, which tells you whether you priced that job properly.

Download the Excel version

Download the Excel template (.xlsx)

Timesheets need maths, so we only offer Excel. It opens in Google Sheets and Apple Numbers. Copy the weekly tab for each worker, or share a Google Sheets copy so the team can fill it in on their phones.

How do you fill in the timesheet?

1. Set up the worker. Name, week commencing (a Monday works best), hourly rate and overtime rate if your contracts have one.
2. Set the overtime threshold. Enter the weekly hours after which overtime starts, as set out in the contract.
3. Add a row for each job. If someone works on two jobs in one day, use two rows with two job references.
4. Enter start, finish and break. Use 24-hour times (07:30, 16:30) so the formulas work.
5. Add travel between jobs. Enter minutes spent driving from one job to the next. Do not include the drive from home to the first job.
6. Check the totals. The sheet works out hours per day, total for the week and the overtime split.
7. Sign it off. Worker and supervisor sign or initial each week. Then file it, because you need to keep it.

Worked example: one week for an electrician's mate

A worker aged 23 is paid £15 an hour, with overtime at £20 after 40 hours. These are example figures.

Tuesday's 9.5 hours includes 30 minutes of travel between the two jobs, because the time from 07:30 to 17:30 minus a 30-minute break covers both. The pay works out as 40 hours at £15 (£600) plus 4 hours overtime at £20 (£80), so £680 for the week. That averages £15.45 an hour, comfortably above the £12.71 National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over.

To see what that labour actually costs your business once holidays, van and overheads are added, use our day rate calculator.

Using timesheets to check your pricing

The job reference column lets you compare quoted hours with real hours. Say you quoted a rewire at 5 days for two people (80 hours at 8 hours a day). The timesheets for that job reference add up to 96 hours. That is 16 hours over, or 20%. At a labour cost of £15 an hour, that is £240 of profit gone before you count materials. If the same thing happens on the next three rewires, your day rate or your time estimates need to change.

Day-rate subcontractors

If you pay self-employed subbies by the day, ask them to send a timesheet with each invoice. Match the job references to your own records before you pay. It also helps if you deduct tax under CIS, because you can see exactly which jobs the labour was for.

What UK rules does a timesheet need to meet?

We checked these on GOV.UK on 12 October 2026. They apply across the UK.

• Minimum wage rates (from 1 April 2026): £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20, and £8.00 for under 18s and apprentices.
• Records: employers must keep minimum wage records, including proof of total hours and total pay, for at least 6 years. You must be able to produce the record for a single pay period in one document.
• Travel: time travelling on business or between clients counts as working time for minimum wage. Travel from home to the first job generally does not.
• Weekly hours: workers cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average (normally over 17 weeks) unless they opt out.

How long to keep timesheets

The simplest rule: keep every timesheet for at least 6 years.

Google Sheets or paper?

A shared Google Sheets copy lets each worker fill in their own tab on their phone, so you see hours the same day. Paper still works for a small team that meets at the yard every morning. Whichever you use, keep one format for everyone, or adding up payroll on Friday becomes a puzzle.

What are the most common timesheet mistakes?

• Filling it in on Friday from memory. Hours drift. Fill it in daily.
• No job reference. Without it, you cannot see which jobs lose money on labour.
• Leaving out travel between jobs. It counts as working time for minimum wage.
• Mixing up 12-hour and 24-hour times. "5:00" could mean 05:00 or 17:00. Use 24-hour times.
• Throwing old sheets away. Keep them for at least 6 years.

One more tip: agree in writing what counts as the start of the day. Is it arriving at the yard, loading the van or arriving on the first site? Writing it down once avoids weekly arguments, and it keeps your records in line with the minimum wage rules on travel between jobs.

When should you switch from a template to software?

Once you have three or more people on the tools, chasing paper timesheets every Friday takes real time. Job management apps let staff clock in and out on their phone against each job, so hours flow straight into job costing and payroll. Read our guide to field service management software for UK trades for the full comparison.

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