Free Template
Free Timesheet Template UK
A weekly timesheet built for trade businesses. Hours recorded against the job they went to, so the sheet answers the payroll question and the pricing question at the same time.
- Name
- A. Doyle
- Week ending
- 17 July 2026
- Total hours
- 39.25
| Day | Job | Start | Finish | Break | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | JOB-2418 | 08:00 | 16:30 | 30m | 8.0 |
| Tue | JOB-2418 | 08:00 | 17:00 | 30m | 8.5 |
| Wed | JOB-2431 | 07:30 | 16:00 | 30m | 8.0 |
| Thu | JOB-2431 | 08:00 | 18:00 | 45m | 9.25 |
| Fri | JOB-2440 | 08:00 | 14:00 | 30m | 5.5 |
| Total | 39.25 | ||||
What a Timesheet Is Actually For
Most trade businesses treat a timesheet as a payroll document. That is the smaller half of its value. The bigger half is job costing: knowing how many hours went into a job tells you whether the price was right, and it is the only honest way to price the next one.
A timesheet that records hours but not which job they went to answers the payroll question and nothing else. Always record the job reference alongside the hours.
What to Include on a Trade Timesheet
- Name and week ending date. One sheet per person per week is the format most payroll runs expect.
- Job reference per day. The bit most templates miss and the bit that makes the sheet worth keeping.
- Start and finish times. Actual times rather than a rounded total, so travel and overtime are visible.
- Break deducted. Record it, because an unrecorded break is the most common cause of a payroll query.
- Total hours. Split between standard and overtime if you pay a different rate.
- Notes. Weather delays, waiting for materials, access refused. This is where lost hours get explained.
- Signatures. The worker and whoever approves it. On subcontract work this can be the site supervisor.
Employees, Subcontractors and the Records You Must Keep
If you employ people, working time records are not optional. Employers must keep records adequate to show compliance with the Working Time Regulations, including the 48 hour weekly average, and must keep them for two years. Payroll records themselves need keeping for three years for HMRC purposes.
Self employed subcontractors are different. There is no working time obligation, but there is a commercial one: if a subcontractor invoices you for days, a countersigned timesheet is what makes that invoice checkable.
A word of caution on CIS. Managing a subcontractor like an employee, including dictating hours and requiring timesheets in an employee format, is one of the factors HMRC looks at when deciding whether someone is genuinely self employed. Record the days worked for verification, not the shift pattern.
Turning Hours Into Job Costs
The point of the job reference column is what you do with it afterwards. Add the hours per job, multiply by your labour cost per hour, and compare it with what you quoted.
Do this for three months and you will find something uncomfortable and useful. Almost every trade business has a job type it has been quietly losing money on for years, usually the one that feels quick but always eats a second visit.
Why Paper Timesheets Go Wrong
Paper timesheets are filled in on Friday afternoon for a week that started on Monday. Nobody remembers Tuesday accurately. The hours get rounded, the job references get guessed, and the sheet that arrives is a plausible reconstruction rather than a record.
Recording time on the day, on a phone, against the job you are standing on, is the difference between a payroll document and a costing document.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a construction timesheet include?
Name, week ending date, and for each day the job reference, start and finish times, break deducted and total hours. Add a notes column for delays and a signature from both the worker and whoever approves it. The job reference is the column most templates leave out and the one that makes the sheet useful for costing.
How long do I have to keep timesheets in the UK?
Working time records must be kept for two years under the Working Time Regulations. Payroll records need keeping for three years from the end of the tax year they relate to for HMRC. In practice most trade businesses keep them six years alongside their other records, which also covers the contract limitation period.
Do self employed subcontractors need timesheets?
There is no legal requirement, but a countersigned timesheet or day sheet is how a day rate invoice gets verified. Keep it focused on days or shifts worked and delivered rather than on hours and shift patterns, because managing a subcontractor like an employee is one of the factors HMRC weighs when testing employment status.
Should I round timesheet hours?
Record actual start and finish times and calculate from those. Rounding to the nearest half hour in your own favour creates a payroll dispute, and rounding in the worker favour quietly costs you several days of labour a year across a team.
Can a timesheet be digital?
Yes. There is no requirement for paper, and digital records are easier to keep for the required period and much harder to lose. The practical advantage is that time gets recorded on the day against the correct job rather than reconstructed on a Friday.
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