Weekly timesheet basics: what every time entry should capture

A good weekly timesheet entry records the date, the client and project, the task, the hours, whether the work is billable, and a short note on what was done. Fill it in every day, check the week on Friday, then send it for review.

Timesheets have a bad reputation because people fill them in from memory at the end of the month. Done a little each day, they take a few minutes and pay for themselves: invoices go out with fewer questions, and you can see where a project's hours actually went.

The fields every entry needs

Field	Why it matters	Example
Date	Matches the work to the right week and invoice period	Tuesday
Client and project	Decides who is billed and which budget the hours use	Website rebuild
Task or phase	Shows which part of the project took the time	Design review
Hours	The number you bill or report on	2.5
Billable or not	Separates client work from internal work	Billable
Note	Explains the hours to a reviewer or a client	Reworked the pricing page after feedback

Keep the list short. Every extra required field makes people less likely to log time while the work is fresh. If you need more detail for a particular client, add it for that client rather than for everyone.

Billable or not: decide at the moment you log

Marking each entry as billable or non-billable when you log it is far easier than sorting a month of hours later. Agree on the rules once, write them down, and apply them the same way across the team. The guide to billable and non-billable hours covers which activities usually fall on each side.

Rounding: pick one rule

Two increments are common. Six minutes, a tenth of an hour, suits work billed in small slices, such as advice and support. Fifteen minutes suits project work and is easier to log by hand. Either works; what matters is that everyone rounds the same way, and that the rule is one you would be comfortable explaining to a client.

• Round each entry, not the weekly total, so small tasks are not lost.
• Do not round every short call up to an hour. Clients notice, and it erodes trust faster than it adds revenue.
• Log short internal interruptions too. They add up, and they explain weeks that felt busy but billed little.

Notes a client can read

Write the note for the person who will read it later, which may be a client checking an invoice. Name the deliverable or decision, not the activity alone.

• Weak: "Meeting", "Emails", "Work on site".
• Strong: "Agreed launch scope with the marketing lead", "Answered questions on the new checkout flow", "Fixed the contact form on mobile".

The five-minute Friday check

1. Look at the total. Does it match the hours you worked? Gaps usually mean a forgotten day or a long call.
2. Scan for the wrong client. An entry on the wrong project means the wrong invoice later.
3. Check billable flags. Internal meetings marked billable, or client work marked internal, are common slips.
4. Read the notes. Would a client understand each one without asking?
5. Send it for review. A second pair of eyes catches what you missed. See how a timesheet review step works.

If you log time for a whole team or catch up on several days at once, entering a week in one pass can be faster than day by day; the guide to entering a week of time at once explains when that makes sense. For a picture of how a consultant's hours usually spread across a week, see a consultant's week in hours.

What a manager should look at each week

If you review other people's timesheets, a short weekly routine beats a long monthly audit. Look for missing or half-empty weeks before anything else, because a gap is harder to fill the longer it waits. Then compare each project's hours with what you expected: a sudden jump often means extra scope that nobody has raised with the client yet. Finally, read a sample of notes. If you cannot tell what was done, neither can the client. Give feedback within the week, while people still remember the work.

Timesheets and working-time records

In some countries, employers must keep a record of the hours their staff work. A client timesheet may help with that, but it is not always the same record: it may leave out breaks, travel or internal time. If that applies to you, check with an advisor what your records need to show.

Frequently asked questions

Should I fill in my timesheet every day?

Yes, if you can. A few minutes at the end of each day is faster than an hour on Friday, and much more accurate than reconstructing a month from your calendar.

How should I round time entries?

Pick one increment, such as six or fifteen minutes, round each entry rather than the weekly total, and use the same rule for everyone on the team.

What should a timesheet note say?

What was done and why, in words a client would understand. Name the deliverable, decision or problem, not the activity alone.

What if I forget to log time for a day?

Rebuild it as soon as you notice, from your calendar, sent emails and files you changed. Mark the entry so a reviewer knows it was added later, then make logging part of the end of each day.