To catch timesheet errors before payroll, run every timesheet through a short check before anyone keys it in: the daily hours add up to the weekly total, unpaid breaks are deducted, overtime is counted per workweek, the week ending date is right, and an authorized client supervisor has signed or approved it. Anything that fails goes back to the supervisor, not into payroll.
What are the most common timesheet errors?
Most timesheet errors are small, and almost all of them are visible on the page if someone looks before payroll runs.
| Error | What it looks like | Quick check |
|---|---|---|
| Days don't add up to the total | Monday to Friday add to 38.5, the total says 40 | Re-add the days yourself |
| Overtime miscounted | 45 hours in one week and 35 in the next, paid as 80 regular hours | Split regular and overtime for each workweek |
| Missing signature or approval | Blank supervisor line, or approved by someone not on the client's list | Approval present and from an authorized person |
| Wrong week ending date | Last week's date copied onto this week's sheet | Matches the pay period and the client's workweek |
| Handwriting misread | A 7 keyed as a 1, a 4 as a 9 | Compare unclear digits with the in and out times |
| Breaks not deducted | 7:00 to 3:30 written as 8.5 hours with a 30-minute unpaid lunch | Hours = out time minus in time minus unpaid break |
Each one is cheap to fix before payroll. After payroll, it becomes a pay correction and a client rebill.
Why don't daily hours match the weekly total?
The total is usually written by a person, not calculated by a formula, so it can drift from the days above it. The usual causes:
- Minutes written as decimals. A shift of 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 hours, not 7.45. Mixing the two is one of the most common timesheet mistakes.
- A day changed after the total was written. The supervisor corrects Thursday but nobody updates the total.
- A total carried over. The worker writes 40 out of habit, whatever the days say.
- Breaks deducted on some days but not others. One day is gross time, the rest are net.
Re-add the days every time. Then check one or two days against the in and out times, because a wrong daily figure carried into the total will still add up.
How should overtime be counted on a timesheet?
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees must be paid at least time and one-half their regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is a fixed, recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods, and it does not have to match the calendar week. Hours cannot be averaged across two or more weeks. The Department of Labor's overtime fact sheet sets this out.
That last rule is where two-week timesheets go wrong. If a worker does 45 hours in week one and 35 in week two, they are owed 5 hours of overtime for week one, even though the two weeks total 80.
Two more things to watch:
- Workweek boundaries. If your workweek runs Sunday to Saturday but the client's timesheet runs Monday to Sunday, hours can land in the wrong week.
- State rules. Some states have their own overtime laws, and when both apply the employee gets the standard that pays more. Check the rules for each state you place workers in.
This is general information, not legal advice; your payroll provider or employment lawyer can confirm how the rules apply.
Should breaks be deducted from timesheet hours?
It depends on the break. Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks, but when they are given, the Department of Labor's guidance on breaks says short breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as hours worked, while bona fide meal periods, typically 30 minutes or more, are not work time. State rules can add to this.
So a 15-minute coffee break stays in the hours. An unpaid 30-minute lunch comes out. A timesheet that shows 7:00 to 3:30 with a lunch break and a total of 8.5 hours has probably not deducted the lunch.
What should a pre-payroll timesheet checklist include?
Run this on every timesheet before it is keyed or approved for pay.
- Worker name and ID match the assignment
- Client, site and job or cost code are right
- Week ending date matches the pay period and the client's workweek
- Each day's in and out times convert to the hours written
- Unpaid meal breaks are deducted, short breaks are not
- Daily hours add up to the weekly total
- Regular and overtime hours are split correctly for each workweek
- A supervisor has signed or approved it, and that person is authorized to
- Changes and crossings-out are initialled
- Hours look plausible for the job (seven 12-hour days deserve a question)
- It is not a copy of a timesheet you have already processed
What do you do when a timesheet doesn't add up?
Do not choose the number that looks right. The hours on a staffing timesheet drive two things at once: what you pay the worker and what you bill the client. Only the client supervisor who approved the hours can confirm which figure is correct.
- Say exactly what is wrong. "Tuesday shows 7:00 to 3:30 with lunch but reads 8.5 hours; the days add to 41 but the total says 42." A vague "please check" gets a vague answer.
- Send it to the approving supervisor. Copy the worker if your process allows, since it is their pay.
- Record the answer. Note the corrected hours, who confirmed them and when.
- Then run payroll and the client invoice from the same corrected figure.
Agree in advance what happens to pay while a question is open, and check that policy against your state's pay timing rules.
Why is keying handwritten timesheets risky?
Handwritten timesheets are read twice: once by a person squinting at the page, and again when those numbers are typed into payroll. Each step can add an error, and nothing in between checks the arithmetic.
A 1 that looks like a 7 or a smudged decimal point still produces a plausible number, so it gets keyed without a second thought. The mistake surfaces when the worker says their pay is short or the client disputes an invoice.
The fix is not to read faster. It is to check the keyed numbers against the arithmetic on the page, and to flag any digit that is unclear instead of guessing.
How SensiDocs helps
SensiDocs reads timesheets in its Staffing pack and checks that daily hours add up to the total and that each timesheet is signed and approved. It accepts a value only when it is confident and flags what needs a person, such as an unclear handwritten digit, with a plain reason. When something is missing or wrong, it drafts a short message to the sender saying exactly what to correct, and a person reviews it before it is sent. You can email timesheets in or upload them, export to CSV or Excel, and every account starts with 5 free results.