A timesheet is the tool an employer uses to accrue an employee’s time spent on the job. Timesheets were originally created to help employers keep track of payroll. As business and commerce has developed and changed, so have the functions and uses of company timesheets.
Timesheets are still used to track payroll. However, they now track a wide variety of other points that help businesses track costs, project duration, and use of company time and money. Some timesheets tracked by time and attendance software contain detailed breakdowns of time spent on various components of a project. These details are used for client billing, as well as project cost estimation, and general project management.
Timesheets now come in all forms including paper, electronic, and web-based. Fewer and fewer businesses use paper-based timesheets due to the time and cost associated with manual labor, as well as more room for human error. In addition, electronic and web-based timesheets have a very desirable advantage: they make costs and output visible. Because an electronic timesheet can track costs and time-based output, it can be used to show complex relationships between the time and money companies spend on projects, tasks, and payroll. When these relationships are visible, businesses can use them to lower costs and maximize profits.