Time Tracking Excel – & workplace-ready free

Start with our free template or adapt your own workbook for time tracking in Excel or Google Sheets—no registration required. In Google Sheets, use "Make a copy" from the shared link so the file lives in your Drive.

1. Select the data sheet: Enter date, start time (e.g. 08:00), end time (e.g. 17:00), and break in minutes. Net hours calculate automatically.
2. Use a time format: Format cells as time (hh:mm). Enter breaks as minutes (30, 45, 60). Avoid spaces inside times (use 08:00, not 8 00).
3. Set status: Choose normal, overtime, PTO/vacation, sick, or public holiday. For full-day absence you may leave start/end blank.
4. Review the overview: Check totals, working days, and averages on the summary tab.
5. Archive monthly: Save a read-only copy per pay period. Retention periods vary by country—keep files long enough for wage and tax questions.
6. Prepare payroll export: Align column names and date format with your payroll provider before import.

Growing teams benefit from Ordio time tracking—clock-in by app or terminal, automatic totals, and links to scheduling and payroll.

Format start and end as time (hh:mm). Enter break as a number of minutes. Use IFERROR to avoid #VALUE! when a row is blank. Summarise the "total hours" column with SUM for weekly overtime checks under US rules (over 40 hours in the workweek for non-exempt staff) or UK averaging rules where applicable.

Shifts crossing midnight

When a shift runs past midnight (e.g. 22:00-06:00), a simple =C2-B2 can go negative. Use =IF(C2 or split into two rows and add the parts. The Ordio template supports overnight shifts.

Common mistakes

• Midnight crossings: Use an IF formula or split rows—see above.
• Empty cells: Wrap with IFERROR or IF(ISBLANK(...),"",...).
• Break as time vs. minutes: If break is 00:30, adjust the formula; minutes (30) are simpler with the divisor method.

The free time-tracking Excel template saves setup time: no licence fee, immediate download, and a structure you can hand to supervisors and payroll. Ideal for solo operators and teams under roughly ten people who want a clear paper trail before investing in software.

What the template offers

The Ordio workbook includes fields for date, start, end, break, net hours, and status (normal, overtime, PTO, sick, holiday). Available as Excel (.xlsx) and Google Sheets.

Records that stand up in reviews: Minute-level start/end (not vague totals), break documentation where your jurisdiction requires it, and monthly archives with a clear "approved" snapshot.

• US-ready layout: Supports FLSA-style hour totals and overtime visibility by workweek.
• UK-ready layout: Supports working-time and leave status codes alongside hours.
• Excel and Google Sheets: Work locally or in the cloud—both formats are free from Ordio.
• Flexible: Adapt rows for hospitality, retail, care, or trades.

Explore related tools: timesheet template and the template overview. For shift planning plus capture, combine with Ordio scheduling and time tracking.

Who is it for?

Small businesses (up to about ten employees), contractors with a few hourly helpers, and managers who want one file per month per site. Multiple locations or complex rotating patterns often outgrow Excel—plan a digital upgrade when edits and approvals become hard to control.

Limits of Excel

Manual entry invites typos; shared files can be changed without an audit trail; there is no built-in geofenced clock or automatic break warnings. From roughly five to ten employees upward, a system with roles, mobile clock-in, and payroll integration usually pays for itself. The Ordio template remains a solid free starting point—you can migrate historical rows when you switch to Ordio time tracking.