Free timesheet template: a printable weekly timesheet and how to fill it in
A timesheet records, for each day, what you worked on, for which client or project, from when to when, how many hours that was and whether the time is billable. Below is a free printable weekly timesheet that fits on one A4 or US Letter page, a short guide to writing entries a client understands at a glance, and how to skip the paper entirely by tracking time as you work and exporting it.
- The template: one week on one page, with day, project, description, start, end, hours and a billable column.
- Write descriptions as results (“Homepage wireframe, 2 versions”), not activities (“design work”).
- Fill it in daily. Time reconstructed at the end of the month is guesswork, and the guesses tend to be too low.
- Separate billable from non-billable time; the gap shows how much of your week actually pays.
- Prefer a timer? Track time per client and project as you work and export a CSV or PDF report.
A printable weekly timesheet and what belongs on it
Weekly timesheet
| Day | Project | What I did (result, not just activity) | Start | End | Hours | Billable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon ___/___ | ||||||
| Tue ___/___ | ||||||
| Wed ___/___ | ||||||
| Thu ___/___ | ||||||
| Fri ___/___ | ||||||
| Sat ___/___ | ||||||
| Sun ___/___ | ||||||
Total hours: ______ · Billable hours: ______ · Rate: ______ · Amount: ______
Approved by (client): ____________________ Date: ____________
A timesheet has one job: to show, without discussion, how much time went into what. For freelancers it is the basis of an hourly invoice; for employees and contractors it may be required by an employer or client; for anyone else it is the most honest answer to “where did my week go?”.
- Date – one row per block of work, grouped by day.
- Client and project – so the same sheet can cover several jobs.
- Description – what you did, in words the client recognises.
- Start and end time – or just the duration if your client does not need times.
- Hours – in decimals (1.5) or hours and minutes (1:30); pick one and keep it.
- Billable – yes or no. Admin, proposals and learning are real work, but usually not billable.
- Totals and approval – weekly total, billable total and, if needed, the client’s sign-off.
Which details a client or employer requires depends on your contract. Check the agreement or ask them; this template covers the common fields.
How to write entries a client pays without questions
The description column decides whether a timesheet builds trust or raises questions. Compare:
- “Design” – 6 h. What design? Why six hours?
- “Homepage: two wireframe variants, feedback call, revised hero section” – 6 h. Clear.
A few rules make entries clear: start with the deliverable, mention meetings and calls separately, note revisions as revisions (“Logo, round 3 of changes”) and do not hide small things – ten-minute tasks add up. If a task ran far over your estimate, add a few words why. Clients rarely object to time they can understand.
Daily, not monthly: why timing matters
The most common timesheet mistake is filling it in from memory at the end of the week or month. Memory keeps the big blocks and drops the small ones: the quick call, the extra revision, the twenty minutes of answering questions. Those are exactly the hours that disappear from invoices.
Writing it down also changes what you notice. A meta-analysis by Benjamin Harkin and colleagues (2016) found that monitoring progress helps people reach their goals, more so when the progress is physically recorded. And because we routinely underestimate how long tasks take (Buehler et al., 1994), a record of real hours is the best basis for your next estimate or quote.
Make the timesheet part of starting and stopping work: when you sit down to a project, note the start; when you stand up, note the end and one line of what happened. If you track time in an app, starting the timer replaces the first step and the report replaces the totals.
Your non-billable column is worth a look once a month. If admin, email and proposals take a third of your week, your hourly rate needs to cover them. Non-billable time explains how to measure it, and the hourly rate calculator shows what it does to your rate.
Paper, spreadsheet or app?
- Paper (the template above). Good for a single client, a trial week or anyone who likes writing by hand. Totals are manual.
- Spreadsheet. Good for sums and sharing. Typing start and end times into cells is easy to forget during a busy day.
- A timer app. Good if you switch between projects often. You start and stop a timer; the report is built for you. A simple time tracking app is enough for most freelancers.
Many people combine them: track with a timer, export the report and attach it to the invoice, or copy the totals into the client’s own timesheet format. If an invoice is late, the payment reminder email templates help you follow up politely.
From tracked time to a timesheet in CORTEX
In CORTEX (free for everyone) you start a timer with one click on a project or a task. Entries can be edited by hand afterwards, projects belong to clients and can carry an hourly rate, and the reports show hours per client, project and category for any period, with CSV and PDF export. The freelancer month template (More → Templates) sets up the daily tracking habit and a ten-minute check every Friday. If you have an account, open Work. More on tracking in the app for freelancers guide.
Frequently asked questions
What should a timesheet include?
The date, client or project, a short description of the work, start and end times or the duration, the number of hours and whether they are billable. Add weekly totals and, if your client requires it, a line for approval.
How do I fill out a timesheet?
Add one row per block of work as you finish it: what you did, for which project, how long it took and whether it is billable. Total the hours at the end of the week and check them against your calendar.
Is this timesheet template free?
Yes. Print it as often as you like or save it as a PDF from the print dialog. No sign-up is needed for the template.
Should I record time in decimals or hours and minutes?
Either works if you are consistent. Decimals (1.25 h) make multiplying by an hourly rate easier; hours and minutes (1:15) are easier to read. Many people track in minutes and convert once for the invoice.
Can I create a timesheet from tracked time automatically?
Yes, in a time tracking app. In CORTEX you track time per client and project with a timer and export any period as a CSV or PDF report, which works as a timesheet for most clients.
Sources and further reading
- Harkin, B. et al. (2016): Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence – Psychological Bulletin
- Buehler, R., Griffin, D. & Ross, M. (1994): Exploring the „planning fallacy“: Why people underestimate their task completion times – Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
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