This is TimeTally's digital timesheet — with every field a UK business needs, built in.
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 and HMRC's National Minimum Wage enforcement rules, UK employers must keep records of hours worked. Read our timesheet compliance guide for the full legal picture. A compliant timesheet needs these fields:
Employee name & ID
Identifies who worked the hours
Start & end time
Or total hours if using daily totals
Break duration
Unpaid breaks must be deducted
Total hours worked
Daily and weekly totals for WTR
Overtime hours
Tracked separately if different rate
Manager approval
Signature or digital approval
Date worked
Each day recorded separately
Pay period reference
Links to the correct payslip
Legal note: HMRC requires these records to be kept for at least 3 years. For employment tribunal protection, keeping them for 6 years is recommended. Learn more in our HMRC timesheet requirements guide.
The most common free option. Add columns for date, times, breaks, and total hours with formulas.
Print a pre-formatted template. Employees fill in by hand, manager signs, office keeps paper.
Employees log hours online. Managers approve digitally with built-in approval workflows. Data flows to payroll automatically.
Free templates save money upfront but create ongoing problems that cost far more. Most teams that start with templates eventually switch to dedicated timesheet software.
No reminders with a spreadsheet. You email, text, and chase every week.
One broken formula or typo means someone gets overpaid or underpaid.
If HMRC asks "who approved this?", spreadsheets have no built-in workflow.
Copy-pasting hours into payroll software every month is tedious and error-prone.
"Timesheet_v3_FINAL_updated.xlsx" — which version is the correct one?
Timesheets and leave live in separate spreadsheets. Nothing connects.
Export timesheets directly to your payroll software
TimeTally replaces your spreadsheet template with a proper timesheet system — then sends the data straight to your payroll software via our payroll integrations.
Direct integrations
Connect to Xero or QuickBooks and sync timesheets instantly
Automatic calculations
Wages, overtime, and deductions calculated and posted automatically
Flexible exports
Export by week, month, or custom date ranges to any format
One price. Every feature. No surprises.
