WORK TIME LIBRARY / US

Common Timesheet Mistakes and How to Check Your Hours

Use a practical audit checklist for breaks, AM/PM, midnight, decimal conversions, missing shifts, pay periods, rounding, gross pay, and overtime assumptions.

TimekeepingPractical referenceFree to use

A nine-point timesheet check

01

Missing shifts

Compare the sheet with schedules, calendar entries, job logs, or clock records. Look for split shifts and short call-backs.

02

AM/PM reversals

Read every 12-hour entry with its AM or PM marker. If possible, use 24-hour time when ambiguity is likely.

03

Midnight crossing

An end earlier than the start may mean next day. Confirm the date; do not automatically treat every reversed range as overnight.

04

Break treatment

Subtract only unpaid break time that should be excluded. Check whether the recorded break was paid, unpaid, interrupted, or already deducted.

05

Decimal confusion

Minutes are sixtieths of an hour, not hundredths. Convert with minutes ÷ 60: 45 minutes is 0.75 hours.

06

Early rounding

Add exact minutes first. Rounding each shift can create a different weekly total from rounding once at the end.

07

Wrong period

A week is seven consecutive days; a biweekly period is two such weeks. Twice-monthly periods can have different lengths.

08

Overtime assumptions

Keep the chosen threshold, multiplier, workweek boundary, classification, and applicable rules visible. A calculator estimate does not determine eligibility.

09

Gross versus net

Compare calculated gross earnings with gross pay on the statement. Take-home pay includes deductions that a basic hours calculator does not model.

Recalculate one day from source records

  1. Write the start and end with dates and an unambiguous time format.
  2. Find elapsed minutes, splitting at midnight when necessary.
  3. Subtract verified unpaid break minutes.
  4. Add split shifts for that day.
  5. Compare the exact minute total with the submitted entry.

Then check the period total

Add daily minutes and convert the final sum to decimal hours only if needed. Keep week one and week two separate when reviewing a biweekly sheet. If pay is involved, compare hours, rate, regular/overtime split, and gross amount as separate checkpoints.

FormulaChecked total = sum of verified shift minutes − verified unpaid break minutes

What to record with a correction

Keep the original entry, corrected entry, date, reason, and required approval together. Do not place employee names, account numbers, or confidential payroll files into a public share link. WorkHourKit’s saved drafts stay in the browser unless the user explicitly copies or exports them.