Timesheets are a necessary tool that can make keeping track of operations a whole lot easier. Because they are used for multiple issues, they are essential in both macro and micro business parts such as staffing, time spent per project, client or employee hours, as well as being able to determine specific costs. Timesheets comes in various forms and templates. However, there are mistakes that many people tend to make across all types.
Here are the 5 common mistakes to avoid in Timesheets:
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1. Employees not tracking their hours
One of the most common mistakes when it comes to timesheets is that many employees tend to forget to clock in and out. In order to understand how you can overcome this mistake, you can check this site and find different templates to use. It will also help you determine which type of timesheet is best for your business to help reduce errors and make it easier for the employees to track their hours. There should also be an easy way for employees to track time spent out of the office on meetings or work errands such as factory or store visits, or even business trips, which help the employees keep an accurate track of their working hours.
2. Trying to fix timesheet errors after being submitted to payroll
In order to avoid unnecessary timesheet errors, it should be vital for employees and managers to double check the record and guarantee the information is correct before it reaches payroll. Once it has been submitted to payroll, it becomes more difficult to alter, whereas it only takes a couple of seconds to amend beforehand. A good way of avoiding things getting complicated is by making sure the managers and employees review their hours and inputs before submission.
3. Not giving employees access to manually changing timesheets
It happens that an employee will be running late and will forget to clock in or out, or maybe even forgot their swipe card on a particular day. If the employee is prohibited from accessing the timesheets and is unable to manually enter the time they arrived and left on that particular day, it is likely that the timesheet will generate many errors. Factoring in human error is essential and that’s why employees should be able to fix that problem manually instead. You can require a manager’s approval in such scenarios for added security.
4. Not having time entry reports
In order to be able to give employees access without having them take advantage of the situation, you need to have time entry reports or else you could end up paying much more money to employees than you should be. Time entry reports work in multiple ways as they provide you with information on all manual timings which were altered. You’ll be able to see who changed it and verify that the timings are accurate. Another reason this report is important because it will be able to highlight people who consistently work over time within a given period as well identify any changes being made, either by the employee themselves, or by someone else and track any behavior that looks suspicious.
5. Making timesheet too complex
While timesheets can be diverse and serve multiple purposes, which could be extremely beneficial to the company, the more complex the timesheet is, the more difficult it will be for an employee to follow, resulting in a large number of timesheet errors. In order to avoid as many errors as possible, it is always best to keep it simple. That means, instead of trying to track a million things in the same timesheet, it could be as simple as the date, clock in, and clock out for monitoring day to day shifts. Or date, project name, time started, time ended, and remarks for projects. This will make it not only easier for employees to fill in, but also easier to avoid making mistakes, too. Because it is simple, it is easy to follow and makes it a user-friendly option that anyone can comprehend.
When it comes to timesheets there are many different options a company can use to sign in and sign out every day. However, each system comes with its advantages and disadvantages and there is a plethora of systems available on the market. These causes result in errors that not only take up a lot of time and effort to fix, but also result in large sums of money being lost due to avoidable mistakes being made by employees. These tips can really come in handy.