Payroll Timesheet

Term Definition
A payroll timesheet is a timesheet used to track employee hours, leave, accruals, and adjustments for payroll processing. The payroll period may vary by individual employer. Payroll may be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or bi-monthly. A timesheet program provides a trackable workflow for employee timesheet submission, Supervisor approvals and Payroll approvals.

In small offices, payroll and timekeeping duties are likely to be included in the duties of a general office clerk, a secretary, or an accounting clerk. Some offices may have timekeeping clerks. The fundamental task of a timekeeping clerk is to distribute and collect timecards each pay period. These workers review employee work charts, timesheets, and timecards to ensure that information is properly recorded and that records have the signatures of authorizing officials. In companies that bill for the time spent by staff, such as law or accounting firms, timekeeping clerks make sure that the hours recorded are charged to the correct job so that clients can be properly billed. These clerks also review computer reports listing timecards that cannot be processed because of errors, and they contact the employee or the employee's supervisor to resolve the problem. In addition, timekeeping clerks are responsible for informing managers and other employees about procedural changes in payroll policies.

Payroll clerks, or technicians, screen timecards for calculating, coding, or other errors. They compute pay by subtracting allotments, including Federal and State taxes and contributions to retirement, insurance, and savings plans, from gross earnings. However, large organizations employ specialized payroll and timekeeping clerks to perform these functions. In offices that have automated timekeeping systems, payroll clerks perform more analysis of the data, examine trends, and work with computer systems. They also spend more time answering employees' questions and processing unique data. Time tracking software can reduce data error entries, which are the most common cause of payroll errors.

Area of Application
Time and Expense