A biweekly timesheet template is a reusable form for recording work over a 14-day period, including hours worked, breaks, and any overtime. Use the blank template below to track each day in one place, then add the pay-period dates and approval details your workplace requires.
What a Biweekly Timesheet Covers
In payroll and timekeeping, “biweekly” usually means once every two weeks. A biweekly timesheet therefore covers 14 consecutive calendar days, whether or not the employee works all 14. This differs from a semimonthly schedule, which divides a month into two pay periods tied to calendar dates. A biweekly schedule commonly has 26 periods in a year, although the calendar can sometimes produce an additional period.
The form is a record of time, not necessarily a pay statement. It gives an employee and reviewer a shared account of when work took place and how many hours were recorded. Depending on the workplace, it may also document project assignments, leave, work locations, or approval. A simple template can be printed and filled in by hand; a spreadsheet version can calculate totals automatically.
One possible source of confusion is the word itself: outside payroll, “biweekly” can be used to mean twice a week or every two weeks. When creating a form, write the period’s exact start and end dates rather than relying on the label alone. That makes the schedule clear to everyone using it.
Printable Biweekly Timesheet Template
Employee: ____________________ Department or project: ____________________
Pay-period start: ____________________ Pay-period end: ____________________
| Day | Date | Start time | End time | Unpaid break (hours) | Regular hours | Overtime hours | Notes or task |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||||
| 2 | |||||||
| 3 | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 | |||||||
| 11 | |||||||
| 12 | |||||||
| 13 | |||||||
| 14 |
Total regular hours: __________ Total overtime hours: __________ Total hours: __________
Employee signature or confirmation: ____________________ Date: __________
Reviewer: ____________________ Approval date: __________
Sample — fictional details: Alex Example, period October 5–18, 2026. On October 5, Alex records 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., a 0.5-hour unpaid break, and 8.0 regular hours. The remaining rows are completed for the actual days worked; the sample is illustrative, not a required schedule.
How to Fill Out the Form
Start by entering the employee’s name and the exact first and last dates covered. Add a department, project, or location if the time needs to be assigned to a particular team or workstream. For a printed form, write dates clearly and use one consistent time format, such as 8:30 a.m. or 08:30. Avoid mixing formats because that can make later review harder.
For each day, record the actual start and end times and the duration of any unpaid break. Then calculate the hours worked and divide them into regular and overtime categories only as directed by the employer’s timekeeping process. If the employee did not work, a blank row may be ambiguous; use the workplace’s preferred notation, such as “off,” “leave,” or “no hours,” and identify leave separately if required.
At the end of the period, total the relevant columns, check the dates, and complete the employee confirmation and reviewer fields if used. Submit the form by the stated deadline. Keeping a personal copy or a clear scan can help the employee refer back to what was submitted, subject to workplace procedures for handling records.
- Enter time promptly rather than trying to reconstruct two weeks from memory.
- Use notes for a legitimate explanation, such as a shift crossing midnight or work charged to a separate project.
- Follow the employer’s instructions for corrections; do not silently overwrite a submitted record.
Calculating Hours and Recording Breaks
A straightforward daily calculation is elapsed time between the start and end of work, minus any unpaid break. For example, a shift from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. spans 8.5 hours. Subtracting a 0.5-hour unpaid break gives 8.0 hours worked. If the break is paid under the applicable workplace arrangement, it should not automatically be deducted; record it according to the employer’s instructions.
For a shift that crosses midnight, the end time falls on the next calendar day. A worker who starts at 10:00 p.m. and finishes at 6:00 a.m. has an eight-hour span before breaks, not a negative total. Note the overnight shift or use separate date entries if the employer’s system requires hours to be assigned to the calendar day on which they occurred. Consistency matters because a two-week total can conceal a date-entry mistake.
Decimal hours are often easier to total than minutes. For example, 30 minutes is 0.5 hours and 15 minutes is 0.25 hours. Do not enter “8.30” to mean eight hours and 30 minutes in a decimal-hours column; mathematically, 8.30 hours is eight hours and 18 minutes. If a form uses hours and minutes instead, keep that format throughout and convert only when the process asks for it.
Overtime treatment and the workweek used to determine it can depend on workplace policy and applicable rules; a two-week timesheet does not by itself establish how overtime should be classified. Ask a qualified professional if your situation requires legal, tax, or other professional advice.
Choosing Fields for Your Workplace
The printable form is intentionally general. Before adopting it, decide which information is necessary for the people who complete, review, and process it. Too few fields can leave reviewers guessing, while unnecessary fields make the form slower to complete and can collect information that is not needed.
- For a fixed-schedule role: daily start, end, break, and total hours may be enough, alongside period dates and approval.
- For project-based work: add a project or task field, or provide separate rows when one shift is divided among assignments.
- For multiple locations: add a location field if the record needs to distinguish where the work occurred.
- For leave or absences: provide a clear way to identify the category and hours, following the employer’s process rather than treating absence as worked time.
- For variable shifts: include notes for overnight work, split shifts, or other situations that a single start-and-end pair may not explain.
Keep identifying information proportional to the task. A basic timesheet normally needs the employee’s name and a way to identify the period; it rarely needs sensitive personal details unrelated to recording time. If the form is used by a team, explain what each field means and whether time should be entered in clock time, decimal hours, or both.
Common Timesheet Errors to Check
Small inconsistencies can delay review or lead to a total that does not match the daily entries. A quick end-of-period check is useful even when the arithmetic seems simple. Compare each daily total with the start, end, and break information instead of checking only the grand total.
- Wrong date range: confirm there are 14 consecutive dates and that the first and last days match the assigned period.
- Missing entries: distinguish a day with no work from a day that was simply forgotten.
- Break confusion: state whether the break duration is paid or unpaid as the form requires; avoid subtracting the same break twice.
- Mixed number formats: do not combine clock notation such as 7:30 with decimal notation such as 7.5 in the same total column.
- Overlapping shifts: check that duplicate entries do not count the same time twice, especially when work is split between projects.
- Unexplained edits: follow the correction and approval process so a reviewer can understand what changed.
For example, if an employee works 8 hours on each of five weekdays in both weeks, the two-week total is 80 hours. That example is only an arithmetic check, not an assumption that every employee has that schedule. A person with a part-time schedule, leave, or different shift pattern should enter the hours actually recorded for each day.
Paper, Spreadsheet, or Digital Form?
A paper template is convenient when a person needs a printable record, works where a device is not practical, or prefers handwritten entries. Its main limitation is that totals must be calculated manually, and handwriting or a lost page can make review more difficult. Use legible entries and keep completed copies according to the workplace’s process.
A spreadsheet can total daily and period hours with formulas, which reduces repetitive arithmetic. It also makes it easier to duplicate a blank form for a new period. However, a formula is only useful when its inputs and rules are correct. Someone should verify the formulas, protect calculation cells from accidental edits, and check that the spreadsheet’s treatment of breaks and overnight shifts matches the intended process.
A digital timekeeping form may offer prompts, submission status, and a clear approval trail, but the organization controls which fields and procedures it uses. A printable template is best treated as a basic record or starting point, not as a replacement for a required system. If the employer specifies a particular submission method, use that method and ask before sending the same information through an unapproved channel.
Review, Approval, and Recordkeeping
Employees and reviewers benefit from a defined handoff. The employee should know when the period closes, when the timesheet is due, who reviews it, and how to flag a correction. A reviewer can check that the dates are complete, totals are plausible, required notes are present, and approvals are recorded. A clear process is more useful than adding many extra fields to the page.
Keep records secure and share them only with people who need them for the timekeeping process. A timesheet can reveal work patterns, assignments, and absences, so avoid leaving completed forms in public areas or sending them to an unintended recipient. Follow the organization’s retention and disposal procedures rather than assuming that a personal filing period applies to everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What dates should a biweekly timesheet include?
It should cover the specific 14 consecutive calendar days assigned to that pay period. Write both the start and end dates on the form so “biweekly” cannot be mistaken for twice a week or confused with another schedule.
How many workdays are in a biweekly timesheet?
There are 14 calendar days, but the number of workdays depends on the person’s schedule. A standard weekday schedule may include 10 working days in the period, while shift workers, part-time workers, and people with leave can have different patterns.
Is biweekly the same as twice a month?
No. Biweekly generally means every two weeks; twice a month is semimonthly. The periods do not always align, and the number of annual pay periods can differ. Use the actual dates assigned by the employer.
How do I enter a 30-minute break?
Follow the column’s format. In a decimal-hours field, 30 minutes is 0.5 hours; in a minutes field, enter 30. Deduct it from elapsed shift time only when the break is recorded as unpaid under the relevant instructions.
Can I use this template for overtime?
Yes, it includes a separate overtime-hours column, but the template does not determine which hours qualify as overtime. Record and classify hours according to your workplace’s process and ask a qualified professional if your circumstances require professional guidance.
Can I use the same template every pay period?
Yes. Save or print a clean copy for each new period, then update the start and end dates and any employee or project details. Keep completed forms separate from blank copies so the record for one period is not accidentally reused.