How to fill out a time card
What goes in each column, how to record lunch and missed punches, and how to keep a copy that will settle any pay question.
Last reviewed by Time Card Calculator Tool
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A time card is the record your pay is calculated from, and it is also the evidence if a question about pay ever comes up. Filling it in accurately and consistently takes a minute a day and prevents most payroll errors before they happen.
The columns on a standard time card
| Column | What to write |
|---|---|
| Date / day | The calendar date and weekday of the shift start. |
| In | The time you started work, not the time you arrived in the car park. |
| Lunch out | When your unpaid meal break began. |
| Lunch in | When you returned to work. |
| Out | The time you stopped working. |
| Daily total | Hours worked that day after removing the unpaid meal. |
| Weekly total | The sum of the daily totals for the workweek, with overtime shown separately. |
Rules that keep a card clean
- Write times as they happen, not from memory at the end of the week. A card filled in on Friday afternoon is a guess.
- Use one format throughout: either 12 hour time with AM and PM, or 24 hour time. Mixing them is how 4:30 becomes 4.30 AM.
- Record actual times, not scheduled times. If you started at 7:52, write 7:52; any rounding is payroll's job.
- Leave the lunch columns empty only if you really took no meal break, and do not write a break you did not take.
- Cross out mistakes with a single line and initial them. Do not use correction fluid or overwrite.
Missed punches
Forgetting to clock in or out happens. Tell your supervisor the same day, write the correct time, and have it initialled or approved the way your workplace requires. Never leave it for payroll to guess: a missing out punch is sometimes filled with the scheduled end time, which may be earlier than when you actually left.
Overnight shifts
Record the shift on the day it started. A shift from 10:00 PM Tuesday to 6:30 AM Wednesday goes on Tuesday's line. When totalling, add 24 hours to the out time before subtracting, or let the calculator handle it; it treats any out time earlier than the in time as the next morning.
Totalling the card
Payroll works in decimal hours, so the totals should be too. Convert each day's minutes by dividing by 60, or use the minutes to decimal chart. Then add the week and split any hours over 40 into overtime. The time card calculator does all of this from the raw punches and shows both h:mm and decimal totals, so you can copy the numbers straight onto the paper card.
Signing and approval
Many employers ask the employee to sign the card each week to confirm it is accurate, and a supervisor to countersign. Read it before signing. If a time was changed by someone else, ask why before you sign; your signature is the confirmation that the hours are right.
Keep your own copy
Employers must keep time cards for two years under federal rules, but your own copy is the fastest way to check a paycheck and does not depend on anyone else's records. Take a photo of the paper card before handing it in, or print or download the CSV from the calculator each week. See how long employers keep time records for what you can ask to see.
Frequently asked questions
Do I write the time I arrived or the time I started work?
The time you started working. If your employer requires you to clock in on arrival and you then wait unpaid, ask how that time is treated; minutes you actually work must be paid.
What if I forgot to clock out?
Tell your supervisor the same day and write in the correct time with their approval. Do not leave it blank for payroll to fill in with your scheduled end time.
Should I write the total in hours and minutes or decimal?
Use the format your employer asks for. If unsure, write both: 8:30 (8.50). Payroll calculates pay in decimal hours.