Rosters, attendance and logs8 to 35 rows
Work log template
A weekly work log that records each stretch of work with the date, start and end times, what you worked on, and the hours. It is for freelancers, tradespeople and employees who need to show where their time went.
- Type your details or print blank
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
What prints
The page is portrait. Work Log is the heading at the top left; on the right are two lines, Name and Week of. The table has six columns: Date, Start, End, Task, job or client (the widest), Hours and Notes. Underneath are two lines, Total hours and Approved by.
Each row is one block of work, not one day. If you do two jobs in a day, use two rows.
The settings
- Heading. Type a title of your own, such as "Field Log" or "Client Hours", within 40 characters. If you leave it empty the page is headed Work Log.
- Form. The page opens on the work log. Other choices on the same control include the team roster, attendance sheet, vendor list, production schedule and action plan.
- Rows. 8 to 35, opening at 22. Twenty-two rows is enough for a busy week with several short jobs.
Tips for a log you can trust
Fill it in as you go. Writing the start time when you begin and the end time when you stop takes ten seconds, and it beats reconstructing Thursday on Friday night. Calculate hours at the end of each block and write them in the narrow column in decimals (1.5 rather than 1:30) so the total is a plain addition.
Use the task column for the thing a client or manager would recognize: a job name, a customer, a ticket number. Keep the notes column for what changed, such as "waiting on parts" or "left at 2 for dentist."
Employers who must pay hourly workers have their own record rules. The Department of Labor's fact sheet on recordkeeping lists hours worked each day and total hours each workweek among the required records, so check what applies to you. This sheet is a blank form, not legal advice. For payroll, the weekly timesheet has regular and overtime lines.
Worked example: a freelance bookkeeper
Dana keeps books for three small clients and bills by the hour. For the week of November 2 she prints the log with the default 22 rows.
Monday: 8:30 to 11:00, "Harbor Bakery, reconcile October", 2.5 hours. 11:30 to 12:15, "Harbor Bakery, sales tax", 0.75. 1:00 to 4:30, "Ng Dental, payroll prep", 3.5, note "needs W-4 for new hire." Tuesday has two rows for a third client, 4 and 2 hours.
By Friday she has 14 rows used and a column of decimals. She adds them for the total, 27.25 hours, writes it on Total hours, and uses the task column to split the invoice by client. Her one client who requires sign-off initials the Approved by line.
Filing
Staple the week's log to the invoice or timesheet it supports, and keep them together. A log kept week by week is also a useful record of what was agreed when a client questions a bill.