Time Card

Term Definition
A timecard, also called a timesheet, is a method for recording and tracking the amount of an employee's time spent on each job. A timecard improves project execution, decision-making and compliance with labor and government regulations. According to one definition, it is a document or a program that tracks the number of hours you work, either in one week or on a particular project. In other words, a time sheet is a record that you can look back on to find out how much time you spent doing something.

Timecards were originally developed for employers to track the number of hours worked for payroll. It was often an actual card that was either completed manually or inserted into a time clock. However timecards are no longer used just for payroll. Timecards are used to record the start and end time of tasks or simply the duration of the task. Timecards may contain a detailed breakdown of tasks accomplished by the individual(s) who worked on the task. The information can be used for project costing, job estimation, tracking, management, client billing and payroll.

Tracking time can reduce an organization's costs by making payroll processing more efficient, by making costs visible so you can lower them, and by automating billing & invoicing. Tracking time can also increase revenue through automated  billing. Automated billing facilitates client invoicing by providing access to accurate data for all the hours worked by consulting staff. This in turn, expedites the invoicing process avoiding billing backlog. In turn, payments are received much faster and the inconvenience of missed bills is eliminated.

Timecards are a great asset in project management. In addition to providing data about the amount of time devoted to tasks, and hence the costs associated with those tasks, timecards can also be used to build a body of knowledge about how much effort tasks take to develop. For example, if developing a training plan has historically taken a month, then it can be assumed that creating a new one will take a month.

Area of Application
Project Accounting
Timesheet Policy

Related Terms
Timesheet
Web Timesheet

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