A time card is a simple record, but small errors turn into pay disputes. Whether you use a paper card, a spreadsheet or a clock-in app, the same few habits keep it accurate.
What a time card contains
- Employee name and, if you have one, an employee number.
- Pay period dates, such as "Week of October 5 to October 11."
- Clock in and clock out for each day, with AM or PM or a 24-hour time.
- Unpaid break time, usually the lunch period.
- Daily hours and a weekly total.
- Signatures of the employee and supervisor, often with a date.
Recording each day
- Write the time you actually started and stopped. Do not fill in the schedule ahead of time. If you arrive at 7:52 write 7:52.
- Write the unpaid break in minutes. If your workplace uses a punch for lunch, copy both punches.
- Subtract to get daily hours. Out time minus in time minus break. How to calculate hours worked covers overnight shifts.
- Convert to decimals if your payroll uses them. 7 hours 30 minutes is 7.50. Check the decimal hours converter.
- Total the week and check it. Add the daily totals, then recheck the minutes column separately because carrying is where most arithmetic slips happen.
A completed example
| Day | In | Out | Break | Daily hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 9:00 | 17:30 | 30 min | 8.00 |
| Tue | 9:00 | 17:30 | 30 min | 8.00 |
| Wed | 9:00 | 18:15 | 30 min | 8.75 |
| Thu | 9:00 | 17:30 | 30 min | 8.00 |
| Fri | 9:00 | 16:00 | 30 min | 6.50 |
| Total | 39.25 |
That is 39 hours 15 minutes, which is 39.25 decimal hours. No overtime applies because the week is under 40 hours.
Fixing a mistake
Do not erase or overwrite. Strike through the wrong entry with a single line, write the correct time beside it, and add your initials and the date. If the card is digital, use the correction or edit-request feature so there is a record of the change. A supervisor should approve the correction.
Rounding and grace periods
Some employers round punches to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes. Federal rules permit that only when it does not consistently shortchange employees. Ask for your employer's rounding policy in writing and keep your own record of exact punches for a few pay periods so you can compare.
Employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act must keep accurate records of hours worked, but employees benefit from keeping their own notes too. A photo of a paper card or a screenshot of a digital one is enough.