Contractor Timesheet Templates & Time Tracking Software

A contractor timesheet is used to track billable hours contractors have spent working on projects or tasks for their clients.

Whether you need a quick spreadsheet to send with your invoice or a full‑featured contractor time tracking app that automates everything, you’re in the right place.

Below you’ll find:

Why Accurate Contractor Time Tracking Matters?

Without solid time tracking for contractors, small mistakes can snowball into lost revenue or unhappy clients. Templates are a good start, but many contractors reach a point where manual entry becomes a burden. That’s where a dedicated contractor time tracking software shines.

Contractors need timesheets for:

  • Accurate billing. Track every billable minute and rate in one place, automatically total regular and overtime hours, and attach itemized logs to invoices so clients see exactly what they’re paying for
  • Project management. View real‑time progress across multiple contracts, rebalance workloads when one job slips, and catch scope creep early—before it erodes profit.
  • Better estimates. Compare actual vs. estimated hours from past jobs, refine future quotes, and protect margins by basing proposals on data—not guesswork.

Timesheet Templates for Contractors

Choose the file type that fits your workflow—Excel, Google Sheets, Word, or PDF—and start logging hours immediately. Every template includes columns for project, task, hourly rate, regular hours, overtime, breaks, and totals so you never miss a minute.

Free weekly timesheet template for Excel Word PDF

Pros and Cons

of using Excel, Google Sheets and other spreadsheets tools for time tracking.

Pros

  • Both you and your team are likely to be familiar spreadsheet tools.
    Excel and Google Sheets are widely used and come as a standard time tracking procedure for most organizations as they have an intuitive learning curve. Mastering them, on the other hand, is a whole different thing.
  • Free of charge.
    The most popular spreadsheet software, such as Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel, is free to download.
  • Your team is used to workflows that correlate with spreadsheet approvals.
    They’re accustomed to sending their timesheets via email or storing them in a common repository. Once you have a time tracking policy for your company, you can easily integrate time tracking into the workflow using spreadsheets.
  • Spreadsheets are the most common method of integrating data with other systems. Managers can either analyze the time entry data with a business intelligence tool or integrate the approved timesheets with dedicated payroll software.

Cons

  • Despite their intuitive learning curve, spreadsheets are not very user-friendly. Keeping timesheet spreadsheets up to date can become a cumbersome and time-consuming task. Moreover, if you’re using a mobile device, your thumbs might become sore.
  • Tracing previous spreadsheet versions may leave you lost in history.
    Spreadsheets can be edited by anyone with access, which is why it’s hard to see who made the last changes. Online spreadsheets usually have a version history but they are most commonly downloaded locally and forwarded via email.
  • Spreadsheets are prone to human error and data loss. There can be cases where employees misenter their work data, forget to send their timesheets altogether, or end up sending them to the wrong person. When a company systemizes its workflow with spreadsheets and chain emails, some data might slip through the cracks.
  • Spreadsheets require too much administrative work.  Managers usually have to remind employees to submit their timesheets on time, collect them into a common format, and make sure they are timely forwarded to accounting or another responsible department. This takes a lot of time that managers could otherwise spend on more important tasks.

Meet My Hours: A Contractor Time Tracking App

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Meet My Hours: A Contractor Time Tracking App

My Hours is a time tracking app for contractors that scales from a solo freelancer to teams of 50+ without adding complexity. Here’s what makes it different:

1. Track Time Your Way

  • Start/stop timers for real‑time tracking
  • Manual entry for logging hours after the fact
  • Desktop & mobile apps with offline mode

2. Organize Projects & Rates

  • Create unlimited projects and clients
  • Assign custom hourly, daily, or fixed rates per task
  • Set budgets or caps and get automatic alerts before you exceed them

3. Report & Invoice in Seconds

  • Build detailed time reports by project, client, or team member
  • Export to PDF, Excel, or share live links for client transparency
  • Convert approved hours into branded invoices—no re‑typing

4. Automate the Admin

  • Automatic timesheet reminders so no one forgets to log hours
  • Simple approval workflow and timesheet locking for accuracy
  • DCAA‑ready audit trail for government contractors
Get started - it’s free

Tired of messy spreadsheets? Give My Hours, online timesheet app a try.

  • Every employee gets their own credentials to access the timesheet app. The app is accessible from both mobile devices and desktop platforms. Its intuitive interface is identical on all platforms as user experience is something we don’t compromise on.
  • With My Hours roles, you can regulate who sees what without over-engineered permission setting hacks.
  • The submitted timesheets can be summed up in real-time reports without losing time creating custom reports.
  • Standardized platform units such as projects and tasks give way to a simplified reporting process and eliminate the loss of data due to human error.
  • The costs and billable amounts are automatically calculated with precisely defined rates.
  • Managers can set up budgets and enable their teams to track the budget in real time.
  • The software can be used to create timesheet reminders, approvals, and timesheet locking mechanisms that automate the workflow and leave more time for creative work.
  • The mobile time tracking app can be used to enter timesheets, assign tasks, and analyze the team’s progress on the go.
  • The software includes a full audit log of all the changes for auditing purposes.

Timesheet Calculator for Contractors

Open Time card calculator
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Need numbers on the fly? Skip the spreadsheet and use our free time card calculator:

  • Step 1: Enter in/out times, breaks, and overtime for each day
  • Step 2: Add your hourly rate (optional)
  • Step 3: Click Calculate to see instant totals for hours and pay
  • Step 4: Export or email a polished timecard in seconds

No formulas, no file downloads—just fast, accurate totals you can trust.

Timesheet Calculator for Contractors

Our timesheet calculator is free to use and allows you to do the following:

  • Track work time with the help of some necessary tools like entering work hours and breaks with keyboard-only input. The only clicks you need are “Calculate” and “Download”.
  • Calculate overtime.
  • Calculate payroll or billing with hourly rates.
  • Include employee absences and attendance information.
  • Download the finished timesheet as a PDF file. You can send this PDF file to your accounting department if you want them to check it before sending it as an invoice or instructing your employees to do that instead.
  • Make use of the advanced features that allow you to embed the timesheet on your website, integrate it with Google Sheets, or create a bookmark with pre-defined settings.

Waste no more time,
jump right in!

Get started - it’s free
My Hours is free for teams of up to 5 users.