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Template · labor

Construction timesheet template: hours by job and cost code, overtime and labor cost — free Excel

A construction timesheet does two jobs. It pays the worker, and it costs the job — and most timesheets only do the first. Hours recorded as '40 hours, Riverside' pay correctly but tell the project manager nothing about which work took the hours. This template records hours by worker, day, job and cost code, with regular and overtime separate, so the same entry feeds payroll and job costing, and labor productivity can be measured against the estimate.

Updated · 6 minute read

Key takeaways
  • Job and cost code on every line.
  • Regular and overtime separately.
  • Split a day when the work changed codes.
  • Approve before payroll.

What a construction timesheet needs

Labor cost here is base wage only. Payroll taxes, insurance and benefits add a burden on top — the labor burden calculator works it out.

A filled-in example

Two days for one carpenter on Maple Street Medical Office:

DateWorkerJobCost codeRegOTRateLabor cost
Mon Oct 5D. RuizJ-113106-1000 Framing80$42$336
Tue Oct 6D. RuizJ-113106-1000 Framing60$42$252
Tue Oct 6D. RuizJ-113106-1600 Sheathing22$42$210

Tuesday is split across two cost codes, and the overtime lands on sheathing at 1.5×: 2 × $42 + 2 × $42 × 1.5 = $210.

CalculatorWeekly labor cost

How to fill it in

  1. One row per worker, per day, per job and cost code — split a day across codes when the work changed.
  2. Enter regular and overtime hours separately; total hours and labor cost calculate.
  3. Have the foreman approve the week before it goes to payroll.
  4. Filter by job and cost code to compare hours with the estimate — the labor productivity guide shows how.
Checklist
Construction timesheet template in Excel, filled in with example rows — columns: Date, Worker, Job, Cost code, Regular hours, Overtime hours, Rate ($/h), Overtime multiplier…
The construction timesheet template as it opens in Excel: example rows in italics, calculated columns shaded.
Free template · Construction timesheet template (Excel & CSV)An Excel workbook with drop-downs, validation and formulas built in — or the same columns as a CSV for Google Sheets and Numbers.
Download Excel (.xlsx)
What this template captures

Everything payroll and job costing both need from one timesheet: the worker, the date, the job and cost code the hours belong to, regular and overtime hours, the rate and the labor cost — so the same entry pays the worker and costs the job.

11 columns: 9 you fill in and 2 calculated by formula and filled down 200 rows, so nothing is worked out by hand. In the Excel version, 5 columns reject entries of the wrong type (a date column only takes dates, an amount column only numbers), the header row stays frozen with filters on it, and the workbook opens on an Instructions sheet that lists every column below.

Every column, and how it is captured
ColumnTypeWhat goes in it
DateDateDate of the entry.
WorkerTextName or employee number.
JobTextJob number the hours are charged to.
Cost codeTextCost code the work was on — the link to labor productivity.
Regular hoursNumberStraight-time hours.
Overtime hoursNumberHours at the overtime rate.
Rate ($/h)Amount ($)Base hourly rate.
Overtime multiplierNumber1.5 for time-and-a-half, 2 for double time.
Total hoursCalculatedCalculated: [Regular hours] + [Overtime hours]
Labor costCalculatedCalculated: [Regular hours] × [Rate ($ ÷ h)] + [Overtime hours] × [Rate ($ ÷ h)] × [Overtime multiplier]
Approved byTextForeman or superintendent who approved the hours.

See it on real-looking numbers

Constructelligence is a construction intelligence platform: it reads your ERP, project and field systems read-only and does this arithmetic every week, for every job. The demo runs it on a sample eight-job portfolio.

Try the demoJoin the private beta

Frequently asked questions

What should a construction timesheet include?

Worker, date, job, cost code, regular and overtime hours, the rate, and approval — so the hours can be paid and charged to the right job and cost code.

How do you calculate overtime on a timesheet?

Overtime hours × base rate × the overtime multiplier, usually 1.5 for time-and-a-half. Federal law requires overtime over 40 hours in a work week for non-exempt employees; some states also have daily overtime rules.

Why put cost codes on timesheets?

Without them, labor cost reaches the job as one number. With them, you can compare actual hours with the estimate by activity and see which work is running over.

Do certified payroll jobs need a different timesheet?

Prevailing wage jobs need the worker's classification and the rates and fringes for that classification recorded too, and certified payroll reports filed on the required form.

CI
Written by the Constructelligence teamConstruction finance and software. Worked examples use the sample demo portfolio; formulas are standard practice. Reviewed September 2026.
Construction labor forecasting: from burn rate to machine learningHow to forecast construction labor hours and cost: productivity factors, earned hours, straight-line vs learning-curve vs machine-learning forecasts, and how to test which one to trust.Construction daily report template: what to record every day, an example and a free downloadA free construction daily report template in Excel: weather, trades and headcount, man-hours, work performed, equipment, deliveries, inspections, delays, safety and photos — with an example.Construction cost codes: how to structure them and what they can tell youHow construction cost codes work: structure, CSI MasterFormat divisions, cost types, how many codes to use, and how cross-job cost-code analysis separates estimating problems from site problems.

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