Things to Consider When Making a Personalized Excel Timesheet Template

Whether you’re a freelancer looking to manage your time or an employer wanting to have accurate working hours of your workers; excel timesheets are the solution. They allow you to get all of the accurate measurements in one place and can also allow for some great automation. Unless you are a time managing wizard, there is no reason not to use one.

Where can you get an Excel timesheet?

The first and easier way is to download a free template. All you have to do is download them from a reputable site, and you’re good to go. But the issue with these is that they are, by their very nature, very generalized. You might be able to work with a downloaded timesheet template in excel, but that would not be optimal.  Instead, you should look into making your own personalized timesheet template. You can get expert at Microsoft Excel timesheet if you keep on practicing it for 1 hour.

Building a custom Excel timesheet template:

Building a custom Excel timesheet template is easy, but it just requires a little bit of carefully placed effort. The exact process of creating a timesheet is not that difficult either, and you can follow any video tutorial to get the desired result, but that is not the focus of this article. Instead, here are the things that you should consider when making a personalized Excel timesheet template.

Determine your needs:

The first step of building a custom timesheet is to analyze and understand your needs. After all, that is the very reason why you’re bothering with a custom solution instead of a pre-made one. Figure out the things that should become a part of your timesheet and ignore the rest. Some things like the name, date, project, task, expected time of completion, etc., are a must-have on every sheet. But, other things like completion percentage, notes, and auto-totals are totally up to your needs. Additionally, by making a timesheet out of the things you actually need, you will not only save time but will also simplify the sheet for day-to-day use.

Features that your timesheet should have:

When building your custom timesheet, keep certain features in mind. These are the things that your timesheet must have in order to work as intended. The first thing is its simplicity. An Excel timesheet should remain just that, a timesheet. Trying to add too many unnecessary slots will only slow down the whole process. Similarly, inputs should be easy to understand even by a completely new user.

Additionally, you should try to include automation in your sheet. This automation can encompass anything from reminders to time-tracking and payment calculations. You can also just combine excel files at the end of the month to get a report overview of the month. Eliminating manual work will save time and will also eradicate human errors from the system.

Fully embrace the timesheet:

An excel timesheet is just another tool in your time management arsenal. It will only be effective when you utilize it to its full potential. A half-hearted attempt at timesheet integration will lead to zero benefits. So, make a custom timesheet and stick to it to see the best results.