Timesheet
A Timesheet in ERPNext is a detailed record of the number of hours an employee spends working on specific tasks or projects. It acts as a structured time-tracking mechanism that connects employee effort with project execution, costing, billing, and payroll processing.
Timesheets play a critical role in measuring productivity, calculating billable work, and tracking contribution of employees across multiple projects and tasks within a single structured format.
Timesheets act as the bridge between project execution and financial accounting by converting employee work hours into measurable cost and billing data.
Accessing Timesheet
To access Timesheets in ERPNext, navigate using the following path:
Home > Projects > Time Tracking > Timesheet
How to Create a Timesheet
Follow the steps below to create a new Timesheet entry:
- Open the Timesheet list and click on New.
- Enter the Company and Employee Code.
- Add time entries in the Timesheet table with required details.
Time Entry Fields
- Activity Type
Defines the type of work performed such as execution, planning, or communication. - From Time
Records the start date and time of the activity. - Hrs
Number of hours spent on the activity. Multiple entries can be added for different days or tasks. - Project
Links the time entry to a specific project for tracking and costing. - Bill
Indicates whether the recorded time is billable to a customer.
After entering multiple rows, the system automatically calculates total working hours, start date, and end date when the Timesheet is saved and submitted.
Creating Timesheet from Task
Timesheets can also be created directly from a Task to ensure accurate task-level time tracking.
- Open the relevant Task.
- Navigate to the Timesheet section in the Activity panel.
- Click the + icon to create a new Timesheet entry.
- Enter required details and save.
Creating Timesheets from tasks ensures direct mapping between work execution and time tracking, improving accuracy in costing and reporting.
Timer in Timesheet
ERPNext provides a built-in Timer feature to capture real-time work duration for tasks and activities.
How Timer Works
- Click Start Timer and enter Activity Type, Project, Task, and Expected Hours.
- The timer begins tracking actual work time in real time.
- Once the task is completed, click Complete to stop the timer.
- A new Timesheet entry is automatically created with recorded duration.
If actual time exceeds expected hours, the system generates a warning to indicate deviation from planned effort.
Additional Timesheet Options
Each time entry within a Timesheet can include additional fields for detailed tracking:
- Expected Hours – Estimated time required for completion.
- To Time – End time of work activity.
- Completed – Marks task as completed.
- Task – Links entry to a specific task.
- Billing Hours – Hours eligible for customer billing.
- Billing Rate – Rate used for billing calculation.
- Costing Rate – Internal cost per hour of work.
- Billing Amount – Auto-calculated billing value.
- Costing Amount – Auto-calculated internal cost value.
Timesheet Configuration Overview
- Total Billable Hours – Total hours eligible for billing.
- Total Billable Amount – Total amount calculated for billable work.
- Total Billed Hours – Hours already invoiced through Sales Invoice.
- Total Billed Amount – Amount already billed to customer.
- Total Costing Amount – Internal cost of all recorded work.
- % Amount Billed – Percentage of billable amount already invoiced.
Timesheets directly integrate with Sales Invoices and Salary Slips, enabling seamless conversion of time into revenue and payroll calculations.
After Submitting Timesheet
Once submitted, the Timesheet becomes locked for critical financial fields such as billing and costing rates to maintain data integrity.
From a submitted Timesheet, the following documents can be generated:
- Sales Invoice
- Salary Slip
Timesheets ensure accurate conversion of employee effort into measurable financial outcomes, supporting both project costing and payroll automation in ERPNext.
