Project Time Tracking in Excel: Free Template 2026

Use this free Excel template to record time for a client project and review it by employee and activity.

The file has 200 time-entry rows and fields for up to 15 employees. It calculates working hours from start, end and break times. Rates and the billable setting determine the amount.

A separate sheet collects the entries into a client timesheet. Print it, obtain a signature or save it as a PDF from Excel.

Download and prepare the template

The workbook has four sheets: time entry, settings, analysis and client timesheet. Use one file per client project. Create separate copies for additional projects.

Start with the settings sheet and replace the example names, activities and rates. Review the four sample time entries before entering your own hours. Select employees and activities from dropdown lists in the time-entry sheet.

What the Excel template does

In the time-entry sheet, enter the project name, client and dates. Each row records one employee’s work on one day. Use separate rows for several activities on the same day.

The template subtracts breaks from the time between start and end. Entries marked billable also count toward billable hours and the amount. Non-billable entries remain part of the total time.

Summary figures show total hours, billable hours and the amount for the recorded entries. The analysis sheet groups those entries by employee and activity.

The client timesheet uses the project details and time entries. The separate analysis sheet holds the internal breakdown by employee and activity.

How project time tracking in Excel works

Enter employees, rates and activities in the settings sheet. Then add the client, project name and dates in the time-entry sheet.

Add one row per activity: date, employee, activity, description, start, end and break. Enter clock times as times, such as 09:00, and breaks in minutes.

Select Yes or No in the billable column, then check the calculated hours and amount. Leave formula columns intact so the analysis and client timesheet can include the entry.

What belongs in a project time record?

This template combines working-time records with allocation to a client project. Working-time documentation needs the daily time record; the client needs a description of the services. The file provides these fields:

• -date the work was performed
• -name of the employee
• -activity from a defined category list
• -short description of the work
• -start time
• -end time
• -break in minutes
• -actual working time in decimal hours
• -whether the time is billable
• -billable project time
• -hourly rate and resulting amount
• -project name, client and service period

Enter actual breaks when calculating working time. Whether travel or internal coordination can be billed depends on your client agreement. The billable setting does not change total working hours.

Calculating project hours automatically in Excel

The template calculates the time between start and end, subtracts the break and rounds to two decimal places. A 09:00 to 17:30 entry with a 30-minute break gives 8.0 hours. At €120 per hour, a fully billable entry amounts to €960.

Decimal hours are not clock times: 7.5 hours means 7 hours and 30 minutes. Check the format when copying values from another timesheet.

Maintain employees, activities and rates

Maintain employees and their hourly rates in the settings sheet. Time entry uses a dropdown for names and a formula for rates. If a personal rate is missing, the file uses the default rate. Changing a rate can also recalculate older entries in this file, so keep a completed copy for historical records.

Evaluating project hours by employee

The analysis sheet lists total, billable and non-billable hours for each employee. Use it to check, for example, whether all consultants on the project have recorded their monthly hours.

The bar shows billable hours as a share of recorded hours. This is not a utilization rate: the calculation does not include contractual target hours, leave or other absences.

The amount per employee comes from their billable entries and assigned rate. Salaries and other personnel costs are not included, so this amount alone does not show project margin.

Compare recorded hours with your separate project estimate. The file shows work recorded so far; you still need to estimate and plan the remaining work.

Evaluating project hours by activity

The activity report groups entries by category, such as design, coordination or travel. Select the saved category in each time-entry row for it to be grouped correctly.

Total and billable hours remain separate. For example, check how much time was recorded for client discussions and how much can be billed under your agreement.

Use completed projects to inform your next estimate. If a comparable design phase took more hours than expected, account for that work in the new proposal. The sheet provides recorded figures, not a general benchmark.

Printing and signing the project time record

The client timesheet takes the project name, client and service period from the time-entry sheet. Check these details before sending it to the client.

The client timesheet includes the entries, total hours and billable hours. Choose in the settings sheet whether to show the net amount.

The client signature area includes place and date. Agree with the client who should review the timesheet and which format their billing process requires.

A print area is defined for the sheet. Check print preview, especially after changing rows or columns. Alternatively, save the timesheet using Excel’s PDF output.

An example of project time tracking in Excel

Four sample entries show how the file works, including billable and non-billable activities. Names, projects and amounts are example data.

Follow one row from start, end and break to calculated working hours. Then compare the saved hourly rate with the calculated amount.

Try changing one entry from billable to non-billable. Total hours remain the same, while that entry no longer contributes billable hours or an amount. The analysis reflects the change.

Remove the sample inputs before recording real work. Clear entered data without deleting formulas in calculated columns.

Who is project time tracking in Excel for?

The template suits a single client project with a manageable team. You need Excel or another program that supports XLSX files and the formulas used.

Agencies, consultancies and IT service providers can record project hours and provide a client timesheet. Freelancers can use it for their own work too.

Decide who maintains the file and who checks it before sending. If several people contribute, agree on a shared location and one current version.

If you combine time from several projects, collect timesheets and create invoices from them, compare that workflow with QUANTICAL.ERP. Test the complete process with one of your own client projects.

Consider the recurring reconciliation work: how often do you transfer the same hours, and which corrections need to be repeated in several files?

Advantages of project time tracking in Excel

The template is free and does not require a QUANTICAL.ERP account. If your team already uses Excel, you can edit it with your existing software.

Dropdown lists use the employee names and activities saved in settings. Formulas calculate hours and amounts, so you do not have to add the totals again for each report.

Two reports support internal review: by employee and by activity. Both use the entries in the same file.

A separate client timesheet lets you hide the net amount when you only need to provide hours and activities.

The prepared formulas and reports cover 200 time-entry rows per file. Check whether this is enough for your project before starting.

Where project time tracking in Excel reaches its limits

The file covers one project. You need to compile an overview of all client projects from the separate workbooks yourself.

Check altered columns, overwritten formulas and conflicting versions when combining files. The article Excel time tracking: templates, costs and limitations explains how to assess that work for your team.

The template does not create invoices or combine project budgets across files. Personnel costs and margins for controlling are also outside the workbook’s scope.

In QUANTICAL.ERP, project entries are reused for timesheets, billing runs and reports. During the trial, check which steps from your existing file-based process it can support or replace.

Excel or digital project time tracking, which is better?

Project time tracking assigns working hours to a project. PSA software covers additional processes such as capacity planning, project billing and controlling. The terms describe different scopes.

If you only need time records and individual client timesheets, the template may be enough. If you need one view across projects or want to invoice from the same entries, compare the workflow with a system such as QUANTICAL.ERP.

Test both approaches against the same requirements: set up a project, record hours, create a timesheet and bill a month. Note where you need to re-enter data or check it manually.

Try QUANTICAL.ERP free for 90 days. After that, pay €12.90 per user per month, plus VAT. All features, future updates and additions are included.