Timecard Review Checklist
Timecard Review Checklist
Quick Summary
A timecard review checklist helps contractors verify labor hours before payroll is processed. Reviewing timecards regularly reduces payroll errors, improves job costing accuracy, and helps identify missing or incorrect entries before they become bigger problems. This checklist is useful for business owners, office managers, payroll staff, project managers, and foremen.
When to Use This Checklist
- Before weekly payroll processing.
- Before submitting payroll to an outside provider.
- At the end of each pay period.
- When reviewing labor costs by project.
- After receiving employee timecards.
- When investigating payroll discrepancies.
- Before finalizing labor cost reports.
Before You Start
- Collect all employee timecards for the pay period.
- Confirm reporting deadlines have passed.
- Gather project schedules and labor reports if needed.
- Review payroll period dates.
- Confirm employee roster is current.
- Verify foreman or supervisor approvals are available.
- Prepare payroll review records or software reports.
Safety Checks
- Verify safety meeting attendance hours are recorded correctly.
- Confirm safety training time is documented when applicable.
- Review labor entries related to incident response activities if applicable.
- Verify project safety-related labor is assigned to the correct job code.
- Review unusually long shifts for possible reporting errors.
- Document any timecard corrections made during review.
Tools, Equipment, and Materials
- Employee timecards or timesheets.
- Payroll records.
- Job cost codes and project numbers.
- Crew schedules.
- Supervisor approval records.
- Labor reports and job costing reports.
- Payroll software or tracking system.
Timecard Review Checklist
- Confirm all employees submitted timecards.
- Review employee names and payroll identifiers.
- Verify dates match the current pay period.
- Check daily start and stop times for accuracy.
- Review total hours worked for each employee.
- Verify overtime hours are recorded correctly.
- Confirm hours are assigned to the correct project.
- Review labor cost codes for accuracy.
- Compare labor hours against project schedules when needed.
- Review unusually high or low hour totals.
- Identify missing punches or incomplete entries.
- Verify paid leave or non-job hours are coded correctly.
- Confirm supervisor approval has been obtained.
- Resolve discrepancies with employees or supervisors.
- Record corrections and supporting notes.
- Approve timecards for payroll processing.
Documentation Needed
- Employee timecards or timesheets.
- Supervisor approvals.
- Payroll adjustment records.
- Job cost coding records.
- Labor reports and summaries.
- Correction notes and supporting documentation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Processing payroll before reviewing all timecards.
- Missing incorrect job codes or project assignments.
- Overlooking overtime calculation errors.
- Failing to investigate unusual labor hours.
- Making undocumented timecard changes.
- Accepting incomplete or unapproved timecards.
End-of-Day / Final Review
- All employee timecards have been reviewed.
- Missing or incorrect entries have been corrected.
- Supervisor approvals have been verified.
- Payroll totals have been reviewed.
- Job costing records have been updated.
- Timecard records have been filed and approved for payroll.
Checklist Completion
Project / Job Name
Jobsite / Location
Completed By
Role / Title
Completed Date
Completed Time
Signature
Reviewed / Approved By, if needed
Notes / Follow-Up Items
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