How to Track Work Hours: The Complete Guide for Hourly Workers

Quick Answer: What's the Best Way to Track Work Hours?

The best way to track work hours depends on your situation, but for most people a time-tracking app is the simplest and most reliable option. You tap once to clock in, once to clock out, and the app handles the math.

Paper timesheets and spreadsheets also work, but they're easier to lose and harder to maintain.

Whichever method you pick, the important thing is that you keep your own records. Employers steal an estimated $50 billion per year from workers through wage theft, and your personal time log is the first line of defense.

Why You Should Track Your Own Work Hours

Most advice about time tracking is aimed at managers. This article is for you, the person doing the work. Even if your employer runs a time clock, there are real reasons to keep your own records.

Catch paycheck errors before they add up

Payroll mistakes happen more often than you'd think. A missed clock-in, a rounded break, an "adjusted" timesheet. If you don't have your own records, you have no way to spot the difference. Fifteen minutes shaved off each shift, five days a week, adds up to 65 hours of unpaid work per year.

Prove your overtime

The new overtime tax deduction lets you deduct overtime pay on your federal return for tax years 2025 through 2028. But your W-2 doesn't break out overtime separately. Without your own weekly records, you can't claim it.

Protect yourself from wage theft

Employers steal an estimated $50 billion per year from U.S. workers through unpaid wages, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The DOL's Wage and Hour Division recovered $273 million for about 152,000 workers in 2024, but that's a fraction of the total. Your personal records are your strongest evidence in a wage complaint.

Simplify your taxes

Freelancers and gig workers need records of hours and income for IRS reporting. The IRS expects self-employed workers to keep records of all business income and expenses. A time log tied to specific clients or projects makes tax season simpler.

The DOL agrees with you

The U.S. Department of Labor built a free timesheet app for workers to track their own hours. If the federal government thinks independent time tracking is important enough to build an app for, it's worth doing.

3 Ways to Track Work Hours (Compared)

There are three common approaches. Here's an honest look at each one.

1. Paper timesheet

A printed or handwritten log where you write your start time, end time, and breaks each day.

• Pros: Zero cost, no technology needed, works anywhere
• Cons: Easy to lose, math errors on totals, no backup copy, no automatic overtime calculation
• Best for: Single-job workers in environments where phones aren't allowed

2. Spreadsheet (Excel or Google Sheets)

A digital log with formulas that auto-calculate daily totals, weekly hours, and overtime.

• Pros: Free, formulas handle the math, easy to share or export, customizable
• Cons: Manual data entry every day, no clock-in reminders, not easy to use on your phone, version-control headaches if you edit from multiple devices
• Best for: Freelancers who bill weekly or monthly and want full control over formatting

3. Time-tracking app

A phone app where you tap to clock in and out. The app records timestamps, calculates totals, tracks overtime, and lets you export reports.

• Pros: One-tap clock in/out, automatic calculations, push notifications to remind you, export to CSV or PDF, works from your phone
• Cons: Requires a smartphone, some apps charge a monthly fee
• Best for: Anyone who wants accuracy without daily effort, especially multi-job holders and overtime workers

If you're choosing between these, the question to ask is: will I actually do it every day? The best tracking method is the one you'll stick with. For most people, that's an app, because it takes one tap instead of five minutes of data entry.

What to Record Every Shift

Whether you use paper, a spreadsheet, or an app, record the same information every time you work.

• Date
• Start time (when you actually began working, not when you were scheduled)
• End time (when you actually stopped, not when you clocked out)
• Break duration (paid and unpaid breaks, separately if possible)
• Job or client name (if you work multiple jobs)
• Total hours (regular and overtime, separated)
• Notes (anything unusual: arrived early at manager's request, stayed late to finish a task, worked through lunch)

This matches the data fields in the DOL's own timesheet app. It's also the information you'd need to file a wage complaint or support an overtime tax deduction.

Why "actual" times matter

Record when you started working, not when you were scheduled or when you clocked in. If your employer requires you to arrive 15 minutes early for pre-shift setup, that's work time under the FLSA. If you work off the clock before or after your shift, your personal log captures it even if the company time clock doesn't.

Weekly review habit

At the end of each week, spend two minutes checking your totals. Compare your hours against your employer's records (if accessible) or your pay stub. Flag any discrepancy right away rather than waiting until it shows up as a smaller paycheck weeks later.

How to Track Hours for Multiple Jobs

Nearly 9 million Americans hold more than one job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 5 million of them work a full-time primary job plus a part-time second job. If you're one of them, tracking hours gets more complicated.

Why a single view matters

Each employer tracks only the hours you work for them. Nobody is adding up your total across all jobs. But you need that total. In some states (like California), your combined weekly hours across all employers can affect overtime eligibility. For tax purposes, you need a clear picture of total income and hours by source.

How to set it up

• Use one tool for all jobs. Don't track Job A on paper and Job B in a spreadsheet. Consolidating into a single app or spreadsheet gives you one place to check your weekly total.
• Tag each entry with the job name. Use a color, label, or project name so you can filter and total by employer.
• Set different hourly rates per job. If your jobs pay different rates, your tracking tool should reflect that so overtime and earnings calculations are accurate.
• Review weekly, not just per-employer. Your weekly total across all jobs is what matters for overtime thresholds and for understanding your real workload.

An app like Hours44 lets you create separate jobs with different rates, then shows your combined weekly hours across all of them.

Should You Track Hours If Your Employer Already Does?

Yes. Here's why keeping your own records matters even when your employer has a time clock.

Employers can change your timesheet

According to SHRM, managers can legally edit employee timesheets. They're supposed to adjust them only to correct errors, but in practice, some employers round down, trim pre-shift minutes, or delete break overages. If you don't have your own log, you'd never know.

The DOL built an app for this

The Department of Labor's free timesheet app exists specifically so workers can maintain independent records. The DOL wouldn't have built it if employer records were always reliable.

Your records carry weight in disputes

If you file a wage complaint, the DOL and courts will compare your employer's records against yours. Under the FLSA, employers are required to keep payroll records for 3 years and time cards for 2 years (DOL Fact Sheet #21). When employer records are incomplete or don't match your claim, your personal time log becomes the primary evidence. Timestamped digital records from an app are harder to dispute than handwritten notes.

It takes almost no effort

The real argument for tracking your own hours is that it costs you almost nothing. One tap to start, one tap to stop. In return, you get a verified record of every hour you've worked. If you never need it, you've lost 10 seconds a day. If you do need it, it could be worth thousands of dollars.

Getting Started: Track Your First Week

If you've never tracked your own hours, here's how to start today.

Step 1: Pick your method

For most people, an app is the easiest to maintain. Hours44 is free, works offline, and doesn't require an account. If you prefer a spreadsheet, create one with columns for date, start time, end time, break, total hours, and job name.

Step 2: Set a daily reminder

The biggest reason people stop tracking is forgetting. Set a phone alarm for 5 minutes before your usual start time. After a week or two, clocking in becomes automatic.

Step 3: Record every shift this week

Track your actual start and stop times for five working days. Include breaks. If you work multiple jobs, tag each entry.

Step 4: Review your weekly total

At the end of the week, check your hours. Do they match what you expected? If your employer's time system is accessible, compare your numbers. Any gap is worth investigating.

Step 5: Keep going

The value of time tracking compounds over time. One week of data is useful. A full year of data is powerful. It's enough to claim an overtime tax deduction, file a wage complaint, or simply confirm that your paychecks have been accurate all along.

Tracking Methods in Practice

Here's what each tracking method looks like for a real work week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Practical Tips

• Set a daily alarm. The most common reason people stop tracking is forgetting. A phone reminder 5 minutes before your usual start time turns clocking in into a habit within two weeks.
• Track actual times, not scheduled times. If you arrive at 8:50 but your shift starts at 9:00, record 8:50. Those pre-shift minutes are compensable work time under the FLSA if you're doing job-related tasks.
• Compare your records to your pay stub every payday. Check that the hours on your stub match your personal log. A 15-minute daily discrepancy adds up to over 60 hours a year of unpaid work.
• Export your data regularly. If you use an app, export a backup to CSV or PDF at least once a month. Don't rely on any single device or app being available years from now when you might need the records.
• Note anything unusual. Manager asked you to come in early? Worked through your break? Write it down. These notes are exactly what the DOL looks for in wage complaint investigations.

References

• DOL Timesheet App for Workers — The U.S. Department of Labor's free app for workers to track their own hours independently.
• Economic Policy Institute: Employers Steal Billions from Workers' Paychecks Each Year — Research report estimating $50 billion in annual wage theft, with data on minimum wage and overtime violations.
• DOL Fact Sheet #21: FLSA Recordkeeping Requirements — Official guidance on what employers must record and how long they must retain payroll and time records.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Multiple Jobholders Data — Federal data showing 8.97 million Americans hold multiple jobs as of December 2025.
• IRS: Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center — IRS guidance on recordkeeping requirements for freelancers and self-employed workers.
• SHRM: Can Managers Change Employee Timesheets? — Confirms employers can legally modify employee timesheets and explains the legal boundaries.