Why do timesheets matter?
Staff pay is often the largest cost in a grant. A donor will only accept the part of a person’s cost that matches the time they spent on that grant. A timesheet is the record that shows it.
Without one, you cannot show why 40% of a salary was charged to one project and 60% to another. With one, the split is a fact you can point to.
What should a timesheet record?
Keep it simple. For each working day or week, record:
- The person’s name.
- The period.
- Hours by project and grant.
- Hours on other work, such as general management or training.
- Leave and holidays, shown separately.
- A date and a signature or confirmation.
Account for all working time, not only project time. If hours add up to less than the working week, auditors will ask where the rest went.
How do you cost the hours?
Most NGOs use a staff cost rate. A simple method:
- Total cost of the person for the period: salary plus employer costs that the donor allows.
- Total working hours in the period, after paid leave and holidays, according to your policy.
- Hourly rate = total cost ÷ working hours.
- Project cost = hours on that project × hourly rate.
Example, for illustration only: a person costs 3,200 for the month and has 160 working hours, so the rate is 20 per hour. Forty hours on Project A costs 800.
Choose your method, write it down and use it every period. Changing the method partway through a grant is hard to defend.
Who should approve timesheets?
The staff member’s line manager, or a project manager who knows the work, should approve. Two rules matter:
- No self-approval. A manager’s own time must go to someone else, such as their own supervisor.
- Approve on time. Set a deadline each period, because late approvals delay your reports.
A short review catches common problems: hours on a project that has ended, days over the working limit, and a person charged to two sites at once.
How does approved time reach the ledger?
After approval, finance posts the labour cost to each project and grant as an entry: debit the staff cost, credit the account that holds the cost pool or the payroll control account, depending on your setup. Each line carries the project, grant and budget line so it shows in budget vs actual.
Check three things each period: that every approved timesheet is posted once, that the total posted agrees with the payroll cost for the period, and that no one is charged to a grant outside its dates. Our budget vs actual review article explains how to read the effect on the budget.
What do auditors check?
Auditors usually sample staff costs and ask for four items:
- The contract or letter, showing the role and the pay.
- The timesheet for the period.
- Evidence of approval by someone other than the staff member.
- The ledger entry that matches the timesheet.
If the chain is complete for a sample, the control works. See how to prepare for a donor audit.
What are common mistakes?
- Timesheets filled in at year end.
- Equal splits every month, whatever the real work.
- Time charged to a grant after it closed.
- Managers approving their own hours.
- Different costing methods for different staff.
How do you handle people who work on several projects?
Staff who split their week across grants need the most care. Give them a short list of codes they can pick from, and a code for time that belongs to no project. Remind them each week, because memory fades quickly.
Review the pattern once a quarter. If a person always records exactly the planned split, ask whether they are recording real time or copying the budget. Real time moves a little each week. Also check that the sum of charges across all grants for one person never exceeds that person’s cost for the period. That one check catches double charging.
When a grant ends, tell staff the last day they may charge to it. Late entries to a closed grant are a common reason for disallowed costs.
Where EMPOBase fits
In EMPOBase, timesheets sit in People & HR. Managers cannot approve their own time, and approved eligible project time can contribute labour costs to Finance, where it posts to projects in the ledger. Salary records stay behind a separate compensation permission. EMPOBase does not produce payslips, compute payroll tax or social contributions, or file statutory returns; your payroll provider or accountant keeps doing that. See the documentation for the timesheet and payroll boundary.