2.4. Timesheet

The time worked on the implementation of a project must be recorded in compliance with the terms and conditions of the support scheme, incl. taking into account whether it is required to complete timesheets.

For projects funded from the Structural Funds and the INTERREG programme, an employee is required to complete a timesheet if the employee’s workload is not laid down in a contract or financial allocation decision or if the employee has to perform (additional) tasks not related to the project.  The obligation to complete a timesheet also arises when in the case of a fixed workload, the employee temporarily performs extra tasks outside the project, for which additional remuneration is paid under a directive.

In the case of European Commission projects, a person is required to complete a timesheet if the person performs other tasks at the university in addition to the project. An employee is required to complete a timesheet also if the total remuneration is paid from the project financing source, but the employee is required to conduct teaching.

A timesheet is required to record the amount of work of and hours worked by a person participating in a project (as a rule, in the case of part-time employment, and where necessary, also in the case of full-time employment).  Based on a timesheet, the institution where the project activities are carried out, can calculate personnel costs and it also provides evidence to the funder, giving an overview of the contribution of the people involved in the project.

A timesheet must be completed monthly, at least at the end of each calendar month. In the case of structural assistance, usually daily timesheets shall be submitted and in the case of European Commission funded projects usually monthly timesheets shall be submitted.

A timesheet is used to record the time worked by a person involved in the implementation of the project. A timesheet is typically an Excel spreadsheet containing the following required data:

1. Name of the person (participant in the project);
2. Title and number of the project (including acronym), i.e. details of the project implementer;
3. Days, month and year;
4. Content of the work, i.e. the operations and work carried out for the project. If the hours worked are divided across a project and your other activities, the content of work and hours worked must be indicated by hours and must not exceed 8 h in total;
5. Volume of work carried out for the project, i.e. hours worked (per day) and total number of hours worked (per month).
6. Hours worked outside the project (by date) and total hours worked (per month) - this does not apply to projects funded by the European Commission!
7. At the bottom of the table, there must be a place for approval, the name and signature of the employee and the project manager. If a timesheet is completed by the project manager, his/her timesheet shall be approved by his/her direct superior.

NB! Before signing, make sure that the digital signature is accepted by the funder.

A digital signature shall be given within a reasonable time after the end of the period.

1. Dates of signatures A timesheet shall be approved immediately after the end of a calendar month!

NB! A timesheet is valid only if it has been duly approved!

It is reasonable to fill in the timesheet on an ongoing basis to avoid errors. Care must be taken that hours worked are not erroneously recorded on days of sick leave, annual leave, secondment unrelated to the project. However, a secondment, event, etc. related to the project shall be recorded in the description of the activity and in the hours worked for the project.

If an employee participates in more than one projects funded by the same financial instrument (e.g. Structural Funds), all the projects shall be recorded in one timesheet (see the sample timesheet for multiple projects).

The same applies to European Commission funded projects – if an employee participates in more than one European Commission funded project at the same time, all the projects shall be recorded in one timesheet.

In European Commission funded projects, the project’s contact person in the Commission may also request timesheets to be submitted by work package or WP in the reporting period.

Both a person working on the project and the project manager are responsible for completing a timesheet during the implementation of the project and for the correctness of the data contained therein, and they must confirm the correctness of the data by their signatures. No corrections can be made to the timesheets after submission to the funder.

Examples of timesheets can be found here:

A timesheet for Horizon Europe projects (reporting days)

A timesheet for Horizon Europe projects while working for multiple projects (reporting days)

A timesheet for a Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe action

A timesheet for multiple projects