Using a timesheet to track your nanny's work hours

Nanny Timesheet Template Nanny Timesheet Template .pdf Nanny Hours Calculator

Tracking your nanny’s work hours is extremely important for these reasons:

There are no disputes about how many hours to pay for. We ask our nanny to write down hours worked as well as time spent on breaks every day. And we ask her to sign each entry she makes.
You have a track record of the hours worked, time off, and sick time for your files. If the nanny is not working, mark this on the timesheet as well – with a quick comment about why the nanny was not working.
When the time comes to do payroll, it is easy to calculate hours and in what categories they fall (sick time, paid time off, etc.)

TIP: Once the timesheet is filled out, we are taking a photo and then open it in Google photos to add a description. I am using the name of the nanny and 'timesheet'. I still keep a paper copy as well, but this way, I can get all the timesheets for my nanny with a quick search in Google Photos.

Nanny timesheet template

Find below a Google spreadsheet we are using for time tracking.

Here is a link directly to the spreadsheet in Google Sheets. You can create your own copy and modify the document as you like. Here is a .pdf version.

TIP: To create your own copy of the timesheet, open it directly in Google Sheets by clicking on this link, then select 'File' and then 'Make a copy'. Alternatively, use the .pdf file.

TIP: We print a new timesheet every two weeks. In Google Sheets, once you have a data in a cell, you can double click the date and conveniently choose the start date for the new timesheet.

Nanny hours calculator

A small complication when preparing the pay stub for your nanny is that you need the time worked in hours. Because you have multiple days on the timesheet, that often takes some number crunching. For example, if the nanny worked from 1:15-2:30 one day and 2:15-3:30 the next day, that would be 2.5 hours. When you also have the minutes for breaks, that can become a little unwieldy.

To deal with that problem, we are using the spreadsheet below. It automates the calculation: you put in the hours exactly as the nanny put them in the timesheet, and it calculates the overall number of hours for you.

Click here to open the calculator directly in Google Sheets.

Conclusions

Keeping track of the time your nanny is working (and not working) is very important to avoid potential disputes. When you are about to create your nanny’s pay stub, it is obviously also an essential data point to have.

Using a simple timesheet template is an easy, yet powerful way to handle this. Using a timesheet can really pay off.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me on Twitter (see my Twitter handle below.)

Good luck! And happy parenting!