What's on a Timeslip? Includes a Free Timeslips Template

If your business makes money based on time, then timeslips are not optional. They are the foundation of accurate billing, clean reporting, and ultimately, profitability.

But most companies either misunderstand them or manage them poorly. That leads to missed revenue, billing disputes, and teams wasting hours fixing mistakes.

This guide breaks down exactly what timeslips are, how they work, how to use them properly, and how to turn them into a system that actually drives revenue instead of creating admin work.

What are Timeslips?

A timeslip is a record of time spent on a specific task, job, client, or project.

It captures:

• Who did the work
• What work was done
• When it was done
• How long it took
• Who it should be billed to

Think of it as the smallest unit of billable work.

Instead of saying: “Worked 8 hours today”

A timeslip says: “Worked 2.5 hours on Client A website design, 1.5 hours on Client B revisions, 4 hours on internal planning”

That level of detail is what turns time into revenue.

Why Timeslips Matter More Than You Think

Most businesses underestimate how much money they lose from poor time tracking.

Here’s what happens without proper timeslips:

1. Lost Revenue

People forget what they worked on. Hours go unbilled.

2. Inaccurate Invoices

Clients question charges because there’s no clear breakdown.

3. No Visibility

You don’t actually know:

• Which clients are profitable
• Which projects are over budget
• Where your team’s time is going

4. Operational Chaos

Leaders end up guessing instead of making decisions based on real data.

Timeslips fix all of that when done right.

What a Good Timeslip Includes

If your timeslips are missing any of these, they are weak and will cause problems later.

A proper timeslip should include:

• Employee Name
• Date
• Start Time / End Time OR Total Hours
• Client or Project
• Task Description
• Billable vs Non-Billable
• Hourly Rate (optional but powerful)
• Approval Status

Billable vs Non-Billable Time (Where Most Businesses Mess Up)

Not all time should be billed. But if you do not separate it, your data becomes useless.

Billable Time

• Client work
• Project deliverables
• Direct revenue activities

Non-Billable Time

• Internal meetings
• Training
• Admin work
• Business development

Why this matters:

If your team logs 40 hours but only 25 are billable, you need to know that. Otherwise, your margins will slowly collapse and you won’t understand why.

How Timeslips Turn Into Revenue

This is where most people fail. They track time but never connect it to money.

The flow should look like this:

1. Employee logs timeslip
2. Manager reviews and approves
3. Approved time flows into invoices
4. Invoice gets sent to client
5. Revenue is collected

If any step is manual or disconnected, things break.

You either:

• Miss billing
• Underbill
• Or spend hours fixing data

Common Mistakes That Kill the Value of Timeslips

Let’s call these out directly.

1. Logging Time at the End of the Week

People forget details. Accuracy drops immediately.

2. Vague Descriptions

“Worked on project” is useless. It won’t hold up in billing.

3. No Approval Process

Unreviewed time = bad invoices.

4. Too Many Categories

If your system is complicated, people stop using it properly.

5. No Real-Time Visibility

If you only look at time after the week ends, you are already behind.

Best Practices for Using Timeslips

If you want this to actually work in your business, follow these:

1. Log Time Daily

Ideally in real time. At worst, same day.

2. Keep Categories Simple

Client → Project → Task That’s enough.

3. Require Clear Descriptions

Short but specific.

Bad: “Work” Good: “Homepage layout revisions for Client A”

4. Separate Billable Clearly

This should never be optional.

5. Use Approvals

Managers should review weekly before billing.

6. Make It Easy

If logging time takes more than a few seconds, adoption drops.

Simple Timeslip Template You Can Use

You can build this in Excel or Google Sheets.

Columns:

• Date
• Employee
• Client
• Project
• Task Description
• Start Time
• End Time
• Total Hours
• Billable (Yes/No)
• Hourly Rate
• Total Amount

Example Formula (Total Hours)

If using start/end time:

= (End Time - Start Time) * 24

Example Formula (Total Amount)

= Total Hours * Hourly Rate

That gives you a working baseline system.

But here’s the truth:

Spreadsheets break once your team grows.

When to Move Beyond Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets work early. Then they become a bottleneck.

You should upgrade when:

• You have multiple employees logging time
• You are billing multiple clients
• You need approvals
• You want real-time visibility
• You are manually building invoices

At that point, you are not saving money using spreadsheets. You are losing it.

The Smarter Way to Manage Timeslips

Instead of managing timeslips, invoices, projects, and reporting in separate tools, the smarter approach is to connect everything.

That means:

• Employees log time once
• Time automatically links to projects and clients
• Approved time flows directly into invoices
• You see real-time revenue and hours

No duplication. No chasing people. No guessing.

Final Takeaway

Timeslips are not just about tracking time. They are about controlling revenue.

If you:

• Track time accurately
• Separate billable vs non-billable
• Approve before billing
• Connect time to invoices

You turn time into a predictable, scalable revenue system.

If you don’t, you’re guessing. And guessing is expensive.

Want to Skip the Spreadsheet Stage?

You can absolutely start with a template.

But if you want everything connected from day one, tools like Updoot are built to handle this end-to-end.

Employees clock time, assign it to projects, and approved hours flow directly into invoices and reporting.

No gaps. No lost hours. No manual cleanup.

That’s the difference between tracking time and actually running a business on it.