Timesheet

What is a timesheet?

The timesheet documents which person worked how many hours on which day in a funded project. It is the basis for accounting for personnel costs and thus usually for the largest part of the funding.

For almost every funding programme and for the German research allowance (Forschungszulage), it is a prerequisite. If it is missing or not reliable, the funding is reduced or reclaimed.

What belongs in it

• Name of the person
• Date, down to the day
• Project and, where required, work package
• Number of hours on that day for that project
• Brief description of the activity: one sentence that fits the project
• Signature of the person and, depending on the programme, of the project lead

The description of the activity is often felt to be a nuisance and is the part that carries weight in audits. “Project work” is not enough. “Evaluated test series on temperature behaviour, variant B” is enough.

The rules that are overlooked

1. Keep it up to date. Daily or weekly. A record written at the end of the year carries little weight in an audit and stands out by its even pattern.
2. Completeness. Many programmes require the entire working time, not only the project hours, so that the split can be checked.
3. Plausibility. The sum across all projects plus day-to-day business must match the contractual working time. 60 project hours in one week stand out.
4. Holiday and sickness must be taken into account. Hours on days when someone demonstrably was not there are the most common audit finding of all.

Worked example

A developer with a gross salary of EUR 62,000 and employer contributions of EUR 12,500 costs EUR 74,500 a year. With 1,650 productive hours a year, that comes to around EUR 45 per hour.

If she evidences 780 hours in the project, that is EUR 35,100 of eligible personnel costs. At a funding rate of 25%, that gives around EUR 8,775 of allowance, for one person.

If the record is missing for three months, roughly a quarter of that falls away. That is why half an hour of effort per week pays off.

Common mistakes

1. Filling in retrospectively. Recognisable and open to challenge in audits.
2. Round numbers everywhere. Exactly 8 hours on one project every day is not credible.
3. No project reference. Without an allocation, nothing can be accounted for.
4. Exempting management. Own work must also be evidenced if it is claimed.
5. Throwing records away after the project ends. Retention periods apply here too, often several years after completion.

Frequently asked questions

Is a time tracking system enough?

Usually yes, if it records project reference and activity and can be evaluated. The requirements of the respective programme should be checked in advance.

How long should it be kept?

Several years after the end of the project, depending on the programme and the tax deadlines. This belongs in the retention policy, not in memory.

What about managing directors?

Their own work may be claimable, often at a flat hourly rate and with a cap per week. The record must be kept in the same way as for employees.

The Roemer Capital view

We set up time recording before the first project starts, not when the first application is due. The effort is small and the difference considerable: a seamless record over twelve months is real money, one reconstructed afterwards is a risk that goes along into every audit.