Moving from paper or spreadsheet timesheets to an app

Updated 28 September 2026

Paper timesheets and spreadsheets work until they don’t: illegible times, forgotten Fridays, and an afternoon each pay run adding things up. Moving to an app takes an hour or two of setup and a week of overlap.

1. Decide how people will record time

Typed timesheets: staff enter their hours each day or week. Best for office and project work.
Clock in and out: on their phone at the site, at a shared tablet, or by scanning a code. Best for shifts and sites.

You can mix: most people clock in, a few type their hours.

2. Set up the basics

Your pay period (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) and when your week starts.
Your sites (the places people clock in) and, if you bill by job, your projects and clients.
Who approves whose timesheets.

3. Invite your team

Paste names and emails from your spreadsheet, or upload it. People join from the email on their phone or computer.

4. Run both for one pay period

For one pay period, keep your old method alongside. Compare the totals at the end. Differences are usually missed clock-outs or unrecorded breaks, which is exactly what the app will flag from now on.

5. Switch over

Stop the paper or spreadsheet. From now on:

Staff record time on the day.
You review flags and approve each week.
You export approved hours for payroll.

How Vaultime helps

Vaultime sets itself up from a few questions about your business, invites a whole team from a pasted list or spreadsheet, and runs a 14-day free trial, enough for a full fortnightly pay period alongside your old system. Start free.