Time Cards Form

Use a Printable Time Cards 0 template to make your document workflow more streamlined.

What a time cards form records

A Time Cards Form records the hours an employee or contractor worked during a defined period, including work dates, start and end times, breaks, project or job information, and approval. It gives payroll and managers a documented basis for reviewing labor time before processing pay or allocating project costs. With signNow, a sender uploads the form, auto-detects or places fillable fields, assigns the employee and supervisor, sends it for signature, and stores the completed document with an audit trail.

Businesses that use time cards

Time Cards Form fits organizations that need employees to report hours and supervisors to approve them before payroll, billing, or project accounting.

Construction companies use Time Cards Form to capture crew hours, job codes, and supervisor approvals from worksites before project billing or payroll review.
Healthcare employers use it for staff time records when access controls and HIPAA safeguards are required for workflows involving protected health information.
Small businesses and enterprise payroll teams use reusable templates to collect employee hours consistently across locations, departments, and pay periods.

Payroll teams

Supervisors record employee hours, breaks, job codes, and approvals for payroll review. A completed form creates a consistent record that can be checked against schedules and supporting attendance information.

Project managers

Construction and field-service managers use time cards to document project labor, crew hours, and supervisor approval before invoicing or internal cost allocation.

How a time cards form works

The signNow workflow converts a Time Cards Form into a controlled record from upload through approval and storage.

Upload form: Upload the blank or completed Time Cards Form to signNow.
Add details: Auto-detect fields, then add hours, dates, breaks, and approval fields.
Assign signers: Assign the employee, supervisor, or payroll reviewer as signers.
Store record: Send the completed record and retain its audit trail.

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Authenticate signer:

The audit trail records the signer’s authentication event and identifying session details.

Capture timestamp:

Each signature, field change, and approval receives a recorded timestamp.

Hash document:

The signed Time Cards Form is associated with document-integrity information.

Seal record:

The completed record and history are sealed against unnoticed changes.

Deliver copy:

Recipients receive the completed form and certificate of completion.

Export history:

Administrators can retrieve or export the audit trail for review.

Fillable fields

Upload a blank or existing Time Cards Form and place fields for dates, hours, breaks, job codes, signatures, and approvals without recreating the document.

Signer routing

Send the same time-card template to employees and route each completed record to the correct supervisor for approval before payroll review.

Audit trail

Capture employee and supervisor signatures with timestamps and an audit trail that connects the final record to its signing events.

Mobile signing

Let employees complete and sign time cards from signNow mobile apps when work occurs at jobsites, client locations, or multiple facilities.

Digital records

Save completed time cards as searchable electronic records instead of relying on handwritten forms that require manual transcription or physical filing.

Reusable templates

Use reusable templates so recurring pay-period forms retain consistent labels, required fields, and approval routing across teams.

Mobile options for time cards

Employees and supervisors can work with a Time Cards Form through signNow mobile apps for iOS and Android. Mobile workflows support field completion, review, and signing when the form must be handled away from a desk.

Mobile apps iOS and Android apps
Offline mode Offline signing available
Document capture Camera-based capture

For field work, confirm that offline signing and camera-based document capture fit the organization’s device policy. Administrators should also verify synchronization, access permissions, and retention after a mobile signer reconnects.

Time-card challenges to prevent

Missing start, end, or break times can prevent payroll from confirming the hours reported for a specific work date.
A supervisor approval field assigned to the wrong person can leave the pay-period record incomplete or disputed.
Different templates for the same team can produce inconsistent project codes, overtime notes, and approval evidence.
Late submission of a signed time card can delay payroll review and require manual follow-up with the employee.

State rules and document exclusions

Real-estate deeds

May require notarization

Wills and codicils

Electronic signing excluded

Family-law documents

Court filing rules apply

Notarized records

State formalities may control

Best practices for time cards

A controlled template, documented approvals, and secure retention make Time Cards Form records easier to review during payroll questions, wage claims, or internal audits.

Standardize every time-card template

Use one controlled template with clearly labeled employee, work date, start time, end time, break, project, and supervisor-approval fields. Require the supervisor to review entries before signing so payroll receives a complete and legible record.

Preserve the signed record together

Keep the completed Time Cards Form with its signNow audit trail, certificate of completion, and related approval information. Store the files in an access-controlled repository and apply the longest applicable federal or state retention period.

Minimize sensitive information

Limit access to employees, supervisors, payroll staff, and authorized administrators. Avoid placing Social Security numbers or unrelated health information on the form unless the workflow specifically requires it and privacy controls are documented.

Test before the first pay period

Test the workflow with one representative pay period before deployment. Confirm that signers receive the correct fields, dates and hours remain editable only before signing, and the final PDF can be retrieved and reproduced.

Time-card record retention periods

Retention depends on the record’s role. Use the longest applicable federal, state, industry, or employer policy period, and confirm requirements with counsel or the responsible agency.

Three years for payroll records

The Fair Labor Standards Act recordkeeping rule requires covered payroll records, including time records, to be retained for three years under 29 CFR §516.5.

State-required period may be longer

An employer’s state wage-and-hour rule may require a longer period than the federal baseline; verify the applicable state labor authority.

Retention period for signed records

Electronic records must remain accessible and reproducible for the applicable retention period; preserve the signed form and audit trail together.

Three years for tax support

If the time card supports a tax record, apply the applicable IRS rule and retain supporting records for the required period under IRC §6501(a).

Six years for HIPAA records

If the record contains protected health information, HIPAA documentation rules may require six years under 45 CFR §164.530(j).

Time Cards Form troubleshooting

Resolve field-detection, plan, signing, retention, and access questions before sending a Time Cards Form for approval.

signNow’s Business plan includes templates, audit trails, mobile apps, and legally binding eSignatures at $8 per user per month when billed annually. Upload the Time Cards Form, map fields, and send it for approval without rebuilding the document.

Review the auto-detected fields and manually add date, hour, break, employee, supervisor, and approval fields. A PDF may contain no detectable fields, so field placement must be checked before sending the Time Cards Form.

Business Premium includes bulk send at $15 per user per month when billed annually. Use it when the same Time Cards Form must be issued repeatedly with different employee, project, or pay-period information.

signNow supports ESIGN and UETA compliance, but legal effect still depends on intent, consent, signer attribution, and record retention. For consumer-facing records, review the ESIGN disclosure requirements in 15 U.S.C. §7001(c).

Keep the completed Time Cards Form and audit trail according to the payroll or employment-record rule that applies. The FLSA requires covered payroll records to be retained for three years under 29 CFR §516.5.

Use signNow’s audit trail and document history to identify the signer, timestamps, and actions. For sensitive payroll data, restrict access by organizational role and apply your employer’s privacy and retention policy.

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