Tie-out tool / Timesheet CSV format

Timesheet CSV format

One row per employee, per day, per earning code, with five columns: employee, date, hours, rate, earning_code. Most time-clock and payroll detail exports already have them under other names.

Download the sample timesheet and the sample register totals.

Columns

Column	Also accepted as	Formats
`employee`	Employee Name, Name, Worker; or First Name + Last Name; Employee ID	Any text. `Last, First` is fine.
`date`	Work Date, Day, Shift Date, Punch Date	2026-03-14 or 3/14/2026 (month first)
`hours`	Hrs, Total Hours, Duration, Quantity	8.5 or 8:30
`rate`	Pay Rate, Hourly Rate, Base Rate	22.50 or $22.50. On overtime rows, either the base rate or the multiplied rate.
`earning_code` (optional)	Pay Code, Earning Code, Type, Category	Any code. You confirm what each code means before the run.
`pay_date` (optional)	Check Date, Payday	Same as date. Used to place each workweek in a tax year.

What the reader copes with

Comma, semicolon, tab or pipe separators; quoted fields; a title block above the header.
Total rows and blank rows are skipped and counted.
A row with an unreadable date or hours stops the run and names the line. Nothing is dropped silently.
Excel files are not read. Save the sheet as CSV first.
Every column that is not read is listed on screen after the file loads.

One column per hour type

Some time clocks export one row per day with a column for each kind of hours. The reader turns each of those columns into its own coded rows and shows you what it read.

Heading	Read as
`Regular`, `Regular Hours`, `Reg Hrs`, `Straight Time`	Regular hours worked
`OT`, `OT Hours`, `Overtime`	Overtime hours
`DT`, `DT Hours`, `Doubletime`, `Double Time`	Double-time hours
`Holiday Hours`, `PTO Hours`, `Sick Hours`, `Vacation`	Paid time off

With a Regular Hours column, a Total Hours or Hours column is used only to check that each row adds up. A row that does not add up stops the run and names the line.
Total Hours beside overtime columns only: regular hours are the total less the overtime columns.
Hours beside OT Hours with no regular column is refused, because the file does not say whether Hours includes the overtime. Rename it Regular Hours or Total Hours.
Headings written without a space are read the same way: OTHours, OvertimeHours, RegHrs, and also Over Time and Time & Half.
A heading that does not settle one kind of hours, such as Holiday OT Hours or Non-OT Hours, is refused until it is renamed.
Any other hours column, such as Scheduled Hours or Hours2, is not read and a warning names it. The same warning names any unread column that holds only numbers in the range of a day's hours, whatever its heading.

Earning codes that are not guessed

A code is filled in for you only when every word in it fits one type: REG, Regular Hours, OT, Overtime 1.5, Double Time, Holiday, Sick Leave. One word outside that, as in FMLA Hours, Comp Hrs, Unpaid Hours, Not Worked, Non-OT Hours or OT Premium, and the code is left for you to choose. The run does not start until every code has a type.

A code that joins a day-off word with an overtime or double-time word, such as Holiday OT, OT - Holiday or Holiday Worked, is never filled in for you. Pay for a holiday that was not worked is not pay for hours worked (29 CFR 778.218); hours actually worked on a holiday are hours worked like any others. The code name does not say which of the two it is, so you choose the type before the run.

The ID column

When the file has an employee ID column, rows are grouped by it. If the column behaves like a row number (one name under many values) or like a shared number (one value on rows for different people), the tool stops and asks whether to group by name or by that column. There is no default.

Register totals

Paste one line per employee: name, then the year's overtime earnings from the payroll register. Example: Dana Okafor, 330.00. Names are matched to the timesheet without regard to case or Last, First order.

Do the whole year from a file

Drop a timesheet CSV, paste the register overtime totals, and get a worksheet per employee with the reason for every difference.

Open the tie-out tool

Runs in your browser. Payroll data is never uploaded.

Questions

Is the file uploaded?

No. The file is read by your browser and never leaves your device.

Sources

29 CFR 778.218, pay for certain idle hours

Fetched 2026-11-10. Regulation text was checked against the federal annual edition; links open the current online version.

Updated 2026-11-10. Tickfoot is an information tool, not tax, legal or professional advice.