Late Timesheets: Problems, Penalties & People-Friendly Fixes

Timesheets are the only documents that balance being vitally important for running a business with being totally forgotten. We at Memtime call them the broccoli you bought with good intentions. 🥦

You know the drill with timesheets: it’s Friday, you’re halfway through your second coffee, and your workplace bestie pings you with, “Hey, did you submit your timesheet?”. And suddenly, you remember that you didn’t and that it’s been a week (or 3) since you last visited your timesheets. Cue the regret, the guilt, and the necessary backdating.

But the real consequences come after you submit them late.

Late timesheets come with penalties that can range from awkward Slack messages and losing your quarterly bonus to your manager publicly reprimanding you in front of the entire team.

But hey, submitting late timesheets happens to the best of us, so we’re not here to wag a finger.

Instead, grab your matcha, pretend you’re taking a break, and let’s dive into the whys and the ways to fix (late) timesheets without panic or anxiety.

What are late timesheets, and why are they such a big deal?

Late timesheets might sound like a minor workplace inconvenience, just another ping from payroll or a slightly passive-aggressive micromanaging tool. But in the world of operations, billing, compliance, and employee morale, late timesheets are the cause of a surprising amount of chaos.

A late timesheet is a timesheet that wasn’t submitted by the required deadline.

Depending on your company’s policy, that could be the end of the week, bi-weekly, or monthly. For hourly employees, contractors, consultants, and teams tied to client billing, these deadlines are more than polite suggestions. You need to abide by them as they are tied to the following:

• Payroll processing.
• Client invoicing.
• Project cost tracking.
• Resource planning.
• Legal compliance.

So, when one person’s timesheet is late, it can hold up an entire payroll run, delay invoicing thousands of dollars in client work, and make regulatory reporting inaccurate. That’s why I said they are the cause of chaos: a single spark can ignite a forest fire. And the next thing you know, you and your team are in the “everything is fine” meme.

Why do you think there are so many late timesheet memes?!

Problems caused by late timesheets

A late timesheet isn’t a slip-up. It’s the cause of a house of problems that go across departments, budgets, projects, and team morale.

Here are the most common problems caused by late timesheets.

#1 Payroll processing delays

One of the most immediate and painful consequences of late timesheets hits the payroll team. As you know, payroll relies on accurate, timely data to:

• Calculate hours worked.
• Process overtime pay.
• Apply deductions or bonuses correctly.

When timesheets are submitted late, payroll is delayed, resulting in employees not receiving timely payments and increased admin work to track down missing data.

The ultimate result? Frustrated employees and stressed payroll staff. No bueno.

#2 Billing & revenue delays

For companies that bill clients by the hour (such as consultancies, agencies, and law firms), timesheets are the foundation for invoicing. Late timesheets can cause:

• Delays in generating client invoices.
• Cash flow interruptions as payments get held up.
• Loss of revenue if billable hours aren’t captured accurately.

Now, imagine a law firm unable to bill for hours worked last month because the lawyers haven’t submitted their timesheets. The client’s invoice gets delayed, and so does the money hitting the bank. Painful to watch.

#3 Project management chaos

Timesheets help project managers understand how much time is spent on various tasks and projects. Late or inaccurate data means:

• Poor visibility into project progress and costs.
• Inability to forecast budget overruns.
• Difficulty in allocating resources for future work.

Without timely timesheets, project managers are making reactive decisions based on inaccurate data.

#4 Legal risks

Some industries and contracts require time tracking for compliance reasons. In such regulated environments, late timesheets can lead to:

• Violations of labor laws or contract terms.
• Failed audits or penalties from regulatory bodies.
• Legal disputes or challenges with clients or contractors.

These consequences can be costly financially and reputationally.

#5 Lowered team morale

Filling out timesheets can sound like the most boring task in the world, but late submissions can cause tension among teams:

• Employees who submit their work on time might feel resentful toward those who don’t.
• Managers might publicly call out late submitters, which can be perceived as hostile.

Ultimately, timesheet tardiness breaks team cohesion and trust between team members.

#6 Skewed timesheet data

When timesheets are filled out late, they’re often rushed or guessed, and that means the data isn’t as reliable as it should be. And if the numbers are inaccurate, reporting and decision-making can quickly go off course.

Inaccurate time data confuses everyone and leads to missed opportunities and decisions that don’t quite hit the mark.

So, if timesheets are regularly delayed, it suggests a change. Think of them as a sign that something needs to change, no matter if it’s the process, the tools, or even the overall approach to time tracking.

Reasons why timesheets are late

If you think I was going to point a finger at you, suggesting you’re lazy, you’re wrong.

Sometimes, late timesheets are the result of forgetfulness or apathy. But more often, they’re a symptom of deeper process or culture issues.

Here are 6 most common culprits behind late timesheets.

#1 Forgetfulness

To be fair, most people aren’t counting down to the moment they need to fill out their timesheets. 

In dynamic (read: hella busy) environments, logging hours falls to the bottom of the to-do list. Especially when there are no timesheet reminders, there’s no integration into daily workflows, and you have too many tasks to remember admin work.

#2 Unclear deadlines

Repeat after me (or tell it to your superior): people don’t submit timesheets on time because they don’t know when “on time” is. Changing deadlines can leave you guessing, and without clear cutoffs and consequences, there’s no compliance.

#3 Lack of accountability

If the consequence of late timesheets is a shrug instead of a proper system for addressing them, people learn that deadlines are optional. A lack of consequences or follow-up leads to a culture where submitting them late is no big deal.

#4 Uncertainty about what to log

In project-based or creative roles, people might not know what qualifies as “billable”, how to categorize mixed or multitasking work, if lunch breaks count or not, and how to log partial hours.

So, rather than risk doing it wrong, some employees opt for doing it later. But that “later” becomes too late.

#5 Timesheets = pure bureaucracy

Logging time can feel like a chore if employees feel micromanaged, overworked, or like their entries don’t actually go anywhere meaningful. People want to know their time tracking serves a purpose beyond bureaucracy.

#6 Complicated timesheets system

Some timesheet tools are complicated to navigate. If the system is difficult to log into, full of bugs or confusing UI, and doesn’t auto-save or offer recurring entries, you are probably more likely to procrastinate filling them in (or give up entirely).

Late timesheets are rarely just a laziness issue. They’re usually a signal for complicated systems, unclear expectations and deadlines, and a need for more user-friendly workflows.

And what about penalties?

What penalties can you (legally) face for late timesheets?

Well, if you’re unsure what the answer is, you’re not the only one. Take this Reddit question in r/LegalAdviceNZ as an example.

The user describes a scenario in which a business employs many casual employees who work irregular hours. Employees must submit their timesheets by the close of business on Tuesday to receive payment on Friday. But often, they forget and then ask, “Hey, why didn’t I get paid?”

So, the core question the user asked is: Is the employer legally required to ensure that employees submit all timesheets and pay them on that Friday? Or can they simply defer those missing hours to the next pay run? 

In other words, if an employee misses the deadline, does the employer have to follow up with them to ensure they’re paid on time? Or is it fine to wait and include missed hours in the next cycle?

And the answer is somewhat simple.

When timesheets are submitted late (especially consistently!), they can trigger real, legally sound consequences for employees. And, of course, employers must adhere to labor laws and maintain fairness, but they also have the right to discipline employees who violate timekeeping policies.

Here’s what that can legally look like:

1. Written warnings or performance notices. One of the most common and legally acceptable responses to late timesheets is a discipline policy that begins with verbal warnings for the first or minor offense, followed by written warnings that are documented in your HR file and performance improvement plans (PIPs) if lateness becomes a recurring issue. These steps are legal as long as they’re documented and included in internal policies.
2. Delayed or withheld pay. Employers cannot legally withhold wages for time already worked if the employee is covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, if an employee fails to submit a timesheet, the employer can delay payment until the hours can be verified. Similarly, for hourly employees, employers are required to make a good-faith effort to estimate the hours worked, but this can result in a delayed or adjusted paycheck. For contractors or temporary workers, no timesheet may mean no payment since their hours aren’t protected under the same laws.
3. No bonuses or incentives. Unlike regular wages, bonuses, commissions, and incentives are typically a part of an internal policy and can be legally withheld if conditions (like late timesheet submissions) aren’t met. Plus, repeated lateness can exclude you from profit-sharing or utilization-based rewards.
4. Impact on performance reviews. There’s no law stating that your manager should ignore late timesheets during a performance evaluation. If you’re consistently late, you could legally be passed over for promotions, given a lower rating during annual reviews, or reassigned to less critical or client-facing work.
5. Loss of remote work or flexible schedule. If you’re working remotely or have a flexible schedule, timely time tracking is often a requirement. If you are late with your timesheets, you’ll likely face consequences, such as losing the ability to work remotely.
6. There will be a termination of employment. If you consistently fail to submit timesheets, particularly after multiple documented warnings, it can legally result in termination, especially when time tracking is essential to the role and your company operates in a regulated industry.

Many employees have never been informed about the potential consequences of being late with their timesheets. The consequences aren’t always communicated openly, but they’re very real.

People-friendly fixes for late timesheets

Late timesheets affect everyone: employees, managers, and payroll staff.

But as you know, people don’t miss timesheets because they’re lazy. They miss them because they’re distracted, overworked, unclear on expectations, or don’t understand the system.

Let’s break down some people-friendly, practical solutions to help you get rid of late timesheets.

#1 Use an automated time tracking tool

Manual timesheets are like memory tests. And no one wants that.

You need automation that provides real-time tracking and minimizes the chance of missing data, duplications, or wrong dates.

Speaking of automatic time tracking apps, meet Memtime, a tool that remembers your day minute by minute.

Memtime is a desktop app that quietly runs in the background and automatically tracks everything you work on throughout the day, down to the exact minute. No timers, no manual input, no forgetting.

Our app creates a visual timeline of your digital activity, allowing you to see your day unfold: which programs you had open, which files or emails you worked on, and how long you spent on each. That timeline becomes your Memory Aid, and here’s what it looks like:

Here’s how Memtime works:

• You get an automatic timeline. Memtime logs your activity in the background as long as your computer is turned on (it tracks in real-time as you work), including files, browser tabs, emails, meetings, documents, and tools. It then displays your workday visually like an activity calendar.
• At the end of your day (or week), you can drag across the visual timeline to select periods and assign them to projects. If you worked on a client file from 10:03 to 11:12, that’s exactly what gets logged; no rounding, no guessing.
• Memtime integrates with popular project management and billing platforms like Asana, Jira, Monday.com, ClickUp, and more. You can import your project list directly into Memtime, assign time to the correct task, and even sync timesheets back into your original tool; no copy-pasting needed.
• Your activity data stays local to your device; nothing is uploaded to the cloud unless you explicitly choose to sync with a team system. Memtime is designed to help you, not monitor you.
• If you step away from your desk or leave a block of time blank, Memtime will flag those gaps as “Offline time” so you can either fill them in or confirm them as breaks.

Knowing all this, here’s how Memtime transforms your timesheets:

• It can help you recover “lost” hours. Its automated capture typically uncovers 10‑20% more billable time than manual logs. 
• Memtime helps you cut admin time from 30 minutes to less than 5 minutes. I did it, and so can you!
• It’ll help you end timesheet disputes thanks to its minute‑by‑minute audit trail that makes client, compliance, or payroll questions easy to answer.
• Because Memtime does the remembering, you just need to confirm entries, not remember deadlines.

All in all, with Memtime, your hours are already logged, accurate, and ready to send.

If Memtime seems like your cup of tea, start with the 2-week free trial; it’s on us.

Create an account in less than 10 seconds so you can download and install the app. Click the button below to get started.

#2 Set recurring calendar reminders

Late timesheets are all about timing. If you wait until Friday afternoon to chase them, it’s already too late. Here’s how you can fix it:

• You can set recurring calendar reminders (and make the cross-team).
• You can use Slack or Teams bots to send automatic “don’t forget your timesheet” messages at a set time each week.

The key is to be consistent, and the more you normalize the rhythm, the less it feels like a chore.

#3 Communicate why employees should submit timesheets

People are more likely to meet expectations when they understand why those expectations are set. Timesheets are more than “just paperwork” so share with employees how they are the foundation for payroll, billing, planning, and compliance.

Here’s what you can communicate:

• What the timesheet deadline is.
• Why it’s important (including timely pay, accurate invoices, project tracking).
• What happens when it's late (delays, missed bonuses, budget issues, etc.).
• How to fix mistakes or get help.

#4 Managers should model good behavior

Managers aren’t the ones who should chase people down with, “Did you do your timesheet?”. They are the ones who should model good behavior by submitting timesheets on time and making it a habit.

#5 Consider rewarding the behavior you want

As they say, if you want to change behavior, reward the behavior you want. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or over the top:

• You can send a public “thank you” in team chats for on-time submissions.
• You can give small incentives for submitting on time for a whole quarter.
• You can introduce “leave early Friday” rewards for consistent compliance.

#6 Add a buffer time

Sometimes, things happen, someone’s sick, forgets or is swamped with deadlines. Your system should have a grace period that reinforces empathy and doesn’t mess up your timesheet structure.

My suggestion? Implement a 24-48 hour grace period where late entries can still be captured without stress and used for payroll purposes.

You shouldn’t let lateness slide but should build in a reasonable human time margin.

Wrapping it up

Timesheets are like that plant you swore you’d water; now, 2 weeks later, the plant is mad at you and secretly judging you because you forgot.

But the truth is that timesheets matter. They keep paychecks flowing, projects on track, and clients happily invoiced.

The good news for you is that you don’t have to keep suffering through manual memory tests. Tools like Memtime exist to help you log your hours with precision and ease.

So, here’s to your fewer “oops I forgot” moments, less backdating, and a world where your timesheet is done before you even remember it was due. Here’s to accurate hours, chill Fridays, and never again having to fake an entire Wednesday. 🥂