How a biweekly timesheet is structured
A biweekly timesheet has 14 rows, one per day. It is split into two workweeks, each totaled separately. The pay period totals appear at the bottom.
- 1
Define the workweek
Pick a fixed start day and time. Many employers use Monday 12:00 AM through Sunday 11:59 PM. The same definition applies every week. - 2
Log daily hours per week
Each row gets clock-in, clock-out, lunch deduction, and total decimal hours. - 3
Total each workweek separately
Sum days 1-7 and days 8-14 individually. - 4
Apply overtime per week
Hours over 40 in a single week are overtime, even if the other week is under 40. - 5
Combine for gross pay
Multiply regular hours by the rate and overtime hours by 1.5× the rate. Add the two weeks together for biweekly gross pay.
Worked biweekly example
| Week | Total hours | Regular | Overtime | Gross pay (at $25/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 44 | 40 | 4 | 40 × $25 + 4 × $37.50 = $1,150 |
| Week 2 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 38 × $25 = $950 |
| Total | 82 | 78 | 4 | $2,100 estimated biweekly gross |
If we'd averaged the two weeks together (82 ÷ 2 = 41), we'd have only 1 OT hour, short-changing the employee 3 OT hours. That's why workweek-by-workweek calculation matters.
Tips for clean biweekly timesheets
- Use decimal hours throughout. Keeps multiplication simple.
- Mark holidays and PTO clearly. They affect gross pay but usually not overtime eligibility.
- Watch the workweek boundary. A late Sunday night shift may roll into the new workweek.
- Submit on time. Late timesheets push the entire payroll cycle.
Common biweekly mistakes
- Calculating overtime on 80 hours per period. Always per workweek.
- Forgetting the occasional 27th pay period. Some calendar years have one extra biweekly check.
- Treating biweekly and semi-monthly the same. Semi-monthly is twice a month (24 periods); biweekly is every two weeks (26).
Reading a biweekly stub
A biweekly stub shows the gross for the pay period split into the same hour categories as a weekly stub: regular, overtime, holiday, vacation, sick, and any premium pay. The totals are larger because the period is twice as long, but the math is identical to a weekly stub processed twice. If you suspect an error, separate the two workweeks and reconcile each on its own. Combining them hides timing problems.
Pay period vs workweek
Pay period and workweek are not the same. A pay period is whatever the employer chooses for issuing paychecks. A workweek is a fixed 7-day window the employer designates for FLSA overtime calculations. Most employers align workweek boundaries to the pay period (Sunday through Saturday is common) but they do not have to. If your employer's workweek runs Monday through Sunday and the pay period runs Sunday through Saturday two weeks later, overtime calculation gets cross-week splits.
Why splitting workweeks matters
Federal overtime rules are weekly, not period-based. An employee who works 50 hours in week one and 30 in week two of a biweekly period is owed 10 hours of overtime, even though the average is exactly 40 hours per week. The overtime is determined inside week one. Averaging across both weeks would hide the overtime entitlement and underpay the employee by 10 hours times the half-time premium.
Worked example with PTO
An employee logs 38 hours in week one with 8 hours of paid sick leave on Friday. In week two, the employee works 44 hours straight. Week one total paid time is 46, but the 38 worked is below 40 so no overtime applies in week one. Week two has 44 hours worked, of which 4 are overtime. Pay reflects 38 regular + 8 sick + 40 regular + 4 overtime. Run the numbers through the Biweekly Time Card Calculator to confirm.
Important note
Pay schedules and overtime rules vary by employer policy, state law, and union contract. Always confirm specifics with your employer or payroll provider.