This free timesheet template for Spain is an Excel file that works out each day’s hours and the monthly total on its own, and includes a monthly summary sheet for part-time contracts. If you prefer paper, the same sheet comes as a PDF to print. Both are free and download without leaving your email address.
In Spain, every employer has to keep a daily record of each worker’s working time (registro de jornada). Below the download, we explain what the sheet must include to be valid, how to fill it in, and when Excel falls short. Everything is checked against the Spanish Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) and the guide published by Spain’s Ministry of Labour.
Download the template
Timesheet template in Excel (.xlsx file in Spanish, with the formulas already in place)
Printable timesheet in PDF (in Spanish, to print on A4 and fill in by hand)
What the template includes
The Excel file has three sheets:
- Record. One sheet per person and per month. You enter the month and year and the days are placed automatically, with weekends marked. For each day, you record the start time, end time, and break; worked hours, ordinary hours, and hours beyond the working day are calculated automatically, including night shifts.
- Monthly summary. It fills itself in with the monthly totals and leaves space for the signature of the person receiving it. This is what is handed over with the payslip to part-time workers or people who do overtime.
- How to use it. Instructions in eight steps.
The PDF includes the first two sheets blank, ready to print on A4.
The template is in Spanish: that is the language your staff will sign it in and the one a Spanish labour inspector will read. The sheets are called Registro (record), Resumen mensual (monthly summary) and Cómo se usa (how to use it). The columns are Día (day), Entrada (start), Inicio de pausa and Fin de pausa (start and end of the break), Salida (end), Horas trabajadas (hours worked), Ordinarias (ordinary hours), Extra o complementarias (overtime or complementary hours), Observaciones (notes) and Firma (signature).
Is there an official template?
No. Article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute requires keeping the record, but does not say what the sheet must look like. The Ministry of Labour guide leaves it open: any system or medium is valid, on paper or electronically, as long as it provides information that is reliable, unchangeable, and not manipulable afterwards.
Who decides the format is also set out in the law. It is established by the collective agreement or a company agreement and, if neither exists, the company decides after consulting the workers’ representatives. Before using this template, check whether your collective agreement says anything.
What the sheet must include
The only thing the law explicitly mentions is “the specific start and end time of the working day of each worker.” The rest of the columns are not mandatory, but they are what make the sheet stand on its own:
| Data | Does the law require it? | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Company, person, and month | Yes: the record is for each person | To know whose sheet it is and which month it refers to |
| Start and end time | Yes, every day | This is the record itself |
| Breaks | No, but the guide recommends them | If they are not recorded, it is presumed that all the time between start and end is work |
| Daily hours and monthly total | Only for part-time work and overtime | To check the working day and prepare the monthly summary |
| Notes | No | To explain a correction, a permitted absence or leaving during the day |
| Signature | No | On paper or in Excel, it is what gives reliability |
How to fill it in, step by step
- One sheet per person and per month. Fill in the header: company, workplace, person, month, and year.
- Record the actual time each day. The start and end time, on the same day. Copying the schedule from the contract or filling in the sheet at the end of the month is not a daily record.
- Record the break that does not count as work. Lunch, for example. The template subtracts it automatically.
- Check the ordinary hours per day. The template comes with 8. If your company uses another amount, change it in the header: anything beyond that goes into the overtime or complementary hours column.
- If an entry needs correcting, make it visible. Write in Observaciones who changed it and why.
- Close the month. Signature of the person, signature of the company, and, if applicable, the monthly summary with the payslip.
- Keep the sheets for four years and have them available at the workplace.
This is what a sample week looks like, with an 8-hour day and a shorter Friday:
| Day | Start | Break | End | Worked | Ordinary | Extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9:02 | 14:00 to 15:00 | 18:02 | 8:00 | 8:00 | 0:00 |
| Tuesday | 8:57 | 14:02 to 15:01 | 17:56 | 8:00 | 8:00 | 0:00 |
| Wednesday | 9:03 | 14:00 to 14:45 | 18:48 | 9:00 | 8:00 | 1:00 |
| Thursday | 9:01 | 13:59 to 15:00 | 18:02 | 8:00 | 8:00 | 0:00 |
| Friday | 8:00 | No break | 14:00 | 6:00 | 6:00 | 0:00 |
| Total | 39:00 | 38:00 | 1:00 |
The extra-hours column is a subtraction: what that day exceeds the ordinary hours by. Whether those hours are truly overtime depends on how your collective agreement distributes the working day, so treat it as a warning and not as the final calculation.
Does it have to be signed?
The law does not require a signature on the daily record. But on paper or in Excel, the person’s signature is the simplest way to prove that the recorded hours are theirs and that nobody changed them afterwards. The prudent approach is for them to sign each day or, at minimum, when closing the month, and for the company to sign as well.
Nor is it necessary to give a copy of the daily record to each person, unless that has been agreed: it is enough that they can consult it. The exception is part-time work and overtime, which are covered in the next section.
Part-time and overtime
In two cases, in addition to recording each day, you must total and provide:
- Part-time contracts. The hours are totaled each month and a copy of the summary is given with the payslip, showing ordinary and complementary hours. If this is not done, the contract is presumed to be full-time. We explain this in the guide to part-time working time record in Spain.
- Overtime. These are totaled in the period in which the salary is paid and a copy of the summary is given with the payslip.
That is what the Resumen mensual sheet of the template is for.
When it falls short
A spreadsheet works as long as the record is reliable. That is where it fails if it is not handled carefully:
- Anyone can change a time without leaving a trace. That is why it is advisable to print it and sign it, or save it as PDF at the end of each month.
- No one notices if a day is left unrecorded. And a sheet filled in all at once at the end of the month, with every start time at exactly 9:00, is hard to defend.
- With several people, the work multiplies: one sheet per person and month, signatures, summaries, and four years of archiving.
And there is an announced change. As of 2 October 2026, the Spanish royal decree (real decreto) that would make digital recording mandatory has still not been approved; the known drafts call for a digital format, with corrections visible and access for the Spanish Labour Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo). If it goes ahead in those terms, paper and Excel will no longer be valid. Until then, they are legal. The up-to-date status is in the guide to working time recording in Spain.
The same as the template, without filling anything in by hand
Fichómetro (our own product) is a time-tracking app designed for small businesses. Each person clocks in with a tap from their mobile phone or computer, the app records the time, and at the end of the month it prepares the monthly summary and stores each person’s confirmation. Nobody can alter a clock-in: corrections are added with their reason and author. It is free forever if 1 person clocks in. With more, €2 per active person per month, plus taxes, with a 30-day free trial and no card required. The app is available in Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque and English.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official timesheet template in Spain?
No. The law requires recording each person’s start and end time every day, but does not impose a format. Any sheet that reliably captures that data is valid.
Is it legal to keep the timesheet in Excel?
Yes, today it is. The Ministry of Labour guide allows any medium, on paper or electronically, as long as the record is reliable and cannot be altered afterwards. That is why it is advisable to sign it or save it as PDF each month.
What data must the timesheet include?
At a minimum, each person’s start and end time, every day. It is advisable to add breaks, daily hours, notes, and a signature.
Do breaks have to be recorded?
The law does not mention them, but it is advisable. If they are not recorded, it is presumed that all the time between start and end is work.
Does the worker have to sign the sheet?
The law does not require it. On paper or in Excel, it is highly recommended, because it proves that the hours are real.
How long are the sheets kept?
Four years, available to workers, their representatives, and the Labour Inspectorate.
What is the fine for not keeping a timesheet in Spain?
It is a serious offence, with a fine from €751 to €7,500.
Conclusion
A timesheet template works if it is used as a record: the actual time, entered every day, with breaks and a signature. For a company with few people, it is a valid way to comply today. When the sheets start piling up, or when digital recording arrives, it is time to move to an app.
This article and the template are for information only and do not replace the advice of your labour adviser (asesoría laboral). Also check your collective agreement, which may set out how the record is organized.
Useful links
- Working time recording in Spain: the general guide, with fines and the status of the Spanish royal decree on digital recording.
- Part-time working time record in Spain: the monthly summary and complementary hours.
- Fichómetro: time tracking for small businesses, free for 1 person.
- Guide on timesheets from Spain’s Ministry of Labour (PDF, in Spanish).
- Article 34 of the Workers’ Statute, in the BOE (in Spanish).
