Free overtime tracker template (Excel)
Track overtime hours separately from regular hours worked. Built for Australian businesses that need clear visibility into extra hours before payday — hours only, no pay calculations.
Overtime tracker
Excel format (.xlsx) • Ready to download
No signup required. Works with Excel and Google Sheets.
This overtime tracker is a general planning and record-keeping tool only. It does not calculate wages, penalties, overtime rates or award entitlements — overtime rates vary by award and agreement. Verify pay with your payroll software and check your obligations with Fair Work. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
What's in this template
A simple, payroll-ready overtime layout
Employee name
Full name of each staff member so overtime is logged against the right person.
Date
The date overtime was worked — useful for matching against the pay period and roster.
Regular hours
Standard ordinary hours for the day, kept separate from anything extra.
Overtime hours
Additional hours worked beyond the regular total, captured in their own column.
Total hours
A formula column adds regular and overtime together so the day reconciles automatically.
Notes
Record the reason for overtime or who approved it — e.g. stock take, sick cover, event.
How overtime is tracked
Separate columns for regular and overtime hours make additional hours obvious at a glance. Use the Notes column to record why each block of overtime was worked, so approvals and labour costs stay easy to review before payroll.
| Employee | Date | Regular | Overtime | Total | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Jones | 20/01 | 8 | 2 | 10 | Stock take |
| James Smith | 20/01 | 8 | 0 | 8 | - |
| Sarah Jones | 21/01 | 8 | 3 | 11 | Sick cover |
How to calculate overtime in Excel
Four steps to split regular and overtime hours
1. Format the time cells
Put Start and End times in their own columns and format both as Time (Format Cells → Time) so Excel can do the maths.
2. Total the hours
Use =(End - Start)*24 to convert to decimal hours. If a shift crosses midnight, use =MOD(End-Start,1)*24 instead.
3. Isolate overtime
Wrap the total in MAX so it never goes negative — for an 8-hour limit, =MAX((End-Start)*24 - 8, 0) returns only the extra hours.
4. Tally the period
SUM the overtime column to see total extra hours for the week or fortnight before it goes to payroll.
Prefer to skip the formulas? The free template above already has the regular, overtime and total columns built in. To turn those hours into a budget, read our guide on how to calculate overtime costs.
How to use this template
Download and go in four quick steps
Download
Grab the Excel file — no signup, opens in Excel or Google Sheets.
Add your staff
List your team members and the dates you need to track.
Record overtime
Enter regular and overtime hours plus a note for each entry.
Send to payroll
Export the totals so overtime can be paid correctly each period.
Who uses this template
Ideal for businesses tracking additional hours
Hospitality
Track extra hours worked during busy trading periods.
Retail stores
Monitor overtime through sales events and stock takes.
Small businesses
Keep overtime hours visible and approved before payday.
Once overtime is logged, keep your records payroll-ready by learning how to track employee hours and how to approve timesheets before they reach payday.
When spreadsheets stop keeping up
Manual overtime tracking works for small teams. But as you grow, chasing approvals, reconciling totals and supporting award compliance becomes painful. RosterElf records hours straight from a clock-in, flags overtime automatically and sends payroll-ready totals to your payroll system.
Time & attendance guides
Manage hours and overtime with these how-to guides
How to calculate overtime costs
Work out what overtime is really costing your business and how to keep it under control.
Read the guideHow to track employee hours
Set up a reliable record of hours worked, from clock-in to payroll-ready totals.
Read the guideHow to approve timesheets
A clear approval process so overtime is signed off before it reaches payroll.
Read the guideRelated templates
Explore more free time & attendance templates
Overtime tracker FAQ
-
Give overtime its own column next to regular hours, then use a formula to split the two. Convert each shift to decimal hours with =(End - Start)*24, then wrap it in MAX so only hours above your threshold count as overtime — e.g. =MAX((End-Start)*24 - 8, 0) for an 8-hour day. Our free template comes pre-built with regular, overtime and total columns, or follow the step-by-step section above. For the cost side, see our guide on how to calculate overtime costs.
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Standard time formatting rolls over after 24 hours, so a weekly total can display incorrectly. Format the total cell with the custom format [h]:mm (the square brackets let it count past 24), or work in decimal hours by multiplying by 24. The template already uses decimal hours so weekly and fortnightly totals add up correctly.
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A plain End minus Start returns a negative when the end time is the next day. Use =MOD(End-Start,1)*24 instead — MOD handles the rollover and returns the correct decimal hours. From there you can apply the same MAX formula to pull out overtime above the threshold.
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No — it tracks overtime hours only. It does not apply pay rates, penalties or multipliers, because those depend on the relevant modern award or agreement. Hand the totals to your payroll system, or use payroll integration for pay-aware calculations.
Before you download
General information only — not legal advice
This document is a general HR template provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and may not reflect the latest changes in legislation or apply to every workplace situation. RosterElf Pty Ltd and the template provider accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this document. Users should seek independent legal advice and customise the template to ensure it complies with all relevant laws, awards and workplace requirements.