Timesheet Reporting in Odoo 18
By Braincuber Team
Published on December 28, 2025
Project managers billing clients hourly can't verify actual time spent: consultant John logs "8 hours Project A" daily but manager doesn't know which tasks consumed time (client calls? coding? meetings?), discovers Project A estimated 100 hours but already consumed 150 hours at midpoint with no visibility into why overrun occurred, and invoices client for 150 hours but can't justify breakdown when client questions "what took 50% longer than quoted?"—losing client trust and profitability through poor timesheet visibility and analysis.
Odoo 18 Timesheet Reporting provides multi-dimensional time analysis with reports by Employee (who worked how much), by Project (total hours per project), by Task (task-level time consumption), by Billing Type (billable/fixed-price/non-billable hours), and Timesheet/Attendance comparison (logged vs present hours), using pivot tables and graphs for trend analysis, supporting accurate client billing and cost management, identifying productivity patterns—transforming raw timesheet data into actionable workforce insights improving profitability 20-30%.
Reporting Features: Employee timesheets, Project summaries, Task breakdowns, Billing type analysis, Attendance comparison, Pivot tables, Graph views, Export capabilities
Benefits of Timesheet Reporting
- Enhanced Productivity Monitoring: See exactly where employee time goes, reduce inefficiencies
- Accurate Client Billing: Billable hours tracked precisely for invoice justification
- Cost Management: Analyze fixed-price vs hourly projects, evaluate profitability
- Better Resource Allocation: Identify overburdened/underutilized employees or departments
- Transparency & Accountability: Employees accountable for time logged
- Decision-Making Support: Pivot tables/graphs provide strategic planning data
1. Timesheet By Employee
Hours logged breakdown per employee over selected period.
Accessing Report:
- Go to Timesheets → Reporting → Timesheets by Employee
- Select date range (week/month/custom)
- View employee time distribution
Example Output:
Employee: John Smith - Week of Jan 15-21
- Project A: 30 hours
- Project B: 10 hours
- Total: 40 hours
Use Cases:
- HR: Cross-check attendance, ensure payroll accuracy
- Project Managers: Assess employee performance and contribution
- Employees: Review own work patterns, identify improvement areas
- Accountability: Show if employees meeting expected hours
2. Timesheet By Project
Hours organized at project level showing total time consumed per project.
Accessing Report:
- Go to Timesheets → Reporting → Timesheets by Project
- View modes:
- List: Quick summaries
- Pivot: In-depth analysis with filters/grouping
- Kanban: Visual project-centric perspective
Example: Project estimated 100 hours but timesheet shows 150 hours consumed at midpoint. Manager takes corrective action: redistribute tasks, hire resources, or revise timeline. Early detection prevents budget overrun.
Benefits:
- Compare actual vs planned hours
- Identify potential delays early
- Prevent budget overruns
- Ensure projects stay on track
3. Timesheet By Tasks
Task-level breakdown within projects showing specific activity time consumption.
Accessing Report:
- Go to Timesheets → Reporting → Timesheets by Tasks
- Drill down into specific tasks
- Analyze task duration vs estimates
Example Analysis:
Task: "Database Migration"
- Estimated: 5 hours
- Actual: 20 hours
- Investigation reveals: Lack of documentation caused delay
- Action: Improve onboarding documentation for future tasks
Benefits:
- Detailed productivity tracking: Which tasks consume most time
- Workload distribution: Ensure no employee overloaded
- Planning accuracy: Improve future estimates from past durations
4. Timesheet By Billing Type
Categorize time into billable, fixed-price, or non-billable for financial analysis.
Accessing Report:
- Go to Timesheets → Reporting → Timesheets by Billing Type
- View breakdown by billing category
Categories:
Billable Hours
Client-invoiced time billed at hourly rate. Ensures accurate invoicing.
Fixed-Price Projects
Hours spent on flat-fee projects. Compare vs agreed price for profitability.
Non-Billable
Internal activities, training, admin work. Track overhead not generating revenue.
Profitability Analysis: Fixed-price project contracted $10K but consumed 200 hours at $100/hour internal cost = $20K loss. Renegotiate future contracts or refine scope management.
5. Timesheet/Attendance Analysis
Compare timesheet entries against actual attendance (clock-in/clock-out).
Accessing Report:
- Go to Timesheets → Reporting → Timesheet/Attendance Analysis
- View comparison between logged hours and presence
- Use Pivot tables or Graph views
Discrepancy Example:
Employee: Sarah Jones - Monday Jan 15
- Attendance: 8 hours (9am - 5pm present)
- Timesheet: 5 hours logged
- Gap: 3 hours unaccounted
- Investigation: Meetings/admin work not logged in timesheets
- Action: Train employees to log all work types
Benefits:
- Promotes fairness and transparency
- Ensures hours utilized effectively
- Discourages under/over-reporting
- Validates payroll accuracy
Best Practices
Weekly Timesheet Reviews Not Monthly: Waiting month-end creates massive discrepancy backlog. Weekly review = catch errors when fresh in employee memory correcting faster. Monthly = "I don't remember what I did 3 weeks ago" accuracy problems.
Use Pivot Tables for Trend Analysis: Don't just view this-week data. Pivot table showing last 12 weeks "Task X" duration reveals: Week 1-4 averaged 3 hours, Week 5-12 averaged 7 hours. Investigate: what changed making task 2.3x longer? Process deterioration or scope creep.
Set Billing Type Targets: Professional services optimal mix: 70% billable, 20% fixed-price, 10% non-billable. Report shows 40% billable, 40% non-billable? Too much overhead = unprofitable. Reduce admin burden or increase billable capacity.
Conclusion
Odoo 18 Timesheet Reporting transforms raw time data into actionable insights through employee, project, task, billing type, and attendance reports. Support accurate client billing, cost management, resource allocation, and productivity monitoring with pivot tables and graphs driving 20-30% profitability improvement through data-driven workforce decisions.
