Most non-profits track hours in Excel or on paper, and for a small team with simple rules, that works. Timesheet software becomes useful when maintaining the file takes more work than the hours it tracks.
Updated October 9, 2026, based on Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector as of August 12, 2026.
When is Excel no longer enough?​
A few signs come up often:
- vacation and sick leave balances are recalculated by hand at year end;
- only one person understands the formulas, and nobody dares touch them when that person is away;
- a rule changes mid-year, and it has to be copied into every file;
- files travel by email, in several versions;
- payroll waits until everyone has sent in their file.
Example: a team of 12 paid every two weeks hands in 24 timesheets per pay period, or 624 a year, to gather, check and copy over. One formula error in a single sheet spreads to the balances of every following week.
If you want to stay with Excel, our article How to create a timesheet in Excel gives the formulas and a free template.
Time one pay period, from the first reminder to sending the file to your bookkeeper.
What does timesheet software change?​
The biggest change is that your rules no longer live in formulas. The overtime threshold, the premium and the way vacation and sick leave accrue are set once, and apply the same way to every timesheet. When a policy changes mid-year, you change it in one place.
Your team gains too. In Feuille de temps, each employee sees their vacation, sick leave and overtime balances at the top of their timesheet, without having to ask you. They sign their week, a manager or team lead countersigns it, and at the end of the period the payroll report goes as a single Excel file to the person who runs payroll.
See it with your own rules
Feuille de temps calculates each employee's overtime and banks according to your organization's rules, set up with you.
What should you ask before choosing software?​
Does it apply your province's rules and your own policy?​
Overtime thresholds differ from one province to the next: weekly, daily, sometimes both. Check that the software handles your thresholds, your banks and, if you have them, vacation calculated as a percentage of wages. Ask who does the setup, and what happens when a rule changes mid-year.
Where is the data, and what does the law say?​
In Quebec, an organization that acquires an information system handling personal information first conducts a privacy impact assessment (section 3.3 of the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector). The same section requires the system to allow personal information collected from a person to be given back to them in a structured, commonly used format. Ask the vendor where the data is hosted, and whether they can help with that assessment.
We cover these rules in Quebec's Law 25 and timesheets.
List your rules (thresholds, banks, statutory holidays, pay periods) before the demos, and ask each vendor to walk through a real case from your team.
Sources​
Feuille de temps​
Feuille de temps is timesheet software built for non-profits, with its servers and database in Canada. Once we have set up your rules with you, it calculates overtime premiums, keeps vacation, sick leave, family leave and overtime banks, and prepares payroll reports.Frequently asked questions
When should a non-profit switch from Excel to timesheet software?
When balances are recalculated by hand, when only one person understands the formulas, or when a rule change has to be copied into every file. The number of rules to apply matters more than the size of the team.
Does timesheet software calculate payroll?
Feuille de temps does not run payroll (deductions, deposits). Its report gives hours, banks and, if you ask for it, the gross amounts to pay.
Is a privacy impact assessment required to choose software in Quebec?
Yes. A Quebec organization that acquires an information system handling personal information must conduct one (section 3.3 of the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector).
Can employees see their own vacation and sick leave balances?
In Feuille de temps, yes: each employee sees their sick leave, vacation and overtime bank balances at the top of their timesheets.