Timesheet cost calculator for cleaning companies
What do paper timesheets really cost your cleaning business, and what would GPS-verified mobile check-in change? Enter your own numbers. Every assumption is visible, and you can change all of them.
Your crew
Defaults are for a small crew of ten cleaners. Change them to match yours.
See and change the assumptions
These are cautious estimates, set at the low end of published figures. The reduction with SeeMySite is our assumption, not a measured result.
What it costs each year
| Where the money goes | Paper | SeeMySite |
|---|---|---|
| Time padding and buddy punching | ||
| Payroll errors | ||
| Your time on timesheets | ||
| SeeMySite subscription | – | |
| Total |
This is an estimate based on the numbers you enter and the assumptions above. It is not a guarantee. It counts wages only: if you also pay payroll taxes or other costs on top of wages, lost hours cost you more.
How the calculator works
It adds up three costs of running payroll from paper timesheets, then compares them with the same three costs using mobile check-in with GPS verification, plus the SeeMySite subscription. Your yearly payroll is worked out as cleaners × hours per week × 52 × hourly wage.
- Time padding and buddy punching. A percentage of payroll lost to rounding up start and finish times, long breaks written down as work, and one person signing in for another. The default is 1.5%, the low end of published estimates.
- Payroll errors. Handwriting misread, hours added up wrongly, numbers mistyped into payroll. Errors cut both ways, so we count only the share that costs you money. The default is 0.5%.
- Your time. The hours you spend each pay period collecting, checking and entering timesheets, valued at your hourly rate. The default is two hours for a crew of ten.
- With SeeMySite. Hours are time-stamped on the cleaner’s own phone, checked against the site’s location, and flow into a timesheet you approve. We assume less is lost (0.5% and 0.1%) and that review takes half an hour. These are our assumptions, not measured results.
- The subscription. $5 per month for each admin and $2 per month for each worker. Text-message invites are included.
Where the numbers come from
Published estimates vary widely, and almost all of them come from companies that sell time tracking, so treat them as ballparks. We set our defaults at the cautious end on purpose.
- TimeDock (2023) quotes an American Payroll Association estimate that time theft costs 1.5% to 5% of gross payroll, and a Nucleus Research average of 2.2% for buddy punching.
- SocialSchedules (2026) says manual payroll error rates run 1% to 8%, and that collecting and entering timesheets for 20 employees can take 3 to 5 hours per pay period.
- TimeHub (2019) puts calculating and keying a paper timesheet at about five minutes, and says automating attendance typically saves 2% to 5% of annual wages.
- ABLEMKR (2026) says buddy punching can inflate payroll by up to 7%.
The questions in this calculator come from Barry Williams’s 25 years of visiting cleaning companies (more about him). The assumption that GPS-verified check-in leaves less loss is ours: none of the sources above measures it.
What mobile check-in can and can’t do
What it can do
Confirm a cleaner checked in at the right site, time-stamp arrivals and departures, remove the retyping, and show budgeted hours against hours worked.
What it can’t do
Prove how long someone worked after checking in, or how well. That is why SeeMySite also lets cleaners attach photos to a job, and shows budgeted against actual hours for every site.
Most extra time on a timesheet is small rounding, not deliberate theft. The aim is accurate records that protect honest cleaners as well as you.
Read more: What paper timesheets really cost a cleaning company.
Questions about this calculator
Is time theft really common among cleaners?
Published estimates vary widely, and most extra time on a timesheet is small rounding rather than deliberate theft. Don’t assume your crew is cheating. If you think your losses are lower, set the percentage to zero and see what is left: the time you save on paperwork still counts.
Why is the default only 1.5%?
It is the low end of the published ranges we found. We would rather show you a cautious number you can believe than a large one you can’t.
Does the calculator include payroll taxes?
No. It uses wages only. If you also pay payroll taxes, insurance or other costs on top of wages, every hour lost costs you more than this shows.
What if my result shows a small saving, or none?
Then trust it. The calculator is meant to be honest, and the answer will not be the same for every business. A small crew with very tidy paperwork may save little. A crew across many sites, with sheets that arrive late, usually saves more.
What does SeeMySite cost?
$5 per month for each admin and $2 per month for each worker. Text-message invites are included. There is a 30-day free trial with no card required, and you can cancel any time.
Is this a guarantee?
No. It is an estimate based on the numbers you enter and the assumptions you can see and change. It is not financial or legal advice.
Try it with your own crew
30-day free trial. No card required. Cancel any time.
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