Timesheet calculator for home care aides: several clients a day, travel time, overtime
A home care aide's day is a chain of visits: two hours with one client, a drive, three hours with the next. Which minutes are paid decides the overtime, and the federal rules for agencies are in flux. Here is how to record it and a real week.
What matters for home care agencies
Travel between clients is work time
Travel from one job site to another during the workday counts as hours worked under the FLSA. Record one pair from the start of the first visit to the end of the last, and enter as an unpaid break only the time the aide was truly off duty.
Agencies and overtime: check the current rule
Since 2015 the Department of Labor's rule has said third-party employers such as agencies cannot claim the companionship or live-in overtime exemptions. In July 2025 the DOL proposed restoring those exemptions and paused enforcement against agencies that claim them; several states, including California, New York and New Jersey, require overtime regardless. Confirm the rule that applies to you before turning weekly overtime off.
24-hour shifts are not live-in
An aide working 24-hour shifts who does not live in the client's home permanently or for extended periods is not a live-in worker and is owed overtime after 40 hours. Sleep and meal time can be excluded only under an agreement, and any interruption for a call to duty counts as work.
Worked example
An aide with multi-visit days at $17.50/hour, travel between visits counted, weekly overtime after 40 hours at 1.5×.
| Day | Shifts | Unpaid break | Worked | Regular | Overtime | Double time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Oct 5 | 7:30 AM–12:15 PM, 2:00 PM–6:30 PM | 9:15 | 9:15 | 3 visits; off duty 12:15–2 | |||
| Tue Oct 6 | 8:00 AM–4:45 PM | 30 min | 8:15 | 8:15 | 2 visits + travel | ||
| Wed Oct 7 | 7:30 AM–12:15 PM, 2:00 PM–6:30 PM | 9:15 | 9:15 | 3 visits | |||
| Thu Oct 8 | 8:00 AM–4:45 PM | 30 min | 8:15 | 8:15 | 2 visits + travel | ||
| Fri Oct 9 | 7:30 AM–5:30 PM | 30 min | 9:30 | 5:00 | 4:30 | Covering a colleague | |
| Sat Oct 10 | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM | 4:00 | 0:00 | 4:00 | Weekend visit | ||
| Sun Oct 11 | off |
How to set it up in Hoursprig
- Use one timesheet per aide with their hourly rate.
- For a day of visits, enter the first visit start and the last visit end as one pair when the time between visits is travel; add a second pair only after a genuine off-duty gap.
- Use the note on each day for the client initials or visit codes your office needs.
- Pick weekly or bi-weekly to match payroll; overtime is still checked week by week.
Limits
- Hoursprig does not track mileage or travel expenses, only time.
- Sleep-time agreements for 24-hour shifts have to be applied by you: enter the hours that count as worked.
FAQ
Is drive time between clients paid?
Under the FLSA, travel from one client to the next during the workday is hours worked. The commute to the first client and home from the last is normally not.
Do live-in caregivers get overtime?
A live-in worker employed directly by a household is exempt from federal overtime but must get minimum wage for all hours worked. For agency employers, check the current DOL rule and your state law.
Can I keep one timesheet for a bi-weekly payroll?
Yes. Choose bi-weekly; Hoursprig applies the 40-hour rule to each 7-day week inside the period.
Sources
- US DOL Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked (travel)
- US DOL Fact Sheet #79B: Live-in Domestic Service Workers