In-home caregiver timesheet: what to log and how to calculate the month

The end-of-month argument with the caregiver (or among siblings) is almost never about money. It's because nobody wrote anything down. Here's what to log, and how to add it up.

Updated September 2026 · Orbi, care circle

Why do you need a timesheet if "we trust her"?

Because a timesheet isn't about distrust: it's about memory. A month has 20 or 22 workdays, holidays that fall on different days, a day she was late because the bus never came, another when she stayed two extra hours because you couldn't get there in time. Nobody remembers any of that on the 30th. The timesheet protects both sides: her from being underpaid, and you from overpaying or from a future claim you can't answer.

Which columns should it have?

The bare minimum, and not many more, because if it's complicated nobody fills it out:

And below that, one row per payment: date, amount, who paid it and what it was for (week 1, holiday, bonus). Matching hours against payments is what makes the number add up on its own at the end of the month.

How do you calculate the month?

Using the September 2026 pay scale for domestic workers in Argentina (the "personal assistance and care" category, Resolution 6/26): ARS 4,185.94 an hour for a live-out caregiver and ARS 4,641.90 for a live-in one. A real example: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in a month with 21 workdays.

• 21 days × 8 hours = 168 hours.
• 168 × ARS 4,185.94 = ARS 703,238.
• + 2 hours of overtime on the day of the doctor's appointment, at time and a half: 2 × ARS 6,278.91 = ARS 12,558.
• + the month's non-wage supplement (suma no remunerativa: up to ARS 20,000 for 16 or more hours a week; during 2026 it's being gradually folded into base pay).
• Monthly total: ARS 715,796 plus the non-wage supplement.

Public holidays worked are paid double. Overtime (beyond the agreed workday) is paid at time and a half on weekdays and double on Saturdays after 1 p.m., Sundays and public holidays. If the agreed workday is 8 hours and one day she worked 10, those 2 are overtime. If she works under 24 hours a week, she's paid by the hour; at 24 hours or more, she's entitled to a prorated monthly salary. When she's employed on the books, all of this shows up on the pay slip issued through ARCA (Argentina's tax agency); the step-by-step is in How to hire a caregiver on the books.

What about absences, leave and vacation?

If she's out sick, gives notice and brings a doctor's note, the day is paid (up to 3 months a year with less than 5 years on the job). If she misses work without notice, that day isn't paid, and it's worth logging it with the words "no notice," because three in a row are grounds for dismissal. Vacation is 14 consecutive calendar days a year with less than 5 years on the job, paid, taken between November and March unless you agree otherwise. The aguinaldo (a mandatory bonus) is half a month's pay in June and another half in December, based on the highest-paid month of each six-month period. All of that comes from the timesheet: without it, there's no way to know which month was the highest.

Who fills it out?

What works best is for the caregiver to fill it out, in the moment, with the family able to see it. If the family fills it out "later," half of it gets lost. A notebook in the kitchen works, a shared spreadsheet works better, and an app where she taps "clocked in" and "clocked out" on her phone, and every sibling sees the updated total, is what gets rid of the question "how many hours did she work this month?" for good.

Template to copy

Date        In       Out     Hours  Type      Notes
Mon 9/1     09:00    17:00   8      regular
Tue 9/2     09:00    19:00   10     regular   2 overtime, cardiologist appt.
Wed 9/3     —        —       0      absent    gave notice, doctor's note
Thu 9/4     09:00    17:00   8      regular
Fri 9/5     09:00    17:00   8      regular
...
PAYMENTS
Date     Amount       Who       For
9/5      ARS 170,000  Marcela   week 1
9/12     ARS 170,000  Diego     week 2