From January 1, 2027 Belgian employers are obliged to keep a digital record of the working hours of their employees. The law sets requirements not only on what you register, but also on how you register it. This means that a simple Excel sheet or paper time sheet is no longer sufficient.
In this article, you'll learn what criteria your time registration system must meet, how to make the right choice for your organization, and what to look out for when implementing.
📚 Here you can read everything about the Belgian timesheet requirement 2027.
The most important insights
- From 1 January 2027, digital time registration will be mandatory for almost all Belgian employers. A system that only works on paper or Excel no longer meets the legal requirements.
- The law sets concrete requirements for the reliability and immutability of the registered data. Hours should not be easily adjusted afterwards without a trace of change.
- Consultancy, IT and service companies are at increased risk of fines if they delay the choice of a system or opt for a solution that does not meet the legal minimum requirements.
- The choice for time registration software is strategic, not just operational. A good system also provides insight into project profitability, capacity and billing.
- Integration with your existing payroll administration and project software is a must. Separate systems that don't communicate create manual errors and compliance risks.
- Support among employees largely determines whether a system is successfully implemented. User-friendliness is not a luxury, but an implementation requirement.
What does the law say about time recording software?
The Belgian legislation concerning the 2027 time registration requirement does not prescribe which system you should use, but it does specify the requirements that the registered data must meet. It involves three core principles.
Reliability and immutability
Recorded hours must be demonstrably accurate and complete. The system must not offer space to change hours afterwards without this being traceable. In practice, this excludes generic spreadsheets: in Excel, changes are not automatically tracked and there is no audit trail.
A compliant time registration system offers at least:
- a time stamp with each registration (including date and time of entry)
- a change log that shows who changed what and when
- export opportunity for control by the Belgian social inspectorate
📌 The regulations concerning mandatory time registration are still in effect at the time of publication. The political decision is firm. Concrete legislation, including sanctions and exceptions, will follow. Keep an eye on our blog for the latest updates.
Accessibility for inspection
During an audit, you must be able to provide quick and complete insight into the registered working hours. The system must have at least data quinquennium keep and be transferable in a readable format at the request of the inspection.
What can you do now?
- Check that your current system maintains an audit trail when changes occur.
- Explicitly ask your software supplier whether the system complies with Belgian legislation as of 2027.
- Determine how long your system stores data and in what format it exports.
What types of time registration software are there?
The market for time registration software is broad. Before choosing a specific product, it helps to determine the category that suits your organization.
1. Standalone time recording
Suitable for: small companies, simple project structures
Point of attention: limited integration options
2. All-in-One PSA Platform
Suitable for: consultancy, IT, secondment
Point of attention: more complex in implementation
3. HR suite with time registration module
Suitable for: companies with a focus on personnel administration
Point of attention: time recording is often a secondary function
4. Project management + time registration
Suitable for: teams that work per project
Point of attention: billing functions vary greatly
For most service companies - consultancy, IT, secondment - a dedicated time registration solution that integrates with billing and project management is the wisest choice. An HR suite with an attached hour module may meet the minimum legal requirements, but it often lacks the project granularity you need for healthy business operations.
The 6 criteria for a compliant time registration system
Use this framework as a checklist when evaluating software.
1. Digital audit trail
Any system that complies with Belgian law must keep track of who entered hours, when, and whether changes were made. Ask each supplier specifically: “Can hours be adjusted afterwards? If so, is it logged?”
2. Export function for social inspection
The system must be able to export data in a structured, readable format. Think of CSV, PDF or XML. Check that the export actually includes all mandatory data fields: employee name, date, start and end times, project or department.
3. Multiple registration methods
Employees record hours at various times: in the office, at a customer's location, on the road. A good system supports registration via:
- a desktop application or web
- a mobile app (iOS and Android)
- optional: a clock or badge system for production environments
4. Project link
For service companies, hourly registration is almost always linked to a project or assignment. A system without a project structure forces you to make manual links afterwards - and that is prone to errors. Choose a system where you can spend hours directly on a customer, project, and task.
5. Integration with payroll and billing
Separate systems lead to duplicate entries and errors. Make sure that the time registration software is linked to:
- your salary software (e.g. Officient, Synbone, SD Worx)
- your billing system or accounting package (e.g. Exact, Teamleader, Billit)
6. Usability and adoption
A system that employees find cumbersome is not used consistently. And inconsistent data is as legally risky as no data. Choose an interface that is intuitive, even on mobile, and test the system with a pilot group before fully deploying.
What can you do now?
- Make a longlist of three to five systems based on the criteria above.
- Request a demo from each vendor with a specific focus on compliance features (audit trail, export options, data retention).
- Involve your HR manager and a team leader early in the evaluation - adoption starts with selection.
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Impact for consultancy, IT and secondment
For service companies, the time registration requirement goes beyond an administrative compliance exercise. These sectors have been registering for hours - but the question is whether the current registration is legally conclusive and whether it provides the correct information.
Consultancy and IT
Consultants and IT professionals often work for multiple clients at the same time, with variable project sizes. A time registration system that can report per customer and per project is indispensable. In addition, many consultancy companies work with self-employed workers or project-based employees - they are also subject to registration requirements.
Please note: if you work with Belgian freelancers or seconded employees, you may also be subject to the duty for those persons. Check this with a legal advisor in time.
Secondment and staffing companies
For secondment companies, the situation is more complex: the employee works for a hirer, but the legal employment relationship lies with the secondment provider. Make sure that your system can distinguish between hiring customer and legal employer, and that both parties have access to the registration if necessary.
Roadmap: from orientation to go-live
A careful implementation process prevents you from rolling out a system under time pressure in December 2026 that is not yet properly set up.
- Now (2025—2026): Take stock of how you are currently recording hours and determine whether your current system is compliant.
- Q1—Q2 2026: Set the criteria, evaluate three to five systems, and select a supplier.
- Q3 2026: Run a pilot with one team or department. Process feedback.
- Q4 2026: Full deployment and training for all employees.
- January 1, 2027: Going live - with sufficient buffer to solve teething problems before the deadline.
Companies that start this process early have the space to carefully compare suppliers and include employees in the change. If you wait until 2026, you will no longer reach that realistic time frame.
What can you do now?
- Put the selection of time registration software on your management team's agenda this quarter.
- Download the requirements of Belgian law and use them as a starting point for your program of requirements.
- Contact your HR advisor or social secretariat for specific obligations for your sector.
TimeChimp helps you get ready for 2027
TimeChimp is a time tracking platform built specifically for service companies. It combines compliance with practical usability for consultancy, IT, secondment and employment agencies.
- Audit trail: All changes in registered hours are logged automatically, including time and user.
- Project link: Hours can be directly linked to the customer, project and task — per employee, per week, per reporting period.
- Export for inspection: Data can be exported at any time in multiple formats, including the data fields required by the Belgian social inspection.
- Mobile app: Employees record hours on location via iOS or Android, even without an internet connection.
- Integrations: TimeChimp connects with leading salary software and accounting packages that are common in the Belgian market.
- User friendly: The interface is designed for rapid adoption — even by employees who rarely work with software.
Conclusion
The 2027 time registration requirement requires a conscious, timely choice for the right software. A system that complies with legal requirements is no longer a nice-to-have — it is a business obligation. At the same time, it is wise to approach software choice more broadly than pure compliance: a good time registration system also gives you insight into project profitability, capacity and billing.
Use the criteria in this guide to guide your evaluation, start the selection process on time, and ensure sufficient time to implement the system properly before the deadline of January 1, 2027.
Important dates at a glance:
- Now: Audit your current registration system for compliance
- Q2 2026: Supplier selection completed
- Q3 2026: Pilot phase started
- Q4 2026: Full deployment and training
- January 1, 2027: Statutory commencement date: time registration obligation
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FAQs
Belgian law does not specify which system you should use, but sets three concrete requirements for the registered data: reliability and immutability (hours cannot be changed afterwards without an audit trail), accessibility for social inspection (keep for at least five years, exportable in a readable format), and completeness (all employees including part-time and seconded workers). An Excel sheet does not structurally meet these requirements.
📌 The regulations concerning mandatory time registration are still in effect at the time of publication. The political decision is firm. Concrete legislation, including sanctions and exceptions, will follow.
Employers who do not keep a compliant time record after 1 January 2027 risk administrative fines imposed by the Belgian Social Inspectorate. The amount of the penalties depends on the number of employees involved and the seriousness of the shortcoming. Repeated violations can result in increased fines and additional inspections.
Yes. From 1 January 2027, a general obligation to record time will apply to all employers in Belgium, regardless of sector, company size or employee status. The obligation replaces the existing sectoral exceptions.
