Paypr · Guides

How to track what you owe your nanny

Updated July 2026 · 5 min read

You agreed on an hourly rate, the weeks go by, hours vary — and now payday arrives and you're squinting at a calendar trying to reconstruct who worked when. Tracking hours and money owed doesn't have to be stressful. Here are five methods, from simplest to best, and what to record either way.

What to record (whichever method you choose)

Date and hours worked that day (start/end or a total).
Hourly rate — and any overtime hours over 40 in the week.
Payments made, with the date and amount (including partial payments).
Running balance — what's still owed after payments.

Those four things are all you need for a clean record at payday and at tax time.

1. Notebook or notes app

Pros: zero setup, works for anyone. Cons: you do all the math, it's easy to miss a day, and there's no running total. Fine for a single, very predictable schedule; painful once hours vary.

2. Shared calendar

Pros: you probably already use one; good for logging when someone worked. Cons: it doesn't do money — no rate, no balance, no payment history. You still export to a calculator at the end of the week.

3. Spreadsheet

Pros: flexible, does the math if you build the formulas, exports easily. Cons: you have to build and maintain it, it's clumsy on a phone (which is where you'll actually log hours), and one broken formula throws off the total. The most common "good enough" method — until you get tired of it.

If you like the spreadsheet approach but not the upkeep, try the free nanny pay calculator for the weekly/monthly/yearly math, then keep the running log somewhere that adds it up for you.

4. A payment app's history

Pros: if you always pay through one app, you have a record of what you paid. Cons: it has no idea what you owe — it doesn't track hours or rate, so it can't tell you the balance before you pay. It's a receipt, not a tracker.

5. A dedicated hours-and-pay tracker (best)

This is what purpose-built apps like Paypr do: you set each person's rate once, log the hours in seconds (drag across a day or tap a quick entry), and the balance updates automatically. Mark payments as paid — full or partial — and keep a tidy, searchable history per person.

Pros: no math, no missed days, always-current balance, per-person history, and a CSV export for tax records.
Cons: it's another app to install — though it replaces the notebook, calendar and spreadsheet at once.

Always know what you owe

Paypr logs hours in seconds and keeps a running balance for every nanny, sitter, tutor or cleaner. Settle up on payday, export clean records at tax time.

Download Paypr on the App Store

The bottom line

Any method beats memory. If your schedule never changes, a notebook works. The moment hours vary week to week — which is most households — you want something that keeps the running total for you, so payday is a two-second check instead of a reconstruction.

General information, not tax or legal advice. Keep records of hours and payments if you may owe household employment taxes.