What is a time card calculator?
A time card calculator adds up the hours between clock-in and clock-out times across a pay period and subtracts unpaid breaks. It saves you from doing time math in base 60, where 8:45 plus 7:50 is not 15.95. It also reports hours both as hours and minutes (HH:MM) and in decimal form, which is what payroll usually needs.
How to calculate hours worked by hand
- Convert each time to minutes after midnight, or subtract the hours and minutes separately.
- Subtract start from end.
- Subtract unpaid break minutes.
- Add all days together.
- Convert minutes to decimal by dividing by 60.
Overnight shifts
When a shift ends after midnight, the end time is smaller than the start time, for example 22:00 to 06:00. The calculator treats this as a shift that ends the next day and adds 24 hours to the end time, giving 8 hours. Enter times in 24-hour format or use the time picker. If the start and end are identical, the shift counts as zero hours.
Minutes to decimal hours
Payroll systems usually multiply decimal hours by the rate. Divide minutes by 60 to convert.
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 10 | 0.17 |
| 15 | 0.25 |
| 20 | 0.33 |
| 30 | 0.50 |
| 45 | 0.75 |
| 50 | 0.83 |
A shift of 7 hours and 45 minutes is 7.75 hours, not 7.45.
How overtime is calculated
In the United States the federal Fair Labor Standards Act generally requires overtime pay of at least 1.5 times the regular rate for non-exempt employees after 40 hours in a workweek. Some states add daily overtime rules, and employer contracts can be more generous. This calculator uses the weekly threshold and multiplier you enter, so you can adjust them for your situation.
Tips for accurate timesheets
- Record times when you clock in and out rather than relying on memory.
- Do not subtract paid rest breaks, only unpaid meal breaks.
- Check how your employer rounds punches, since some round to the nearest quarter hour.
- Gross pay is before taxes. Use a paycheck calculator for take-home pay.
Using it for different pay periods
The default table covers one week. For a two-week period, add more rows and label them by date. Be careful with the overtime threshold, since it applies to the total hours you enter. For a two-week total, calculate each week separately if overtime is weekly.
Rounding rules and the 7-minute rule
Many employers use time clocks that round punches to the nearest quarter hour. Under the common 7-minute rule, a punch that is 1 to 7 minutes past a quarter hour is rounded down and 8 to 14 minutes is rounded up. Rounding is generally allowed if it averages out over time and does not consistently favor the employer, but rules vary. This calculator uses the exact minutes you enter, so it can differ slightly from a rounded paycheck.
Salary, hourly and weekly totals
Salaried non-exempt employees may still need to track hours for overtime. To estimate an effective hourly rate, divide the weekly salary by hours worked. A weekly salary of $1,000 for 40 hours equals $25 per hour, but the same salary for 50 hours is $20 per hour. If you are paid hourly, the gross pay shown here is hours times your rate plus overtime, before taxes and deductions such as health insurance or retirement contributions.
Keeping a record for your own protection
Keep a copy of your own hours each week, even when your employer tracks them. If your paycheck ever looks short, a written record of start times, end times and breaks makes it much easier to show the difference and ask for a correction. Screenshots, a notebook or a saved spreadsheet all work, as long as you record the times on the day you work them.