Convert hours and minutes to decimal hours for payroll, and decimal hours back to hours and minutes.
Decimal hours = hours + minutes ÷ 60.
Back to minutes = decimal part × 60.
| Minutes | Decimal |
|---|---|
| 5 | 0.08 |
| 10 | 0.17 |
| 15 | 0.25 |
| 20 | 0.33 |
| 30 | 0.50 |
| 40 | 0.67 |
| 45 | 0.75 |
| 50 | 0.83 |
An employee worked 7 hours 45 minutes at $18 an hour. That is 7.75 decimal hours and $139.50. If the time had been entered as 7.45 hours, pay would be $134.10, $5.40 short. A timesheet total of 8.3 hours is 8 hours 18 minutes.
Payroll multiplies hours by a rate, so it needs decimal hours. A common mistake is reading 7:45 as 7.45 hours, which underpays by 18 minutes.
Use the first part to convert a time, and the rate field to see the pay for that time.
A part-time library aide works 6 hours 20 minutes at $16.40 an hour. That is 6.33 decimal hours, and pay worked out from the exact time is $103.87, while multiplying the rounded 6.33 would give $103.81. Going the other way, a timesheet total of 7.9 hours converts back to 7 hours 54 minutes.
The decimal result shows two places, but pay uses the exact value, which is why it can differ by a cent from multiplying the displayed figure by the rate. Converting back rounds to the nearest minute. Minutes over 59 are accepted rather than rejected, so 7 hours 75 minutes is read as 8.25 hours; check entries before paying from them.
Some payroll systems and timesheets work in tenths, where each step is 6 minutes.
| Minutes | Tenths | Minutes | Tenths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | 0.1 | 31 to 36 | 0.6 |
| 7 to 12 | 0.2 | 37 to 42 | 0.7 |
| 13 to 18 | 0.3 | 43 to 48 | 0.8 |
| 19 to 24 | 0.4 | 49 to 54 | 0.9 |
| 25 to 30 | 0.5 | 55 to 60 | 1.0 |
This chart rounds each band up to the next tenth. If your policy rounds to the nearest tenth instead, as federal rules in 29 CFR 785.48 allow when it averages out over time, use the nearest value rather than always rounding up.
Because 45 minutes is 0.75 of an hour, not 0.45.
Two is common. Follow your payroll system.
Some employers round time; rules apply. See the rounding guide.
Add the decimal hours of each day.
Round to whole minutes first, following your rounding policy, then enter hours and minutes. Thirty seconds is only 0.0083 of an hour, which payroll systems usually do not track.
An hour has 60 minutes, so a tenth of an hour is 6 minutes and a hundredth is 36 seconds. That is why some payroll systems record time in tenths: each step is an even 6 minutes.
The clock time itself is not converted. Subtract the start time from 14:30 to get hours and minutes worked, then convert those to decimal.
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