Hours Calculator

The calculator takes the end time minus the start time in minutes, then subtracts the break. If the end time is earlier than the start time, it assumes the shift ran past midnight and adds 24 hours. If the break is longer than the shift, the result stops at zero instead of going negative.

worked minutes = (end − start, + 24 h if end is earlier) − break

The default shift, 09:00 to 17:30 with a 60-minute break, gives 7h 30m, or 7.50 decimal hours. A few more shifts, exactly as the tool shows them:

For a shift that finishes at midnight, enter the end time as 00:00. The overnight rule then counts it correctly.

The two results describe the same time in different units. 7h 50m is 7.83 hours, not 7.50. Mixing them up is the most common timesheet error, because the minutes look like a decimal.

Use hours and minutes when you fill in a sign-in sheet or check a rota. Use decimal hours when you multiply by a pay rate or type the figure into payroll or invoicing software. The tool rounds the decimal to two places. Common minute values convert like this:

The tool works out one shift at a time. To total a week, run each day and add the hours and minutes, then convert the total once. Adding rounded decimals instead loses a little every day.

Say you work 08:15 to 16:50 with a 45-minute break, five days running. Each day is 7h 50m, shown as 7.83. The week is 39h 10m, which is 39.17 hours. Adding 7.83 five times gives 39.15. At $18 an hour that is $705.00 against $704.70. Thirty cents is small, but the gap grows across a team and a year, and it is the kind of difference that makes a payslip look wrong.

A split shift works either way. Run 10:00 to 14:00 (4h 0m) and 17:00 to 21:30 (4h 30m) separately, or enter 10:00 to 21:30 with the three-hour gap as a 180-minute break. Both give 8h 30m.

• Same start and end time gives 0h 0m, not 24 hours. The tool can't represent a full 24-hour shift or anything longer.
• No dates. It compares clock times only, so a night shift on the night the clocks change for daylight saving shows the clock difference, which is an hour away from the time actually worked.
• Paid breaks. The break box is subtracted whatever you type. If your breaks are paid, leave it at 0 or enter only the unpaid part.
• Whole minutes. A break of 0.5 minutes produces results like 8h 29.5m. Enter breaks as whole minutes.
• Both times are needed. If either time box is empty, there is nothing to calculate, so fill in both before reading the result.