User Guide
- Pick a mode: hours between two times (a shift), or adding up a list of hours and minutes (a timesheet).
- For a shift: enter start and end times, and any unpaid break in minutes — night shifts crossing midnight are handled automatically.
- Optionally enter your hourly rate to see earnings for the shift.
- For timesheets: enter each day’s hours and minutes and read the total, in h:mm and decimal hours.
About the Hours Calculator
“9:15 to 6:05 minus a 45-minute lunch — how many hours is that, and what does it pay?” That’s the calculation this tool exists for. It computes the exact time between two clock times (handling overnight shifts), subtracts breaks, converts the result into the decimal hours payroll systems use, and optionally multiplies by your hourly rate. A second mode totals a list of hour:minute entries — a weekly timesheet in ten seconds.
A worked example
Start 9:15 AM, end 6:05 PM = 8 hours 50 minutes. Minus a 45-minute unpaid lunch = 8h 05m worked. As decimal hours that’s 8.08 (5 minutes = 5÷60 = 0.083) — and at ₹300/hour, the shift pays ₹2,425. The h:mm-to-decimal step is where manual calculations go wrong: 8h 05m is 8.08 hours, not 8.05 — a small-looking error that compounds across a month of timesheets.
Who uses it
Hourly workers verifying a payslip matches hours actually worked. Freelancers converting tracked time into billable decimal hours for invoices — pair it with the Invoice Generator to bill the result. Small employers totalling handwritten timesheets. Shift workers checking overnight hours: the calculator knows 10 PM to 6 AM is 8 hours, not −16.
Decimal hours, the 6-minute rule
Payroll and billing systems almost universally use decimal hours because they multiply cleanly by rates. The conversion: divide minutes by 60. Every 6 minutes = 0.1 hours, so 15 minutes = 0.25, 30 = 0.50, 45 = 0.75. Legal and consulting billing often rounds to those 6-minute increments — the calculator gives you the exact figure to round from. For date-level gaps (days between two dates), use the Date Difference Calculator instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate hours worked?
Enter your start and end times and unpaid break minutes — the calculator returns worked time in hours:minutes, decimal hours, and (optionally) pay at your hourly rate.
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?
Divide minutes by 60: every 6 minutes is 0.1 hours, so 15 min = 0.25, 30 min = 0.50, 45 min = 0.75. 8h 05m is 8.08 decimal hours — not 8.05, the classic payroll mistake.
Does it handle night shifts?
Yes — if the end time is earlier than the start time, the calculator assumes the shift crosses midnight, so 10 PM to 6 AM correctly gives 8 hours.
Can it total a weekly timesheet?
Yes — switch to the “Add up hours & minutes” mode, enter each day’s time, and read the weekly total in both h:mm and decimal hours.
Can it calculate my pay?
Enter an optional hourly rate and the shift mode multiplies your worked decimal hours by it — 8.08 hours at ₹300/hour = ₹2,425.