What Is an Hours Calculator?
An hours calculator converts a clock-in and clock-out time into total hours worked, deducting any unpaid break time, and optionally calculating gross pay if you provide an hourly rate — handy for timesheets and payroll.
How to Use the Hours Calculator
- Enter your clock-in (start) time.
- Enter your clock-out (end) time.
- Enter any unpaid break time in minutes.
- Optionally enter your hourly rate to see gross pay.
Hours Worked Formula
Worked Example
Raw time span: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM = 8.5 hours
Less 30-minute unpaid break = 8.0 hours worked
At $20/hour: gross pay = 8.0 × $20 = $160.00
Understanding Your Results
Total Hours Worked is shown in decimal format (e.g., 8.00 hours), which is the standard format most payroll systems use for calculating pay. Hours & Minutes shows the same duration in a more everyday format for quick reference.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Forgetting to subtract unpaid break time, which overstates hours worked.
- Entering times without accounting for overnight shifts (crossing midnight) — this calculator assumes the shift is within the same day.
- Confusing decimal hours (8.25) with hours and minutes (8h 15m) when entering data into payroll software.
Frequently Asked Questions
Subtract the start time from the end time to get the total time span, then subtract any unpaid break time to get actual hours worked.
Divide the minutes by 60. For example, 15 minutes is 0.25 hours, so 8 hours 15 minutes becomes 8.25 decimal hours.
Unpaid breaks (like an unpaid lunch) should generally be deducted from total hours worked; paid breaks typically should not be, depending on your employer's policy and local labor law.
This version assumes clock-in and clock-out occur on the same day. For overnight shifts crossing midnight, calculate each day's portion separately.
Multiply total hours worked by your hourly rate. This calculator does that automatically if you enter a rate.