How do I use the minutes to decimal chart?
- Split the time into whole hours and leftover minutes, so 7:38 is 7 hours and 38 minutes.
- Look up the minutes in the chart. 38 minutes = 0.63.
- Add the whole hours to get decimal hours: 7.63. Multiply by the hourly rate for pay.
Payroll and invoicing software need hours as a decimal number, but time clocks and timesheets show hours and minutes. This one-page chart is built for printing and posting at a time clock or payroll desk. The 1–60 table covers every minute, the exact column helps when you need more precision, and the tenths table covers systems that bill or pay in 6-minute increments.
What is the tenths-of-an-hour chart?
Some employers and most law firms record time in tenths of an hour. Each tenth is 6 minutes, and punches round to the nearest tenth.
| Minutes | Tenths |
|---|---|
| 0–2 | .0 |
| 3–8 | .1 |
| 9–14 | .2 |
| 15–20 | .3 |
| 21–26 | .4 |
| 27–32 | .5 |
| 33–38 | .6 |
| 39–44 | .7 |
| 45–50 | .8 |
| 51–56 | .9 |
| 57–60 | next hour |
Worked examples
Example 1: 7 hours 38 minutes
Find 38 in the chart: 0.63. Add the whole hours: 7 + 0.63 = 7.63 hours. At $18/hour that is 7.63 × 18 = $137.34.
Example 2: a weekly total in minutes
A time clock reports 2,595 minutes for the week. 2,595 ÷ 60 = 43.25 hours (43:15), which is 40 regular hours plus 3.25 overtime hours.
Example 3: using the tenths chart
A payroll system that records tenths of an hour logs 8:22 as 8.4, because 21–26 minutes falls in the .4 band. The exact value is 8.37, so tenths rounding is never off by more than 3 minutes.
What are the quarter-hour values to remember?
15 minutes = .25, 30 minutes = .50, 45 minutes = .75. Other handy ones: 6 minutes = .10, 12 = .20, 20 = .33, 40 = .67 and 50 = .83. If your employer rounds punches to the quarter hour, the time clock rounding calculator shows which way each punch goes.
To convert h:mm values both ways, including seconds, use the time to decimal calculator. To add up a whole week of punches with decimal totals already done, use the time card calculator.