Hours between times calculator
Work out the duration between two clock times — ideal for timesheets, shift hours and billable time. Enter a start and end time, optionally deduct an unpaid break, and read the result both in hours-and-minutes and as decimal hours for payroll spreadsheets.
How it works
Each time is converted to minutes since midnight (hours × 60 + minutes). The tool subtracts the start from the end; if the result is negative it adds 24 hours (1,440 minutes), treating the end as the next day for overnight shifts. It then subtracts your unpaid break in minutes, floors the total to whole minutes, and splits it into hours and minutes. The decimal hours value is the total minutes divided by 60, rounded to two decimal places.
Worked examples
Day shift with a break: A shift from 09:00 to 17:30 with a 30-minute unpaid break:
- 17:30 = 1,050 min, 09:00 = 540 min → gap = 510 min
- Minus 30-minute break = 480 min
- Result: 8 hours 0 minutes = 8.00 decimal hours
Overnight shift: A shift from 22:00 to 06:00, no break:
- 06:00 (360 min) − 22:00 (1,320 min) = −960 → +1,440 = 480 min
- Result: 8 hours = 8.00 decimal hours
Split shift, partial hour: A shift from 08:15 to 13:45 with a 15-minute break:
- 13:45 = 825 min, 08:15 = 495 min → gap = 330 min
- Minus 15 min break = 315 min
- Result: 5 hours 15 minutes = 5.25 decimal hours
Minutes to decimal hours — quick reference
| Minutes | Decimal hours |
|---|---|
| 15 | 0.25 |
| 30 | 0.50 |
| 45 | 0.75 |
| 90 | 1.50 |
| 100 | 1.67 |
Why decimal hours matter for payroll
Most payroll systems and invoicing tools expect time in decimal format, not hours-and-minutes. A timesheet showing “7 hours 45 minutes” entered as 7:45 will be misread as 7.75 hours only if the system uses decimal input — if it reads it as 7 hours and 45 minutes of a 100-minute hour, the result is wrong. Converting to 7.75 decimal hours upfront removes all ambiguity.
This matters most when hours accumulate across a week. For example, adding 7h 45m + 8h 15m by hand is error-prone; adding 7.75 + 8.25 = 16.00 is immediate and unambiguous.
Handling breaks correctly
An unpaid break reduces the hours you are paid for, but not necessarily the time you were at work. A common source of payroll disputes is confusion between “on-site time” (start to finish, including breaks) and “paid time” (on-site minus any unpaid rest periods).
Employment law in many jurisdictions specifies minimum break entitlements for shifts above certain lengths — for example, a 20-minute uninterrupted break for shifts over 6 hours in the UK (Working Time Regulations). These breaks are often unpaid for hourly workers unless the contract says otherwise. Always enter only your unpaid break time in the break field; a paid 10-minute coffee break should not be deducted.
Tips for accurate timesheets
- Log start and end times as 24-hour values to avoid AM/PM errors (for example, 2:30 PM is 14:30).
- Record breaks separately each day rather than estimating them weekly — daily variation accumulates into meaningful discrepancies.
- For client billing on hourly projects, round up to the nearest 6 or 15 minutes per your contract terms, then sum the rounded entries — rounding before summing gives a different (and usually higher) total than summing exact times and rounding once.