Time Conversion Chart (+ Free Templates and Calculator)
Although most companies track employee time in hours and minutes, when it comes to processing payroll, hours and minutes will need to be converted to decimal format.
Making the conversion to decimal format is often where things get tricky. Business owners that are not familiar with conversion calculations may fail to pay their employees accurately.
Having a time conversion chart will help you quickly convert standard work hours to decimal format with ease.
In this article, we will address why timesheets should be converted, how to successfully convert hours and minutes into decimal format, and which tools will help you get the task done.
Time Conversion Calculator
What is a time conversion chart?
A time conversion chart is a tool that helps you convert hours and minutes into payroll preferred decimal format.
Let’s look at an example of when a time conversion chart is most useful.
You have tracked your employees’ hours for the month of August and you’re ready to run payroll. You haven’t had any issues so far, until you come across an employee who worked 20 hours and 17 minutes.
Now you’ve got a problem, because you can’t use the traditional time format to determine the payable amount for that particular employee.
Why?
To put it simply, an employee’s pay rate is expressed in hours, not minutes. For example, Joey is paid at $20 per hour, not minutes.
And that’s the root of the problem.
You can’t multiply 20 hours and 17 minutes by $20/hr to get the exact amount an employee earned.
With the help of a time conversion chart, you can easily convert your timesheet for payroll and then multiply the decimal time by the pay rate to accurately calculate compensation.
Converting military time
If your company uses a 24-hour clock, known as military time, the timesheet conversion process involves an additional step.
Before you can use the time conversion chart, you have to convert military time to standard hours. Then you can use the chart to convert standard hours to decimal format.
Why is a time conversion chart important for payroll?
If your business employs hourly workers, converting timesheet hours into the correct format will help you issue fair compensation and accurately track time and attendance
If you choose to manually calculate employee time, remember, payroll errors can be costly. Overpaying employees will rob you of your profit, while underpaying leads to legal disputes, fines, and decreased employee morale.
To minimize these risks, be sure to convert standard hours into the correct decimal format before performing calculations.
PRO TIP: A time conversion chart is also great for calculating overtime pay for salaried employees.
Time conversion chart: How do I convert payroll time?
For accurate payroll calculations, you will need to convert standard timesheet hours to decimal format.
Standard format
Standard format is based on the fact that there are 60 minutes in an hour.
It's expressed in HH: MM, which translates to hours and minutes separated by a colon (:) - 2:30.
Decimal format
Decimal format uses the decimal scale (0-9) to represent time.
For example, if we convert the standard time of 2:30 (2 hours and 30 minutes) into decimal time, it would be expressed as 2.5 (2 and ½ hours).
Now that we have covered the differences between standard and decimal time, we can discuss the timesheet conversion process.
Note: We will use 2:30 again for the examples below.
1. Convert hours into minutes
It is relatively easy to convert standard time to decimal format.
First divide the minutes worked by 60.
30➗60 = 0.5
2. Add decimal minutes to whole hours worked
In our example, the employee worked 2 whole hours and 30 minutes. We will record the 2 hours as written and then add the minutes in decimal format, which we just calculated above.
After conversions, our employee worked 2.5 hours in this pay period.
3. Convert decimal format to standard time
If for some reason you need to convert decimal hours to standard time measurements, use the following method.
Step 1: Identify the decimal portion of the number
For 2.50 hours worked, the decimal portion is .50
(all numbers to the right of the decimal point)
Step 2: Divide the decimal portion by 100
50 ➗ 100 = 0.5
Step 3: Multiply the result by 60 to calculated minutes
0.5 x 60 = 30
Step 4: Interpret the results
The whole number (2) represents the hours and the result of the calculation (30) represents the minutes. This means, 2.50 decimal hours is equivalent to 2 hours and 30 minutes.
4. Calculate employee wages (decimal time x pay rate)
Since you should have already converted your employees’ total hours into decimal format for payroll, it will be easy to calculate their wages.
The formula for calculating employees’ wages is:
Hourly pay rate x decimal time
If an employee’s hourly rate is $15, and they worked a total of 24.25 decimal hours for the week, we would calculate their wage as follows:
24.25 hours x $15 = $363.75
Keep in mind, the wage amount shown is your employee’s gross weekly pay, that is before taxes and other deductions.
Hopefully by seeing the calculations written out in this article you’ve noticed how repetitive they can be. Imagine if you have to convert timesheet totals for every employee by hand, no wonder so many employers make mistakes!
Understanding time rounding
The Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to round employee clock-in and clock-out times to the nearest 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Rounding employee time simplifies payroll calculations, but it must be done carefully to avoid legal issues.
If you decide to implement time rounding, you’ll find out that it’s a bit more complex than it initially seems to be. If you aren’t sure how to properly round hours, you risk underpaying your employees and falling into legal trouble.
Rounding rules
- Nearest 5 minutes: If an employee clocks in at 8:03 AM, their time would be rounded down to 8:00 AM. If they clock in at 8:08 AM, their time is rounded up to 8:10 AM.
- Nearest 10 minutes: If an employee clocks in at 8:03 AM, their time is rounded down to 8:00 AM. If they clock in at 8:08 AM, their time is rounded up to 8:10 AM.
- Nearest quarter hour: If an employee clocks in at 8:03 AM, their time is rounded down to 8:00 AM. If they clock in at 8:08 AM, their time is rounded up to the nearest quarter of an hour, which is 8:15 AM.
Important considerations
If you choose to round employee time, there are several things you should keep in mind.
- Neutral rounding: Rounding policies must be neutral and not show favoritism toward the employer or employees.
- State laws: Some states have specific rules regarding time rounding for meal breaks and overtime.
- Employee impact: Employees should not be underpaid due to time rounding, especially over a long period of time.
Timesheet rounding example
If an employee works from 8:03 AM to 4:13 PM without a break, their actual hours worked are 8 hours and 10 minutes.
Rounding to the nearest 5 minutes: The rounded time would be 8:00 AM to 4:15 PM, totaling 8 hours and 15 minutes.
Rounding to the nearest 10 minutes: The rounded time would be 8:00 AM to 4:10 PM, totaling 8 hours and 10 minutes.
Rounding to the nearest quarter hour: The rounded time would be 8:00 AM to 4:15 PM, totaling 8 hours and 15 minutes.
PRO TIP: If your business operates in California, you should immediately reconsider your time rounding practices, especially when it comes to tracking employee breaks. Failing to comply with state regulations can get you into legal trouble and have you paying hefty fines.
Converting military time to standard time
Military time uses a 24-hour clock instead of the traditional 12-hour AM/PM system.
Converting military time to standard time is quite simple.
We’ll work through two examples below.
Example 1: 20:03 Military time
We want to convert 20:03 in military time to standard time.
Step 1. Subtract 12 from 20
(20-12=8)
Step 2. Replace the hour (20) with the standard hour (8)
8:03
Step 3. Add PM to the end of the time to indicate the time is after noon.
8:03 PM
Example 2: 04:12 Military time
We want to convert 04:12 in military time to standard time.
Step 1. Remove the 0 placeholder located before 4 (hour).
4:12
Step 2. Add AM at the end of the time to indicate the time is before noon.
4:12 AM
Note: In the morning hours, military time reads the same as standard time. Between the hours of 01:00 and 12:00 (noon), simply remove the 0 placeholder if present and add AM at the end of the time.
Streamline your payroll process with Timeero
Manually calculating timesheet conversions is time-consuming and inefficient. Timeero, a powerful time tracking software, offers a streamlined solution to automate your time conversion process and ensure accurate payroll calculations.
Automated time tracking and conversion
Once you clock in, Timeero automatically tracks and records your time. For employees who make multiple stops along their driving route, Timeero accurately logs arrival and departure times without you needing to manually clock in and out at each stop.
Timeero’s time and mileage log displays accrued time for each employee. You can review an employee’s total hours worked, along with their break time as well as overtime hours. Timeero automatically converts standard hours into the decimal format required for payroll, saving you valuable time.
Employee hours are accurately recorded and calculated, regardless of their location. Timeero makes managing the complexities of time tracking and payroll across multiple time zones simple. Our software also tracks hours worked during overnight shifts and can easily be customized to comply with your company’s specific time rounding rules.
Seamless payroll integration
Timeero seamlessly integrates with popular payroll software to further streamline your payroll process.
Through automated data transfer, you can reduce the risk of errors that would be made due to manual calculations.
How Timeero works
With Timeero, you can enjoy effortless integration, increased accuracy and efficiency, and precise payroll calculations.
1. Employee clock-in/clock-out: Employees use Timeero to record their start and end times.
2. Automatic tracking: Timeero automatically tracks worked hours, breaks, and overtime.
4. Decimal conversion: Timeero automatically converts hours and minutes to decimal format.
5. Payroll integration: Timesheet data can be seamlessly exported to your payroll system.
Time conversion chart: Wrapping up
When it comes to payroll, converting hours and minutes to decimals, tracking hours worked across time zones, and ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations can be overwhelming. Not to mention, manually tracking employee time and performing conversion calculations is extremely time-consuming and error-prone.
A robust time tracking app like Timeero will streamline your payroll process, freeing up more time for you to focus on increasing productivity, efficiency, and profit.
