A clear method
From clock times to a useful time card.
Enter clock-in and clock-out times for each day. Subtract unpaid break time to get total hours, then keep a weekly or biweekly exact-minute report.
Comparing an hourly rate with an annual salary? Use the Salary Calculator to normalize gross pay and schedule assumptions. This time card records actual shifts; no entries transfer between the tools.
Start with the week you actually worked
Choose your workweek start date and one or two weeks. Enter clock-in and clock-out times for each shift, up to three per day. Leave days blank when nothing is recorded. Equal start and end times mean a zero-hour shift unless you choose next day.
Use Copy day to fill selected days with a repeating pattern, then check exceptions. A partially entered or overlapping shift blocks the completed report while preserving the other valid day totals.
Subtract only unpaid breaks
Breaks are entered as whole minutes. A blank break field means no deduction. Do not include paid breaks, or subtract the gap between two separately entered shifts again.
480 minutes between the clock times − 30 unpaid minutes = 450 worked minutes. Five such days total 2,250 minutes, or 37h 30m.
Decimal hours are a display, not the calculation
7h 30m is 7.50 hours, not 7.30. This tool adds exact minutes before converting to decimal hours. An ≈ mark means the decimal display was rounded. Three one-minute shifts total three minutes: 0.05 hours, even though each one-minute row displays approximately 0.02.
Pay also uses exact minutes. At $25 per hour, 47 minutes earns an estimated $19.58. Using the rounded 0.78-hour display would give $19.50 instead.
Why rounded shift displays may not add up
These synthetic shifts show why rounded rows may not add up. The Time Card adds exact minutes, then displays total decimal hours. A sum of rounded rows can be higher or lower. Difference means the row sum minus the total display; a minus sign means the row sum is lower.
Each 20-minute row displays about 0.33 hour. Adding those displays gives 0.33 + 0.33 + 0.33 = 0.99 hour and would give $29.70. BiznTools totals the exact 60 minutes before showing decimal hours or calculating the optional gross-pay estimate.
Swipe or scroll the table to compare the rounded-row sums and differences →
| Shifts | Exact total | Decimal from total | Sum of rounded rows | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 × 7h 01m | 21h 03m (1,263 min) | 21.05 | 7.02 × 3 = 21.06 | +0.01 |
| 5 × 7h 02m | 35h 10m (2,110 min) | 35.17 | 7.03 × 5 = 35.15 | −0.02 |
| 3 × 7h 07m | 21h 21m (1,281 min) | 21.35 | 7.12 × 3 = 21.36 | +0.01 |
| 5 × 7h 08m | 35h 40m (2,140 min) | 35.67 | 7.13 × 5 = 35.65 | −0.02 |
| 3 × 7h 30m | 22h 30m (1,350 min) | 22.50 | 7.50 × 3 = 22.50 | 0.00 |
3 × 7h 01m
- Exact total
- 21h 03m (1,263 min)
- Decimal from total
- 21.05
- Sum of rounded rows
- 7.02 × 3 = 21.06
- Difference
- +0.01
5 × 7h 02m
- Exact total
- 35h 10m (2,110 min)
- Decimal from total
- 35.17
- Sum of rounded rows
- 7.03 × 5 = 35.15
- Difference
- −0.02
3 × 7h 07m
- Exact total
- 21h 21m (1,281 min)
- Decimal from total
- 21.35
- Sum of rounded rows
- 7.12 × 3 = 21.36
- Difference
- +0.01
5 × 7h 08m
- Exact total
- 35h 40m (2,140 min)
- Decimal from total
- 35.67
- Sum of rounded rows
- 7.13 × 5 = 35.65
- Difference
- −0.02
3 × 7h 30m
- Exact total
- 22h 30m (1,350 min)
- Decimal from total
- 22.50
- Sum of rounded rows
- 7.50 × 3 = 22.50
- Difference
- 0.00
The two-decimal values are display rounding, not clock-punch rounding. Do not use a sum of row displays to calculate pay: this tool uses exact worked minutes. The full independent reference check covers 240 combinations of 7h 01m–8h 00m shifts repeated 2, 3, 5 or 10 times; these five rows show both directions and a no-difference control.
Overnight work and the workweek boundary
Choose Ends next day for a shift such as 10 PM–6 AM. Within one workweek, the hours appear on the start day. If the shift crosses the workweek boundary, use Split at midnight and put the unpaid break in the appropriate part. Extend a one-week card to two weeks if needed. Time after the second week belongs on the next card; keep it before shortening the original entry.
This tool uses entered wall-clock hours. A daylight-saving change can make actual elapsed time differ; use corrected duration records for that night. Workweeks here start at midnight. Use another method if your workplace starts them at a different hour.
One card, two independent workweeks
A biweekly card combines the hours from two weeks. Its optional overtime estimate still calculates each week separately. For example, 45 hours and 35 hours at $20/hour, with overtime after 40 hours at 1.50×, produce 75 regular hours and five overtime hours: an estimated $1,650 gross.
Pay is optional, in USD and before tax. Set your own overtime threshold and multiplier. Each week rounds regular and overtime pay separately to cents, then the report adds those amounts. The tool does not decide legal entitlement, add daily overtime or calculate a regular rate from bonuses and other pay.
Keep the card. Reuse the pattern.
Download a PDF for a readable record or a printed copy. CSV includes typed shift, day, week and total records, exact minutes, display decimals and—when enabled—pay in cents. Copy provides a plain-text report. None requires a signup or email.
Save this card on this device starts off. Save as schedule keeps a reusable time and pay pattern without names, dates or notes. New period starts a blank card; apply a schedule yourself and check actual attendance. Browser storage can be cleared or blocked and does not sync. Download records you need to keep.
Billing for the work?
A time card records hours; an invoice requests payment. Use the Invoice Generator to prepare the bill after confirming the work and agreed rate. Times and money are not automatically transferred. Avoid using a rounded decimal-hour display where it would change the agreed charge.
Method and sources
Engineering-validated with independent time and rounding examples. No expert payroll review is claimed.
- U.S. Department of Labor — Overtime pay and workweeks
Explains the fixed workweek and why hours are not averaged over two weeks for federal overtime. Our configurable estimate does not determine eligibility.
- U.S. Department of Labor — Regular rate overview
Actual regular-rate calculations can include compensation beyond an hourly rate. Our single-rate gross estimate does not implement those rules.
- University of Rochester — minute-to-decimal chart
Illustrates the familiar one-entry minutes/60 conversion and two-place display. Our repeated-shift comparison is a separate calculation, not a copy of this chart.
- U.S. Department of Labor — rounding hours worked
Discusses employer time-punch rounding, a different question from two-place decimal display. The Time Card does not round punches or decide payroll compliance.
Tool method checked September 20, 2026; reference table checked September 23, 2026. Found an issue? Report a correction with synthetic example data.