About the Time to Decimal Calculator
This time to decimal calculator turns clock time such as 7 hours 45 minutes into decimal hours (7.75) — the format payroll software, invoices and spreadsheets need. Switch the direction to turn a decimal like 6.4 hours back into hours, minutes and seconds (6:24:00).
It is built for payroll clerks, freelancers billing by the hour, managers approving timesheets and anyone who has typed 7.45 when they meant 7 hours 45 minutes. Add an hourly rate and it also shows the gross pay for that time, so you can check a paycheck or an invoice line in seconds.
The minutes-to-decimal chart underneath lists every minute from 1 to 60 with its decimal and hundredths equivalent, so you can keep it open while entering a whole week of time cards.
With the default inputs, the decimal hours is 7.75 h. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the time to decimal calculator
- 1Choose the direction: clock time to decimal, or decimal to clock time.
- 2Enter the hours and minutes (and seconds if you track them), or the decimal hours.
- 3Optionally enter an hourly rate to see the gross pay.
- 4Copy the decimal hours into your timesheet, invoice or payroll system.
- 5Use the minutes chart for quick lookups when entering many time cards.
Formula and method
An hour has 60 minutes, not 100, so minutes are converted by dividing by 60 and seconds by dividing by 3,600. 45 minutes is 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75 hours, so 7 hours 45 minutes becomes 7.75 decimal hours.
Going the other way, the whole number is the hours and the fractional part times 60 gives the minutes; any remaining fraction of a minute times 60 gives the seconds. Pay is simply decimal hours × hourly rate. Payroll systems usually round decimal hours to two places (hundredths), which the chart shows alongside the exact value.
- H
- Whole hours
- M
- Minutes (0–59)
- S
- Seconds (0–59)
Worked examples
7 hours 45 minutes to decimal
45 minutes ÷ 60 = 0.75, so 7:45 is 7.75 decimal hours, or 465 minutes in total. Entering 7.45 instead would underpay by 18 minutes.
6.4 decimal hours back to clock time
The whole part is 6 hours. The fraction 0.4 × 60 = 24 minutes, so 6.4 hours is 6 hours 24 minutes (384 minutes).
38 h 20 min at $22.50 per hour
20 minutes is 0.3333 hours, so the week totals 38.3333 hours. Multiplying by $22.50 gives $862.50 gross pay.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert minutes to decimal hours?+
Divide the minutes by 60. For example 15 minutes = 0.25 hours, 30 minutes = 0.5 hours, 45 minutes = 0.75 hours and 20 minutes ≈ 0.33 hours. Add the result to the whole hours.
Is 7.30 the same as 7 hours 30 minutes?+
No. 7.30 decimal hours is 7 hours 18 minutes (0.30 × 60). Seven and a half hours is 7.50 in decimal. Mixing the two formats is one of the most common timesheet errors.
How do I convert decimal hours back to minutes?+
Take the part after the decimal point and multiply it by 60. 8.6 hours is 8 hours plus 0.6 × 60 = 36 minutes, so 8 hours 36 minutes.
How many decimal places should payroll use?+
Most payroll systems store hours to two decimal places (hundredths of an hour, 36 seconds each). Some use quarter-hour rounding (0.25). Follow your employer’s policy and applicable wage rules on rounding.
How do I convert time to decimal in Excel?+
If a cell holds a time such as 7:45, multiply it by 24 and format the result as a number: =A1*24 returns 7.75. Excel stores times as fractions of a day.