SPECIALTY & OTHER TOOLS

Find the elapsed time between two clock times, with decimal hours for timesheets. Enter the start and end times in 24-hour format.

Start hour (0-23)

Start minute

End hour (0-23)

End minute

Duration

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Hours and minutes.

Usage Tip

For payroll, decimal hours make multiplying by an hourly rate easy: 8h 30m is 8.5 hours.

THE MATH

Duration = end time − start time
If the end is earlier, add 24 hours (crosses midnight)

This measures elapsed time between two clock times on a 24-hour basis.
If the end time is earlier than the start, it assumes the end is on the next day.

Use 24-hour time: 1:30 PM is hour 13, minute 30.
Decimal hours (for example 8.5) are handy for timesheets and billing.
For spans longer than a day, use the date calculator instead.

Practical Notes

The time between a start and an end on a 24-hour clock is the end time minus the start time. If the end is earlier than the start, the period crosses midnight and 24 hours is added, so a shift from 22:00 to 06:00 lasts 8 hours. The result is shown in hours and minutes and as decimal hours, which is the format timesheets and payroll systems usually need.

To convert minutes to a decimal, divide by 60, so 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 hours. Subtract unpaid breaks from the total separately. Clock changes for daylight saving time can add or remove an hour on the day they happen, which this calculation does not account for.

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