Timesheet Calculator
Adds up a week of shifts with breaks, in hours and minutes and in decimal hours.
Last updated
Your details
Start and finish separated by a dash, one shift per line.
Optional.
Hours beyond this are listed separately.
Result
- Total worked
- 34:45
- Decimal hours
- 34.7500
- Average per shift
- 6:57
- Break deducted
- 150 minutes
Across 5 shifts
30 per shift
5 shifts, less 30 minutes each…
total = Σ (finish − start − break)
Sum of shifts = 37:15
Less 150 minutes of breaks
34:45
Formula — written step by step
Five shifts, less a 30-minute break each…
total = Σ (finish − start − break)
9:00–17:30 = 8:30, less 0:30 = 8:00
9:00–13:00 = 4:00, less 0:30 = 3:30
8:30–17:00 = 8:30, less 0:30 = 8:00
9:00–16:45 = 7:45, less 0:30 = 7:15
34:45 total, or 34.75 decimal hours
Each shift is worked out separately and the unpaid break subtracted before the totals are added. Doing it the other way — summing first, then deducting one break — is a common way timesheets come out wrong.
A worked example
A shift that crosses midnight
- Start
- 22:00
- Finish
- 06:00
- Break
- 30 minutes
- 06:00 − 22:00 = −16 hours
- A negative result means the shift crossed midnight
- Add 24 hours: −16 + 24 = 8 hours
- Less the 30-minute break
7 hours 30 minutes
Subtracting the times directly gives a negative number, which most spreadsheets display as ###### or an error. The calculator treats a finish earlier than the start as an overnight shift and adds a day, which is almost always what was meant.
How to use this calculator
- Enter one shift per line as start and finish separated by a dash, such as 9:00-17:30.
- Set the unpaid break, which is deducted from every shift.
- A finish earlier than the start is read as an overnight shift, so 22:00-06:00 works as expected.
- Read the decimal total for payroll, and the per-shift table to check any line that looks wrong.
Adding time is not adding numbers
Clock time is base sixty, so 7:45 plus 7:45 is 15:30, not 15:90 or 14.90. Adding shifts as if they were decimals produces answers that are close enough to look plausible and wrong enough to matter over a month.
The reliable method is to convert everything to minutes, add, and convert back at the end. That is what this calculator does internally, which is also why the decimal total it reports can be trusted against the clock total beside it.
Breaks and what counts as work
Unpaid breaks are deducted from each shift, not once from the week. That distinction matters: five shifts with a thirty-minute break is two and a half hours, not thirty minutes.
What legally counts as an unpaid break varies. In many jurisdictions a break is only unpaid if the worker is genuinely relieved of duty — a lunch eaten at a desk while answering calls is working time. Short rest breaks, typically under twenty minutes, are usually paid.
Overtime and the weekly boundary
The overtime threshold here is weekly, which matches the most common arrangement: in the United States the Fair Labor Standards Act requires time-and-a-half beyond forty hours in a workweek, with no daily requirement federally.
Some jurisdictions add a daily threshold — California requires overtime beyond eight hours in a day, and double time beyond twelve — so a week under forty hours can still contain overtime. The figure here shows hours beyond your weekly threshold; check your local rules before treating it as the whole answer.
Formula & methodology
What this calculator assumes
- The unpaid break is deducted from every shift, not once from the week.
- The overtime threshold applied is weekly. The US Fair Labor Standards Act requires time-and-a-half beyond 40 hours in a workweek with no federal daily threshold, but several states add one — California requires overtime beyond eight hours in a day.
- What counts as an unpaid break varies by jurisdiction. A break is generally only unpaid if the worker is genuinely relieved of duty, and short rest breaks are usually paid.
Sources
- US Department of Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act — Hours Worked (29 CFR Part 785), 2011.
Common timesheet mistakes
| Mistake | Effect |
|---|---|
| Writing 7:45 as 7.45 | Understates by 18 minutes a shift |
| Deducting one break from the week | Overstates by the other breaks |
| Rounding each shift down | Systematic underpayment; unlawful in many places |
| Subtracting an overnight shift directly | Negative hours, or a spreadsheet error |
| Summing before converting to decimal | Base-60 and base-10 mixed |
The first is the most common and the hardest to spot, because 7.45 looks like a perfectly ordinary number.
Frequently asked questions
How do I enter a shift that crosses midnight?
Just write it normally, such as 22:00-06:00. A finish earlier than the start is read as an overnight shift and a day is added.
Is the break deducted once or per shift?
Per shift. Five shifts with a thirty-minute break each lose two and a half hours in total.
Can I enter times without a colon?
Yes. The four-digit form such as 0900 and 1730 is understood, as is a decimal such as 8.5.
Does this handle overtime pay rates?
It separates hours beyond your weekly threshold but applies a single rate. Multiply the overtime hours by your premium separately.
Each shift
| Shift | Worked | Decimal |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00-17:30 | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| 9:00-17:30 | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| 9:00-13:00 | 3:30 | 3.50 |
| 8:30-17:00 | 8:00 | 8.00 |
| 9:00-16:45 | 7:15 | 7.25 |