Convert hours and minutes to decimal hours
Decimal hours express part of an hour as a fraction of 60 minutes. This is useful when checking a time card or estimating pay from an hourly rate.
The conversion
Divide the minutes by 60, then add the whole hours. For example, 7h 30m is 7 + 30 ÷ 60 = 7.50 decimal hours. Writing 7.30 would mean 7 hours plus 0.30 of an hour, which is only 18 minutes. The two formats should not be mixed.
| Hours and minutes | Calculation | Decimal hours |
|---|---|---|
| 7h 15m | 7 + 15 ÷ 60 | 7.25 |
| 7h 30m | 7 + 30 ÷ 60 | 7.50 |
| 7h 45m | 7 + 45 ÷ 60 | 7.75 |
| 8h 05m | 8 + 5 ÷ 60 | 8.08 |
Calculate paid time before converting
A shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM is 8h 30m on the clock. Subtract a 30-minute unpaid break to get 8h 00m, or 8.00 decimal hours. At $20 per hour, that is an estimated $160 before taxes or other adjustments. If you have several shifts, add their paid minutes first and convert the total; rounding every shift’s decimal hours early can change the final figure.
HourVello keeps time in whole minutes and shows both hours and minutes and decimal hours in its summary. Enter each shift and its unpaid break to avoid converting by hand.
Working past midnight? See the overnight shift example. For input and pay settings, see Help.