How to use the hours and minutes calculator
- In the Add up hours and minutes card, type the first duration into its row: whole hours in the Hours box and minutes in the Minutes box, so 3 hours 45 minutes is
3and45. - Fill the remaining rows the same way. Five are there to start; press Add a row for more, up to 20.
- Leave the selector at + for time you are adding. Switch a row to − to take time away, such as an unpaid break or hours you already billed.
- Oversized values are fine:
90in a minutes box counts as 1:30, and1.5in an hours box also counts as 1:30. - Read Total time as h:mm with the decimal figure beside it, and Total minutes underneath. At 24 hours or more a Days and hours line appears as well.
- Copy the figure you need. There is no print or export here; this tool is for a quick sum, not a record.
Why minutes do not add like cents
Dollars and cents run in hundreds, so 3.45 + 2.30 + 1.50 = 7.25 on any calculator. Hours and minutes run in sixties: the minutes column fills up at 60 and spills a whole hour into the hours column. Add 3:45, 2:30 and 1:50 as though they were prices and you get 7.25, which reads as 7 hours 25 minutes. The real total is 40 minutes larger.
Add the minutes on their own: 45 + 30 + 50 = 125. Take out as many 60s as fit, which is two, leaving 5. Those two become hours: 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 8. The answer is 8:05, and as a check, 8:05 is 485 minutes while 7:25 is 445, a gap of 40. The calculator shows 8:05, 8.08 decimal hours and 485 total minutes for those three rows.
Worked example: a week of project time, carried step by step
| Day | Logged | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2:35 | 2:35 |
| Tuesday | 1:50 | 4:25 |
| Wednesday | 3:20 | 7:45 |
| Thursday | 0:45 | 8:30 |
| Friday | 2:55 | 11:25 |
Monday's 2:35 plus Tuesday's 1:50 puts 85 in the minutes column. 85 is one 60 plus 25, so write 25 and carry 1 into the hours: 2 + 1 + 1 = 4, giving 4:25. Wednesday's 3:20 needs no carry, and 4:25 + 3:20 = 7:45. Thursday's 0:45 pushes the minutes to 90, which is 1:30, so the running total becomes 8:30. Friday's 2:55 makes 85 minutes again: carry 1, and 8 + 2 + 1 = 11 with 25 left over, so the week is 11:25.
The column method is shorter: minutes 35 + 50 + 20 + 45 + 55 = 205, which is three 60s and 25 over, and hours 2 + 1 + 3 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 11.
To put that week on an invoice, convert the minutes: 25 / 60 = 0.4167, so the line reads 11.42 hours. The Total minutes line avoids rounding altogether: 11:25 is 685 minutes, and $48 an hour is $0.80 a minute, so 685 x 0.80 = $548.00. The decimal hours calculator converts a single figure either way, and the minutes to decimal hours chart lists every minute from 1 to 60.
Taking time away: borrowing 60 minutes
Subtraction runs the same rule backwards. Say a job ran 6:10 door to door but 2:35 of that was travel you do not bill. Set a row to − and enter 2 hours 35 minutes. By hand, 10 minutes minus 35 does not work, so borrow one hour from the 6: the figure becomes 5 hours 70 minutes, and 5:70 minus 2:35 is 3:35. Check it by adding back: 3:35 + 2:35 has 70 minutes, which is 1:10, so 6:10.
The same move removes an unpaid lunch from a long day: 9:05 with a 30-minute break becomes 8:65 minus 0:30 after borrowing, which is 8:35. If your minus rows outweigh your plus rows, the total drops below zero and shows a minus sign, so 1:30 minus 2:15 reads -0:45. That usually means one row has the wrong selector.
Totals past 24 hours
A clock wraps at 24, but a total does not. Three long driving days of 9:40, 10:25 and 11:10 add to 40 + 25 + 10 = 75 minutes, which is 1:15, and 9 + 10 + 11 + 1 = 31 hours, so the total is 31:15. That is 31 hours 15 minutes, 31.25 decimal hours, or 1,875 minutes. Because it passes 24, the result card adds a Days and hours line reading 1 day 7:15, since 31 minus 24 leaves 7. Payroll wants the 31.25; a logbook or rest rule may want days, so both are shown.
All of this assumes you already know each duration. When what you have is clock-in and clock-out times, the hours calculator measures one span, and the timesheet calculator handles a week of punches with breaks and overtime.
Frequently asked questions
What is 1:45 plus 2:35?
4:20. Minutes 45 + 35 = 80, which is one hour and 20 minutes; hours 1 + 2 + 1 = 4. In decimal that is 4.33, since 20 / 60 = 0.33.
Can I type 90 in the Minutes box?
Yes. Anything over 59 carries on its own, so 90 minutes counts as 1:30 and 135 as 2:15.
What happens if I enter 1.5 in the Hours box?
It counts as 1:30, and 2.25 counts as 2:15. Watch figures that look like clock times: 1.45 in the Hours box means 1 hour 27 minutes, because 0.45 x 60 = 27. For 1 hour 45 minutes, put the 45 in the Minutes box.
What is the Total minutes line for?
It restates the total as one number of minutes, such as 685 for 11:25. Use it for per-minute billing or for systems that take minutes rather than hours.
Why does the result show 1 day 7:15?
The Days and hours line appears once the total reaches 24 hours. 31:15 is 31 hours 15 minutes, and since a day holds 24 of them it is also 1 day 7:15.
How do I turn the total into decimal hours for payroll?
Divide the minutes part by 60 and add it to the hours. The calculator shows this beside the h:mm figure: 8:05 becomes 8 + 5 / 60 = 8.08.
Can I save or print this total?
No. There is no print, CSV or share function, so copy the figure into your timesheet or invoice. For a printed record with signature lines, use the timesheet calculator linked above.