Work hours & pay
Time clock rounding calculator
Enter your actual clock-in and clock-out punches and the rounding rule; see the rounded times and how much paid time you gain or lose.
Each punch is rounded to the nearest increment; exactly halfway (for example 3 minutes on a 6-minute rule) rounds up. A punch-out before the punch-in is read as overnight.
How time clock rounding works
Each punch is moved to the nearest mark on a grid of 5, 6 or 15 minutes, and paid time is the rounded clock-out minus the rounded clock-in. With quarter-hour rounding the cut-off is the 7-minute rule: a punch 1 to 7 minutes past a quarter hour rounds back to it, while 8 to 14 minutes past rounds forward to the next one. On a 6-minute grid (tenths of an hour) 1–2 minutes round down and 3–5 round up; on a 5-minute grid 1–2 round down and 3–4 round up.
Worked example with the defaults: a clock-in at 08:53 is 8 minutes after 08:45, so it rounds forward to 09:00. A clock-out at 17:07 is 7 minutes after 17:00, so it rounds back to 17:00. The actual shift is 8 h 14 min, the paid shift is 8 h, and this day loses 14 minutes. The same punches on a 6-minute grid become 08:54 and 17:06, which pays 8 h 12 min.
| Minutes past the quarter | Rounds to | Effect on clock-in | Effect on clock-out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | same quarter | none | none |
| 1–7 | previous quarter | adds 1–7 min | removes 1–7 min |
| 8–14 | next quarter | removes 1–7 min | adds 1–7 min |
| 15 | next quarter | none | none |
Is rounding fair to you?
The US Department of Labor accepts rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour (29 CFR 785.48) as long as, over time, it does not fail to pay employees for time they actually worked. A policy that rounds in both directions is neutral on average; one that always rounds early arrivals forward and late departures back is not.
The pattern in the example is the one to watch: clocking in a few minutes early and out a few minutes late, each inside the rounding window, loses time on both ends of every shift. Fourteen minutes a day over 230 working days is almost 54 hours a year. If your punches regularly sit just inside the window, keep a note of the actual times and compare them with your payslip using the table above.
Rounding is separate from grace periods and from deductions for lateness, and some states and collective agreements forbid rounding altogether. Where pay is calculated from exact minutes, the rounded result here simply does not apply.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 7-minute rule for time clocks?
With quarter-hour rounding, punches 1 to 7 minutes past a quarter hour round down to it and punches 8 to 14 minutes past round up to the next quarter. Over many shifts it is meant to balance out.
Is time clock rounding legal?
In the US, federal rules allow rounding to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes if it is neutral over time and does not systematically underpay. Some states and contracts restrict it further.
How much can rounding cost me in a year?
Losing 7 minutes at each end of a shift is 14 minutes a day; across 230 working days that is about 54 hours of unpaid time.