Time Clock Rounding Calculator (7-Minute Rule)

Enter your real clock-in and clock-out times to see what your employer's rounding pays you for: each punch rounded to the quarter hour (the 7-minute rule), tenth of an hour or 5 minutes, the minutes gained or lost each day, and what that adds up to over a year. Nothing leaves your browser.

Want your own record of every punch? Clockbird (iPhone) clocks you in with one tap and keeps your exact times. It can also apply your employer's rounding, so you can check each paycheck against your own record. For a full week with breaks and overtime, use the free time card calculator.

How time clock rounding works

Rounding moves each punch to the nearest mark on the clock. With quarter-hour rounding (the most common), the marks are :00, :15, :30 and :45, and the halfway point is 7½ minutes, which gives the 7-minute rule: 1 to 7 minutes past a mark round down, 8 to 14 round up. 7:07 becomes 7:00; 7:08 becomes 7:15; 6:53 becomes 7:00.

Tenth-of-an-hour rounding uses 6-minute marks (7:00, 7:06, 7:12…), so a punch moves at most 3 minutes. 5-minute rounding moves it at most 2½ minutes. The smaller the step, the less any single day can swing.

Why it often costs workers

Rounding is meant to average out: some days it adds minutes, some days it takes them away. It doesn't when punches follow a pattern. Workers who clock in a few minutes early and out a few minutes late (6:53 in, 3:07 out) lose up to 7 minutes at each end every day. That is 14 minutes a day, 70 minutes a week, and at $20 an hour about $1,213 a year. Enter your own punches above to see your pattern.

Is rounding legal?

Under US federal rules (29 CFR 785.48(b)), employers may round to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour if, over time, the rounding averages out so employees are paid for all the time they actually work. A system that only rounds in the employer's favor, or that consistently underpays, does not meet that rule. Separately, if you clock in early but don't start working, the employer generally doesn't have to pay for that waiting time (785.48(a)).

Some states are stricter. In California, the state Supreme Court held in 2021 (Donohue v. AMN Services) that employers can't round meal period punches. If your numbers show a steady loss, keep your own record of punches and ask your employer or your state labor department. This page is a calculator, not legal advice.

FAQ

Does rounding apply to breaks?

Usually each punch is rounded, including lunch out and lunch in. Short breaks (under 20 minutes) count as paid work time under federal rules and are often not punched at all.

How do I convert rounded time for payroll?

Quarter hours are easy: :15 = 0.25, :30 = 0.5, :45 = 0.75. For any other total, use the time to decimal calculator.

Can I enter night shifts?

Yes. If the clock-out time is earlier than the clock-in, it is counted as the next morning. Times can be typed as 6:53 AM, 653a or 0653 (military time works).

Rules checked on 2026-10-05 against 29 CFR 785.48 and California DLSE overtime FAQ. Corrections: [email protected].