How HourSimple Calculates Time
The calculators use explicit arithmetic on the values you enter. These are the shared rules behind the results.
Time arithmetic
Clock times are converted to whole minutes after midnight. HourSimple subtracts the start from the end, then presents the result as hours and minutes and, where useful, decimal hours. The original whole-minute total is the audit value used by downstream totals.
Overnight shifts
If an end time is earlier than its start time, the calculator treats the end as occurring on the next day. The next-day control lets you state that choice explicitly.
Breaks
Entered break minutes are added together and subtracted from elapsed shift time. A break total cannot be negative or longer than the shift.
Decimal hours
Decimal hours are base-10 hours, not clock-style minutes. HourSimple divides total minutes by 60; for example, 30 minutes is 0.50 hours. Conversions keep exact minute arithmetic internally.
Rounding
Worked time is not silently rounded to payroll intervals. Decimal conversions expose the exact minute-derived value before a selected display rounding such as a hundredth, tenth, or quarter hour. A decimal-hours input that does not equal a whole minute is converted to the nearest minute and identified as rounded. Pay estimates are rounded to the nearest cent.
Weekly and biweekly totals
Daily totals are the sum of that day's shifts after breaks. Weekly and biweekly totals add those daily minute totals. If the optional overtime setting is enabled, the entered threshold and scope determine how minutes are divided between regular and overtime totals.
Working days
The date calculator counts calendar dates in the selected range, applies the chosen start/end inclusions, then excludes configured weekend days and manually entered holidays that fall on otherwise working days. A holiday on a configured weekend is not subtracted twice. It does not supply a jurisdiction-specific holiday calendar.
Pay estimates
Pay estimates multiply calculated hours by the hourly rate you enter. Optional overtime uses only the threshold, multiplier, and weekly or period scope you select. Estimates do not include taxes, deductions, premiums, or other payroll rules.
What HourSimple does not decide
HourSimple performs mathematical calculations, not legal or payroll compliance. It does not determine overtime eligibility, required breaks, paid holidays, rounding policies, employment status, or rules for a particular employer or jurisdiction. Check the rules that apply to you before using a result for payroll or recordkeeping.
Browser storage and reproducibility
Calculator state may be saved in local browser storage so an unfinished time card can be resumed on the same device. Time-card entries are not sent to HourSimple's server as part of calculation. Clearing the calculator or browser storage removes the locally saved state. Results can be reproduced by re-entering the same values under methodology version 2.0.
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