Time Card Calculator: Weekly & Bi-Weekly Hours
Track your hours, deduct lunch breaks, and estimate your gross pay. Supports overtime and bi-weekly pay periods.
Unlike other payroll tools, this Time Card Calculator operates entirely in your browser (Client-Side Processing). We do not transmit, store, or view your work hours, hourly rates, or personal information. Once you close this tab, your data is permanently wiped from memory.
Start by selecting your pay period (Weekly or Bi-Weekly). Enter your “Clock In” and “Clock Out” times for each day. If you took an unpaid meal break, select the duration from the dropdown. Enter your Hourly Rate at the top to see your estimated Gross Pay instantly. The tool automatically converts minutes to decimal hours for payroll accuracy.
Why Use a Bi-Weekly Time Card Calculator?
Most employees in the United States are paid on a bi-weekly schedule (every two weeks). Standard calculators only allow for 7 days of entry, forcing you to do the math on a piece of paper. Our Bi-Weekly Time Card Calculator solves this by allowing you to track a full 14-day pay period in one view. This ensures your overtime is calculated correctly based on each individual workweek, rather than blending them together.
State Overtime Rules: California vs. Federal Laws
While most states follow federal law (overtime after 40 hours/week), some have stricter rules that affect how you should calculate your time card. It is crucial to check your local labor laws.
| State | Overtime Rule |
|---|---|
| Federal (Default) | 1.5x pay after 40 hours in a week. |
| California | 1.5x pay after 8 hours in a day OR 40 hours in a week. Double time after 12 hours. |
| Colorado | 1.5x pay after 12 hours in a day OR 40 hours in a week. |
| Alaska | 1.5x pay after 8 hours in a day OR 40 hours in a week. |
The “7-Minute Rule” for Rounding (Cheat Sheet)
Does your paycheck look slightly different than your calculation? Your employer may be using the “7-Minute Rule” (Quarter-Hour Rounding). This legal practice allows time to be rounded to the nearest 15-minute increment. This table shows exactly how your minutes round up or down:
| Actual Minutes | Rounds To |
|---|---|
| :01 to :07 | :00 (Down) |
| :08 to :14 | :15 (Up) |
| :16 to :22 | :15 (Down) |
| :23 to :29 | :30 (Up) |
| Actual Minutes | Rounds To |
|---|---|
| :31 to :37 | :30 (Down) |
| :38 to :44 | :45 (Up) |
| :46 to :52 | :45 (Down) |
| :53 to :59 | :00 (Next Hour) |
4 Common Time Card Errors That Cost You Money
According to the American Payroll Association, payroll errors affect millions of paychecks annually. When using our time card calculator, watch out for these common manual mistakes that could be lowering your gross pay:
Did you clock out for lunch and have 30 minutes deducted automatically? This “double deduction” is the #1 cause of lost wages. Check your company policy.
Clocking in at 9:08 AM often rounds to 9:15 AM. Doing this daily costs you 35 minutes of pay per week. Always clock in by x:07 to round down.
Confusing 12:00 PM (Noon) with 00:00 (Midnight) ruins totals. Our calculator handles this automatically, but manual sheets often fail here.
Writing “8.30” for 8 hours 30 minutes shortchanges you. It is actually 8.50 hours. Use our chart above to verify every decimal.
Decimal Hours vs. Minutes Conversion Chart
Payroll systems use “Decimal Hours” (e.g., 8.50) instead of “Hours and Minutes” (e.g., 8:30). If you submit a manual timesheet, you must convert these correctly. For example, 20 minutes is 0.33 hours, not 0.20.
Use the following chart for quick reference:
- 5 min = 0.08 hr
- 10 min = 0.17 hr
- 15 min = 0.25 hr
- 20 min = 0.33 hr
- 25 min = 0.42 hr
- 30 min = 0.50 hr
- 35 min = 0.58 hr
- 40 min = 0.67 hr
- 45 min = 0.75 hr
- 50 min = 0.83 hr
- 55 min = 0.92 hr
- 60 min = 1.00 hr
How to Calculate Decimal Hours Manually (The Math)
If you ever need to verify your calculator results manually, here is the formula used by HR departments:
For example, to convert 8 hours and 23 minutes:
- Take the minutes (23) and divide by 60:
23 ÷ 60 = 0.3833 - Add the hours:
8 + 0.3833 = 8.38 - Final Result: 8.38 Hours
Hidden Pay: What Counts as “Hours Worked”?
Many employees accidentally under-report their time because they are unsure what legally counts as work. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), “Hours Worked” isn’t just time spent at your desk. It includes any time you are required to be on duty.
1. Travel Time (Commute vs. Job Site)
The Rule: Your ordinary commute from home to work is not paid. However, once you clock in, any travel required by your employer is paid time.
- Home to Office: Unpaid.
- Office to Client Site: Paid (Must be logged).
- Job Site A to Job Site B: Paid.
2. Meetings and Training Programs
The Rule: If your employer requires you to attend a meeting, seminar, or training session, that time is compensable. It only counts as unpaid time if all four of these conditions are met:
- Attendance is outside regular working hours.
- Attendance is voluntary.
- The training is not directly related to your job.
- You do not perform productive work during the training.
3. “Engaged to Wait” vs. “Waiting to be Engaged”
This is a common confusion point for receptionists and delivery drivers.
- Engaged to Wait (Paid): You are at the workplace waiting for an assignment (e.g., a receptionist reading a book while waiting for the phone to ring). This is work time.
- Waiting to be Engaged (Unpaid): You are completely relieved of duty and free to leave the premises until a specific time (e.g., a truck driver waiting 4 hours for a shipment and allowed to go to a movie).
For more specific scenarios, refer to DOL Fact Sheet #22.
Federal vs. State Break Laws
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are not required to pay for lunch breaks if the employee is completely relieved of duties for 30 minutes or more. These are “bona fide meal periods.” However, “rest breaks” (usually 5-20 minutes) must be paid. Our calculator’s “Break” dropdown assumes an unpaid meal period and deducts it from your total. For official regulations, visit the U.S. Department of Labor.
Some states have stricter requirements for meal breaks. If you work in these states, ensure you are taking your required break to avoid compliance penalties:
| State | Meal Break Requirement |
|---|---|
| California | 30 min unpaid break if work > 5 hours. |
| New York | 30 min unpaid break if work > 6 hours. |
| Illinois | 20 min unpaid break if work > 7.5 hours. |
| Washington | 30 min unpaid break if work > 5 hours. |
Bi-Weekly vs. Semi-Monthly: Which Calculator Mode to Use?
Choosing the correct pay period is critical for accurate overtime calculation. If you select the wrong mode, your overtime pay estimate will be incorrect.
- Bi-Weekly (Every 2 Weeks): The most common hourly pay schedule (26 paychecks/year). Overtime is calculated based on each distinct 40-hour workweek. Use our “Bi-Weekly” toggle.
- Weekly (Every Friday): Common for construction and trade jobs (52 paychecks/year). Simple overtime calculation after 40 hours. Use our “Weekly” toggle.
- Semi-Monthly (15th & 30th): You are paid twice a month (24 paychecks/year). This makes hourly tracking difficult because pay periods cut across workweeks. Note: Overtime is still based on the standard workweek, not the pay period.
Frequently Asked Questions – Time Card Calculator
Does this calculator save my work hours?
No. This is a privacy-first, browser-based tool. We do not store any data. If you close the tab, your entries will be lost. We recommend using the “Copy Report” button to save your hours elsewhere.
How are bi-weekly overtime hours calculated?
Overtime is calculated on a weekly basis, not bi-weekly. If you work 30 hours in Week 1 and 50 hours in Week 2, you have 10 hours of overtime, not 0. Our tool correctly separates these weeks for calculation.