Interactive comparison
Time clock rounding: compare 5, 6 and 15 minutes
See which punches get counted and how many minutes change. The example 08:53–17:07 with a 30-minute unpaid break is 7:44 exact, but 7:30 after rounding each punch to the nearest quarter hour. The 14-minute difference is visible below.
Compare one shift
Use 24-hour times. Clock out before clock in means the next day. All four rows use the same unpaid break, without rounding that break.
| Method | Counted punches | Net h:mm / decimal | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exact | 08:53–17:07 | 7:44 / 7.73 h | 0 min |
| Nearest 5 min | 08:55–17:05 | 7:40 / 7.67 h | -4 min |
| Nearest 6 min | 08:54–17:06 | 7:42 / 7.70 h | -2 min |
| Nearest 15 min | 09:00–17:00 | 7:30 / 7.50 h | -14 min |
Open the exact example in the time card
What rounds up and what rounds down?
These examples use whole-minute punches. Round to the nearest multiple of the step; for an exact halfway tie, Shiftpad chooses the later clock time. A 6-minute step is one tenth of an hour (0.10 h), not six hundredths of an hour.
| Step | Earlier clock time | Later clock time |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 09:02 → 09:00 | 09:03 → 09:05 |
| 6 minutes | 09:02 → 09:00 | 09:03 → 09:06 (halfway tie) |
| 15 minutes | 09:07 → 09:00 | 09:08 → 09:15 |
| At midnight (15 min) | 23:52 → 23:45 | 23:53 → 00:00 the next day |
A “7-minute rule” chart describes minute-level quarter-hour boundaries. It does not establish permission to round in a particular jurisdiction. If your records include seconds, a whole-minute chart cannot decide which side of a halfway point they fall on.
Rounding two punches differs from rounding one duration
Take 09:07–17:08 with no break. Exact duration: 8:01. Round the start and end separately to 15 minutes: 09:00–17:15 = 8:15. Round the already-calculated duration of 8:01 instead: 8:00. Those are different operations.
Shiftpad's Round punches setting uses the first approach: it rounds each clock in and out, subtracts the entered unpaid break, then totals the week. A decimal-hours conversion changes the way a duration is written and does not, by itself, round any clock punch.
Review a pay period, not only one favorable example
The comparison above can produce positive or negative changes. Reversing the example to 09:07–17:08 shows why you cannot judge a policy from a single shift. Keep actual punches alongside counted punches and review cumulative minutes over time. A neutral-looking chart does not prove the policy compensates all hours worked.
For a weekly or biweekly check, enter the actual punches in the time card calculator, keep a CSV with Exact minutes, then choose the proposed step and export a second CSV. The rounded export preserves typed punches and adds the counted ones. Compare period totals and keep both files. Do not replace source records with rounded times.
What the U.S. federal text says
29 CFR 785.48(b) describes rounding to 5 minutes, one tenth of an hour or a quarter hour. Its enforcement acceptance is conditional: the practice must not, over time, leave employees unpaid for actual work. It is not blanket approval for every rounding policy. State requirements, contracts and rules outside the U.S. may differ. This page demonstrates time arithmetic and does not determine compliance.
The comparison uses clock time and supports shifts shorter than 24 hours. A very short shift can collapse to the same rounded in/out time; it is then flagged rather than treated as a valid day. For nights when clocks change, use the daylight saving guide.
Related resources
Check unpaid break deductions · Free PDF and Excel timesheets · All guides