Quarter Hour Rounding Chart
See exactly how minutes round to the nearest quarter hour under the 7-minute rule, and what decimal each result becomes. Handy for time clock settings and payroll audits.
How to use this chart
Under quarter-hour rounding, minutes 0 to 7 past the hour round down to :00, 8 to 22 round to :15, 23 to 37 round to :30, 38 to 52 round to :45 and 53 to 59 round up to the next hour. Rounding each clock punch and rounding the total can give different answers, so use whichever your policy states.
Worked example: A shift from 8:08 to 17:22
- Round each punch: 8:08 becomes 8:15 and 17:22 becomes 17:15, so the shift is 9:00 = 9.00 hours
- Round the total instead: the real shift is 9:14, and 14 minutes rounds up to :15, so 9:15 = 9.25 hours
Same shift, 9.00 or 9.25 hours depending on whether punches or totals are rounded
Quarter hour rounding rules
Ranges are generated from the same rounding function the calculators use.
| Minutes past the hour | Rounds to | Decimal added |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 7 | :00 | 0.00 |
| 8 to 22 | :15 | 0.25 |
| 23 to 37 | :30 | 0.50 |
| 38 to 52 | :45 | 0.75 |
| 53 to 59 | Next hour (:00) | 1.00 |
6-minute rule (tenths of an hour)
Used where time is billed in tenths of an hour.
| Minutes past the hour | Rounds to | Decimal added |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 | :00 | 0.0 |
| 3 to 8 | :06 | 0.1 |
| 9 to 14 | :12 | 0.2 |
| 15 to 20 | :18 | 0.3 |
| 21 to 26 | :24 | 0.4 |
| 27 to 32 | :30 | 0.5 |
| 33 to 38 | :36 | 0.6 |
| 39 to 44 | :42 | 0.7 |
| 45 to 50 | :48 | 0.8 |
| 51 to 56 | :54 | 0.9 |
| 57 to 59 | Next hour (:00) | 1.0 |
Nearest 5 minutes
Some time clocks round to 5 minutes. Decimals are to 2 places.
| Minutes past the hour | Rounds to | Decimal added |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 | :00 | 0.00 |
| 3 to 7 | :05 | 0.08 |
| 8 to 12 | :10 | 0.17 |
| 13 to 17 | :15 | 0.25 |
| 18 to 22 | :20 | 0.33 |
| 23 to 27 | :25 | 0.42 |
| 28 to 32 | :30 | 0.50 |
| 33 to 37 | :35 | 0.58 |
| 38 to 42 | :40 | 0.67 |
| 43 to 47 | :45 | 0.75 |
| 48 to 52 | :50 | 0.83 |
| 53 to 57 | :55 | 0.92 |
| 58 to 59 | Next hour (:00) | 1.00 |
Every minute past the hour
Each cell shows the decimal fraction of an hour after rounding, and the clock mark it rounds to.
| Minute | Quarter hour | 6-minute | 5-minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.0 (:00) | 0.00 (:00) |
| 1 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.0 (:00) | 0.00 (:00) |
| 2 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.0 (:00) | 0.00 (:00) |
| 3 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.1 (:06) | 0.08 (:05) |
| 4 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.1 (:06) | 0.08 (:05) |
| 5 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.1 (:06) | 0.08 (:05) |
| 6 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.1 (:06) | 0.08 (:05) |
| 7 | 0.00 (:00) | 0.1 (:06) | 0.08 (:05) |
| 8 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.1 (:06) | 0.17 (:10) |
| 9 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.2 (:12) | 0.17 (:10) |
| 10 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.2 (:12) | 0.17 (:10) |
| 11 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.2 (:12) | 0.17 (:10) |
| 12 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.2 (:12) | 0.17 (:10) |
| 13 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.2 (:12) | 0.25 (:15) |
| 14 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.2 (:12) | 0.25 (:15) |
| Minute | Quarter hour | 6-minute | 5-minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.3 (:18) | 0.25 (:15) |
| 16 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.3 (:18) | 0.25 (:15) |
| 17 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.3 (:18) | 0.25 (:15) |
| 18 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.3 (:18) | 0.33 (:20) |
| 19 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.3 (:18) | 0.33 (:20) |
| 20 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.3 (:18) | 0.33 (:20) |
| 21 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.4 (:24) | 0.33 (:20) |
| 22 | 0.25 (:15) | 0.4 (:24) | 0.33 (:20) |
| 23 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.4 (:24) | 0.42 (:25) |
| 24 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.4 (:24) | 0.42 (:25) |
| 25 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.4 (:24) | 0.42 (:25) |
| 26 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.4 (:24) | 0.42 (:25) |
| 27 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.5 (:30) | 0.42 (:25) |
| 28 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.5 (:30) | 0.50 (:30) |
| 29 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.5 (:30) | 0.50 (:30) |
| Minute | Quarter hour | 6-minute | 5-minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.5 (:30) | 0.50 (:30) |
| 31 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.5 (:30) | 0.50 (:30) |
| 32 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.5 (:30) | 0.50 (:30) |
| 33 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.6 (:36) | 0.58 (:35) |
| 34 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.6 (:36) | 0.58 (:35) |
| 35 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.6 (:36) | 0.58 (:35) |
| 36 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.6 (:36) | 0.58 (:35) |
| 37 | 0.50 (:30) | 0.6 (:36) | 0.58 (:35) |
| 38 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.6 (:36) | 0.67 (:40) |
| 39 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.7 (:42) | 0.67 (:40) |
| 40 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.7 (:42) | 0.67 (:40) |
| 41 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.7 (:42) | 0.67 (:40) |
| 42 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.7 (:42) | 0.67 (:40) |
| 43 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.7 (:42) | 0.75 (:45) |
| 44 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.7 (:42) | 0.75 (:45) |
| Minute | Quarter hour | 6-minute | 5-minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.8 (:48) | 0.75 (:45) |
| 46 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.8 (:48) | 0.75 (:45) |
| 47 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.8 (:48) | 0.75 (:45) |
| 48 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.8 (:48) | 0.83 (:50) |
| 49 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.8 (:48) | 0.83 (:50) |
| 50 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.8 (:48) | 0.83 (:50) |
| 51 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.9 (:54) | 0.83 (:50) |
| 52 | 0.75 (:45) | 0.9 (:54) | 0.83 (:50) |
| 53 | 1.00 (next hr) | 0.9 (:54) | 0.92 (:55) |
| 54 | 1.00 (next hr) | 0.9 (:54) | 0.92 (:55) |
| 55 | 1.00 (next hr) | 0.9 (:54) | 0.92 (:55) |
| 56 | 1.00 (next hr) | 0.9 (:54) | 0.92 (:55) |
| 57 | 1.00 (next hr) | 1.0 (next hr) | 0.92 (:55) |
| 58 | 1.00 (next hr) | 1.0 (next hr) | 1.00 (next hr) |
| 59 | 1.00 (next hr) | 1.0 (next hr) | 1.00 (next hr) |
Frequently asked questions
What is the 7-minute rule?
A shorthand for quarter-hour rounding. Up to 7 minutes past a quarter mark rounds down and 8 minutes or more rounds up to the next quarter mark.
Is rounding to the quarter hour legal?
In the United States, Department of Labor regulations allow rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth of an hour or quarter hour, provided it averages out so employees are paid for all the time they work. Rules differ by state and country, and this is not legal advice, so check your local rules.
Should I round each punch or the total?
Follow your employer's written policy. The two methods can differ by up to a quarter hour a day, as the example above shows. The timesheet calculator on this site rounds each shift's net time.
What is the 6-minute rule?
It rounds to the nearest tenth of an hour, which is 6 minutes. 0 to 2 minutes is 0.0, 3 to 8 minutes is 0.1, and so on. It is common in legal and professional billing.
How do I round to the nearest quarter hour in a spreadsheet?
If times are stored as day fractions, =MROUND(A2, 15/1440) rounds to the nearest 15 minutes. Test it on a few values, especially exact halfway points, because spreadsheets can differ in how they handle ties.