Question 1

Why do payroll systems use decimal time?

Accepted Answer

Payroll systems use decimal hours (like 8.5) instead of standard time (like 8:30) because it makes mathematical calculations much easier. You cannot easily multiply an hourly wage of $20 by '8 hours and 30 minutes'. However, multiplying $20 by 8.5 decimal hours instantly gives you the correct gross pay of $170.

Question 2

How do you manually convert minutes to a decimal?

Accepted Answer

To convert standard minutes to a decimal, simply divide the minutes by 60. For example, if you worked 45 minutes, divide 45 by 60, which equals 0.75 decimal hours.

Question 3

How do you convert decimal hours back to minutes?

Accepted Answer

To convert the decimal portion of an hour back into minutes, multiply the decimal by 60. For example, if your timesheet says 8.35 hours, multiply 0.35 by 60. That equals 21 minutes. So 8.35 decimal hours is exactly 8 hours and 21 minutes.

Question 4

What is 8.5 hours in hours and minutes?

Accepted Answer

8.5 decimal hours is exactly 8 hours and 30 minutes. The '.5' represents half of an hour (60 minutes), and half of 60 is 30.

Question 5

What is a 100-minute hour or 'Industrial Time'?

Accepted Answer

Some industries use what is called fractional or 'industrial time', where the hour is divided into 100 intervals (or 10ths) instead of 60 minutes. This is essentially referring to decimal time, where 0.1 equals 6 minutes, 0.2 equals 12 minutes, and so on.

Question 6

How are seconds factored into decimal time?

Accepted Answer

To convert seconds to decimal hours, you divide the number of seconds by 3600 (the number of seconds in an hour). For example, 45 seconds is 45 / 3600 = 0.0125 decimal hours. Most standard payroll systems do not require precision down to the second and will round to the nearest hundredth.

Minutes Working	Decimal Hours
15 Minutes	.25
30 Minutes	.50
45 Minutes	.75
60 Minutes	1.00

Minutes Working	Decimal Hours
06 Minutes	.10
12 Minutes	.20
18 Minutes	.30
24 Minutes	.40
30 Minutes	.50
36 Minutes	.60
42 Minutes	.70
48 Minutes	.80
54 Minutes	.90
60 Minutes	1.00

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