How to calculate work hours using the time clock calculator?
Step #1: Determine the clock-in/clock-out times
As the name suggests, the clock-in time is when an employee starts working, and the clock-out time is when they stop.
This is often the most challenging step to get right.
Why?
Because employees often forget the exact time they started or stopped working. As a result, they either approximate the time or resort to time padding. Thus generating inaccurate timesheets.
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Step #2: Determine the break-in/break-out times
The break-in and break-out times are when an employee takes a break, such as a lunch break. The break-in time records when the break starts, and the break-out time records when the break ends.
But just like clock-in and clock-out time, it’s challenging to determine the break time accurately. And often results in inaccurate timesheets.
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Step #3: Convert to 24-hour time (aka Military time)
Instead of struggling with subtracting AM/PM hours, dealing with time in a 24-hour format is much simpler.
To convert a time into military time, use the rules below:
- AM time remains as is. For example, 08:00 AM is simply 08:00 in the 24-hour format.
- Add 12 hours to a PM time. For example, 05:00 PM becomes 17:00 in the 24-hour format.
Do this for the clock-in, clock-out, break-in, and break-out time.
If doing this for every day of the week sounds like a chore, it is. As a manager or a business owner, you’d rather focus on profit-generating activities than instead of such administrative work.
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Toggl Track’s time reporting features make it a breeze to generate weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly timesheet reports in just a few clicks.
Step #4: Fill in the work and break times
Most of the work is already done if you're at this step.
Fill in the clock-in, clock-out, break-in, and break-out times (in 24-hour format) in the time card calculator above. The calculator will instantly calculate the work hours for an employee while factoring in the break hours.
All you need now is to click the “Print” button, print the timesheet, and file it away.
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Step #5: Use the generated timesheet
You can use the generated timesheets to process employee payroll, pay contractors, or comply with local labor laws.
But you can also use your team’s timesheet data to analyze project profitability and team efficiency. However, the time clock calculator cannot take as input or store all this time data. It’s also a waste of time to go through all these printed timesheets to analyze this data.
A more efficient option is to use a time tracking and reporting software like Toggl Track.
Need to generate custom reports from your team’s time data?
Toggl Track’s Analytics feature helps you generate custom charts and reports from your team’s time data to gain insights about their productivity and project profitability.
Time clock calculator — FAQs
What is a time clock calculator?
A time card calculator helps you accurately calculate your team’s weekly work hours and generate a timesheet based on provided work and break times.
It’s also known as a timesheet calculator, work time calculator, or time card calculator.
Who uses a time clock calculator?
A time clock calculator is used by business owners, managers, and people ops to calculate their team’s work hours during a specific week. The generated timesheet helps process payroll, pay contractors, and comply with local labor laws.
Freelancers and contractors can also use it to submit a weekly timesheet.
What are the benefits of a timesheet calculator?
A timesheet calculator helps you accurately calculate an employee’s work hours while determining time spent on unpaid hours such as lunch or other breaks.
Using the timesheet calculator above, you can enter the clock-in, clock-out, and break times to generate and print an online timesheet.
What are the disadvantages of a time clock calculator?
A time card calculator has the following disadvantages:
- Lacks accuracy: The timesheet generated is as accurate as the information you feed into the calculator. Feeding in inaccurate in/out times will result in inaccurate timesheets.
- Isn’t efficient: It’s quite a chore to determine the in/out times, and input them into the timesheet calculator. Also, you need to double-check your entries to ensure no accidental typos.
- Not granular: You can only record the in/out times. You cannot record details. For example, you won’t know which client, project, or task your team worked on by looking at the timesheet generated by the calculator.
- No storage: The time card calculator does not store data. So you cannot return to a timesheet later and review or edit it.
- Doesn’t support multiple breaks: A time clock calculator is a quick-fix tool for generating a timesheet. Most time clock calculators neither support multiple breaks nor consider idle time.
Generate accurate employee timesheets in a snap with your team’s tracked time
Toggl Track’s online timer, idle time detector, and timesheet reports make it a breeze to accurately track and calculate your team’s work time.
