Everhour tracks shift time through timers or manual entries, while shift-hour math still depends on clean punches and break rules.
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A shift-hours calculation answers one practical question: how many paid hours belong on the timesheet for a shift, day, or workweek. Start with clock-in and clock-out times, calculate the gross span, subtract unpaid break time, and keep paid short breaks inside the total. In U.S. timesheets, AM/PM parsing matters because 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM is different from 7:00 PM to 4:00 AM.
The result matters for payroll checks, client billing, staffing reviews, and overtime screening. Covered, nonexempt employees in the United States must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a fixed FLSA workweek. That workweek is 168 fixed hours, and hours cannot be averaged across multiple workweeks to avoid overtime.
Calculate the gross shift span before applying pay rules. A 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM shift crosses midnight, but it still equals 9 elapsed hours. Subtract only unpaid break time that qualifies as nonworking time. Federal law does not require adult lunch or coffee breaks, but employer policy or state law can add break requirements.
For example, an employee works from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM and takes a 1-hour bona fide unpaid meal period while completely relieved of duty. Gross time is 9 hours, unpaid meal time is 1 hour, and paid shift time is 8 hours. At $25.50 per hour, straight-time pay for that shift is $204.00 before taxes, deductions, overtime premiums, or state-specific premiums.
Shift-hour math gives you the paid hours for each shift. Overtime math uses the fixed workweek. Under the FLSA federal baseline, covered nonexempt employees receive at least 1.5 times the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in that workweek. The FLSA does not require extra pay for Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular rest days unless weekly overtime is worked.
Suppose the same employee has paid shift totals of 8, 8, 9, 8, and 9 hours in one workweek. The weekly total is 42 hours. Regular pay covers 40 hours at $25.50, or $1,020.00. Overtime covers 2 hours at $38.25, or $76.50. Total gross pay is $1,096.50 before taxes, deductions, state-specific premiums, or policy-based premiums.
Short breaks usually about 5 to 20 minutes are compensable hours worked under federal law when the employer provides them, so they stay inside the shift total and count toward weekly overtime. A bona fide meal period is generally unpaid only when the employee is completely relieved from duty. An employee who answers calls, helps customers, or performs duties while eating is still working.
Rounding creates another common error. Federal time-clock rounding to the nearest 5 minutes, tenth, or quarter-hour is accepted only if it averages out over time and does not underpay employees for actual hours worked. A shift-hours calculator can standardize the arithmetic, but you still need correct source punches, break classifications, and state or policy overlays.
A one-off calculation is enough when you need to total one shift, check a lunch deduction, convert minutes to decimal hours, or estimate one weekly overtime amount. Keep the inputs visible: start time, end time, unpaid break minutes, paid break treatment, hourly rate, and the workweek that contains the shift.
A managed workflow fits recurring payroll or billing work. Everhour Time Tracking captures hours through live timers or manual entries, works inside supported project tools, and feeds timesheets, reporting, budgeting, invoicing, and payroll review. Admins can use approvals, locked periods, reminders, and timer rules to keep shift records cleaner before totals move downstream.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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Count from the start time to midnight, then add the time from midnight to the end time. A 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM shift equals 2 hours before midnight plus 7 hours after midnight, for 9 gross hours. Subtract unpaid break time after the gross span is correct.
Convert minutes to decimal hours before multiplying by an hourly rate. Divide minutes by 60, so 30 minutes equals 0.50 hours and 45 minutes equals 0.75 hours. Payroll math uses decimal hours, not clock-style numbers, so 1 hour 30 minutes is 1.5 hours, not 1.30 hours.
An unpaid meal reduces shift hours only when it is a bona fide meal period and the employee is completely relieved of duty. Federal rules generally treat a 30-minute or longer meal period as unpaid only under that relieved-of-duty condition. Work performed during the meal remains hours worked.
Weekly overtime cannot be decided from each shift in isolation under the FLSA federal baseline. Covered nonexempt employees receive overtime after 40 hours worked in a fixed 168-hour workweek. Daily totals help build the weekly total, but the federal overtime threshold applies to the workweek.
The FLSA does not require extra pay for Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular rest days unless weekly overtime is worked. A weekend shift can still be paid at a premium under state law, a union agreement, an employment contract, or employer policy. Keep that premium separate from the federal calculation.
Everhour Time Tracking lets users record work through live timers or manual entries, including entries tied to tasks and projects inside supported tools. Those entries feed timesheets, reports, budgets, invoices, and payroll review, so managers can review hours before downstream calculations use them.
Everhour timesheets support submit, approve, reject, and partially approve workflows before payroll, billing, or reporting. Submitted and approved time can be locked from regular member edits, which helps preserve reviewed shift totals and keeps later corrections visible.
Use Everhour Time Tracking to capture recurring shift hours, review submitted timesheets, lock approved periods, and send cleaner records into payroll or billing workflows.
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