Decimal hours · Kangaroo Clock glossary

Decimal hours are hours represented as a decimal number rather than HH:MM. A 7-hour-30-minute shift is 7.5 decimal hours. Most digital time trackers and payroll systems use decimal hours because they're easier to multiply by an hourly rate.

Decimal hours convert minutes into a fraction of an hour. 30 minutes = 0.5 hours; 15 minutes = 0.25 hours; 45 minutes = 0.75 hours. A shift from 9:00 to 16:30 is 7.5 hours in decimal, 7:30 in HH:MM.

Why payroll uses decimal: wage calculations are simpler. A worker at $18/hour with 7.5 hours earns 7.5 × 18 = $135, a single multiplication. The HH:MM equivalent would require splitting hours and minutes, multiplying separately, and converting the minutes back to a fraction.

Conversion: minutes ÷ 60 gives the fractional portion. 23 minutes is 23/60 ≈ 0.38 hours. The reverse: fraction × 60 gives minutes. 0.4 hours × 60 = 24 minutes.