Decimal time expresses minutes as a fraction of an hour, which is what payroll multiplies by a wage. To convert, divide the minutes by 60 and add the hours: 2:30 → 2.5. To go back, the whole number is the hours and the decimal × 60 gives the minutes: 3.75 → 3:45. The trap is that minutes are sixtieths, so 30 minutes is 0.5, not 0.30.
Reviewed: June 20, 2026 · Author: Naveen P N, Founder — AI Calculator · Verified against: minute/60 arithmetic, recomputed in code.
The conversion
Going to decimal, the minutes become a fraction: 15 minutes is 15/60 = 0.25, 30 is 0.5, 45 is 0.75. Going back, split off the whole hours, then multiply what's left by 60 to recover the minutes. A round decimal like 1.1 gives 0.1 × 60 = 6 minutes, so 1.1 hours is 1:06 — not 1 hour 10 minutes.
Worked examples
2 hours 30 minutes to decimal:
3.75 decimal hours to H:MM:
1.1 decimal hours to H:MM:
So 2:30 is 2.5, 3.75 hours is 3:45, and 1.1 hours is 1:06. A 7-hour-45-minute shift entered for pay is 7.75 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Minutes ÷ 60, add hours. 2:30 = 2 + 0.5 = 2.5; 3:45 = 3.75; 8:15 = 8.25.
Whole = hours; decimal × 60 = minutes. 2.5 → 2:30; 3.75 → 3:45; 1.1 → 1:06.
60 minutes per hour, not 100. 30/60 = 0.5. Reading 8:30 as 8.30 is a common error.
Wage × hours is easy with decimals. 7:45 = 7.75 h; at $20/h that's $155.
No, it converts one duration. Use the time calculator to add/subtract, or the hours calculator for time between times.