Quarter Hour and 1/10th Hour Rounding

Introduction

The Department of Labor allows for two methods of rounding time entries: 1/4 hour and 1/10 hour rounding.  These are typically used in manufacturing or warehouse-type environments where multiple employees are lined up in the morning and evening to punch in and out of the clock.  Because of the lag between the first employee and last employees using the clock, rounding is employed to establish a system of fairness in time punches.  Keep in mind, that these rounding methodologies employ a "give and take" relationship meaning that while one employee may be stripped of a few minutes, another employee is given a few minutes.  For that reason, we recommend this system be used on in circumstances where employees are unable to clock out precisely when they end their shift because of a line at a time clock or other circumstances that prevent precise punching.

Setup

To enable time entry rounding, simply navigate to your HourDoc General Account Information page under the Preferences menu.  From there, select the appropriate rounding method in the drop down list on the right side:

Once this option is selected, click the Submit button at the bottom left side of the page.

How it Works

1/4 Hour Rounding

With 1/4 hour rounding, the system looks for entries that are made 7.5 minutes before and after the hour.  So, an employee clocking in/out 7.5 minutes before the hour, or 7.5 after the hour would have his/her entry rounded to the top of the hour.  Quarter hour rounding applies to every 15 minute increment on the clock--0, 15, 30, and 45.  An example will help illustrate how 1/4 hour rounding works: If an employee clocked in at 2:54 PM the system would round the entry up to 3:00 PM.  Conversely, if the employee clocked in at 3:06 PM, the system would round the entry back to 3:00 PM.  In essence, the system rounds the time to the nearest   quarter of an hour.

1/10 Hour Rounding

One tenth hour (1/10) rounding works in much the same way as 1/4 hour rounding, except in this case, the rounding window is only 3 minutes and the system rounds the punches to the nearest 1/10th of an hour.  For example, if an employee clocked in at 2:58 PM that punch would be rounded to 3:00 PM.  If he punched in at 3:02 PM the punch would be rounded back to 3:00 PM.

At a Glance

Below are two tables that outline what various punches will round to on the clock.  We've provided one table for 1/4 hour rounding and one for 1/10th hour rounding for your convenience.  Example: If an employee punches in at 3:08 pm, the punch would be rounded as follows:

• 1/4 hour = 3:15 pm
• 1/10th hour = 3:06 pm

1/4 Hour Rounding

1/10th Hour Rounding