Excel Convert Time to Money: Hours, Rates, and Formulas

Updated 9 November 2026 · Standard formula, shown below

Yes—Excel can convert time to money by multiplying the number of hours worked by an hourly rate. Enter time as a duration, such as 7:30 for seven and a half hours, and a rate such as $24 per hour; the formula returns $180.

How Excel Stores Time

Excel stores times as fractions of a 24-hour day. Midnight is 0, noon is 0.5, and one hour is 1/24. A duration of seven and a half hours is therefore stored as 7.5/24, or 0.3125. This representation makes time arithmetic convenient, but it means a direct multiplication by an hourly rate needs a conversion to hours.

For example, if cell A2 contains 7:30 and B2 contains 24, the stored value in A2 is 0.3125. Multiplying those cells directly gives 7.5, not 180. The result is 7.5 because Excel has multiplied the rate by a fraction of a day. Multiply the time by 24 first to turn the duration into hours.

Formula for Converting Time to Pay

Use this formula when time is entered as an Excel duration and the rate is currency per hour:

=A2*24*B2

A2 is the duration worked, entered or displayed in hours and minutes.
24 converts Excel’s fraction-of-a-day value into hours.
B2 is the hourly rate.
The result is gross pay for that duration, before any other adjustments.

Suppose A2 is 7:30 and B2 is 24. Excel evaluates the time as 0.3125 days, converts it to 7.5 hours, then calculates 7.5 × $24 = $180. Format the result cell as Currency or a suitable number format to show a currency symbol and decimals.

If the time value is already a decimal number of hours—such as 7.5 in A2—do not multiply by 24. Use =A2*B2. Applying the factor to decimal hours would incorrectly inflate the result.

Set Up a Timesheet

A straightforward worksheet can calculate pay for multiple shifts. Put the start time in A2, end time in B2, hourly rate in C2, and pay in D2. For a shift that starts and ends on the same calendar day, calculate the duration in hours with =(B2-A2)*24, then multiply by the rate. The combined formula for pay is:

=(B2-A2)*24*C2

For example, a shift from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM lasts 8.5 hours. At $24 an hour, the calculation is 8.5 × $24 = $204.

For an overnight shift, a simple end-minus-start subtraction can be negative because the clock passes midnight. A commonly used formula that handles an end time on the following day is:

=MOD(B2-A2,1)*24*C2

For instance, 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM gives eight hours with this formula. It assumes the shift is less than 24 hours and that the entries represent clock times. If you need to record a duration longer than a day, use elapsed-time values rather than relying on clock times alone.

Enter and Display Durations Correctly

For a duration, type a value such as 7:30 and format the cell as a time or duration. If a total may reach 24 hours, use the custom number format [h]:mm. The brackets tell Excel to show accumulated hours rather than wrap the display back to zero after 24 hours. For example, a 27-hour total can display as 27:00 instead of 3:00.

Be aware that the display format does not change the underlying number. Formatting a cell to show hours and minutes only changes how Excel presents the value. To calculate a monetary amount, the formula still needs the appropriate conversion, such as multiplying a time duration by 24 before applying an hourly rate.

Use time or [h]:mm formatting for durations entered as hours and minutes.
Use a number format for decimal hours such as 7.5.
Format the pay calculation as Currency, Accounting, or a number with two decimal places.

Breaks, Rounding, and Payroll Limits

If an unpaid break should be excluded, subtract its duration before multiplying by the rate. If A2 is a start time, B2 an end time, C2 a break entered as a duration, and D2 the hourly rate, an overnight-capable formula is =(MOD(B2-A2,1)-C2)*24*D2. Enter the break as a duration—for example, 0:30 for half an hour—not as the decimal 0.5 unless the formula is adjusted to use decimal hours.

Decide how to handle rounding. The display may show two decimal places while Excel retains more precision internally. To round each shift’s pay to cents before totaling, use =ROUND(A2*24*B2,2), with the time in A2 and rate in B2. Rounding each shift separately can produce a slightly different total from adding all unrounded shift amounts and rounding once at the end.

This multiplication calculates a basic amount from time and a rate. It does not determine how a workplace should treat overtime, paid breaks, premiums, deductions, taxes, or other payroll rules. Those depend on the applicable arrangements and requirements; the spreadsheet formula alone cannot decide them.

Common Problems and Fixes

The result is far too small: You may have multiplied the hourly rate by Excel’s fraction-of-a-day value without multiplying the time by 24.
The result is far too large: Check whether your input is already decimal hours. If it is, use =hours*rate without a 24 multiplier.
The result shows a clock time: Change the result cell’s format to Currency or Number; it may have inherited a time format.
The total resets after 24 hours: Format the duration total as [h]:mm.
An overnight duration is negative: Use the MOD formula for a shift that crosses midnight, or enter actual date-and-time values.
Excel does not calculate the formula: Make sure the time and rate are numeric values, not text. Re-enter the time or check for a leading apostrophe or other imported text formatting.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert hours and minutes to decimal hours in Excel?
For a duration in A2, use =A2*24. A value of 7:30 becomes 7.5 hours.

How do I calculate pay for 7 hours and 30 minutes?
If A2 contains 7:30 and B2 contains the hourly rate, use =A2*24*B2. At $24 per hour, the result is $180.

Can I multiply time by an hourly rate directly?
Not when the time is stored as a normal Excel duration. Multiply by 24 first because Excel stores time as a fraction of a day. Direct multiplication works if the hours are already entered as a decimal number.

How do I calculate pay for a shift that crosses midnight?
For start and end clock times in A2 and B2 and a rate in C2, use =MOD(B2-A2,1)*24*C2. This treats an end time earlier than the start as occurring the next day.

Why does my total show 3:00 instead of 27:00?
The cell is probably formatted as a clock time that wraps after 24 hours. Apply the custom duration format [h]:mm to show total elapsed hours.

Method: the standard formula for this calculation, rounded as each result states. See how the calculators work or report an error.