Timesheet rounding explained
Updated 28 September 2026
Timesheet rounding means adjusting clock-in and clock-out times to a set increment, such as the nearest 15 minutes, before working out pay. It makes payroll tidier, but it has to be fair.
Common increments
| Increment | 7:53 start becomes | 5:08 finish becomes |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 7:55 | 5:10 |
| 6 minutes (tenths of an hour) | 7:54 | 5:06 |
| 10 minutes | 7:50 | 5:10 |
| 15 minutes | 8:00 | 5:15 |
These examples use nearest rounding: each time goes to the closest step, up or down.
Keeping it fair
- Round to the nearest, both ways. Always rounding start times later and finish times earlier underpays people.
- Check the rules that apply to you. Whether and how you can round depends on your country, award or agreement. Some places allow neutral rounding; others expect exact times. When in doubt, pay exact times.
- Keep the raw times. Rounded pay should always sit next to the real punches, so anyone can check it.
- Don’t round breaks separately in a way that adds up against employees.
Rounding vs paying the roster
Rounding adjusts clocked times slightly. Paying the roster ignores small differences entirely and flags bigger ones. They solve different problems; see rostered hours or clocked time.
How Vaultime helps
Vaultime can round to 5, 6, 10 or 15 minutes (nearest step) only in the Excel pay workbook, right next to the raw times. Breaks, hours paid as rostered, and hours set by a manager aren’t rounded, and the raw hours are always there. See reports and payroll export.