What happens exactly at the halfway point between two intervals?

In nearest mode, a tie rounds up, a half-up rule stated directly in the result so the tie-break is never left ambiguous.

Does rounding always favor the employer or the employee?

Nearest rounding tends to average out over many punches, while a directional rule like always up or always down does not, a distinction covered in the timecard rounding rules resource linked below.

Rounding Impact Calculator

Enter raw punches and a rounding rule (interval and direction). See the rounded times and exactly how much time is gained or lost compared to the raw punches.

Need the break-adjusted total instead of a rounding comparison? See Hours Calculator.

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How Timecard Rounding Rules Change Paid Hours

Worked example

At a 15-minute nearest-rounding interval, a clock-in of 8:07 rounds down to 8:00, since 7 minutes past the hour is closer to the interval below it than the one above. A clock-in of 8:08 instead rounds up to 8:15, past the halfway point between the two intervals, using a half-up tie-break rule at exactly 7 and a half minutes. Switch the same clock-in of 8:07 to an always-up rounding rule instead of nearest, and it jumps all the way to 8:15 regardless of how close it actually was to 8:00, since an always-up rule never rounds a punch down no matter where it falls inside the interval. That difference, a full 15 minutes on this one clock-in alone, is exactly the kind of gap the resource on timecard rounding rules linked below explains in more depth, including why a directional rule does not average out the way nearest rounding does across many punches.

Common mistakes

Assuming nearest rounding and a directional rule like always up or always down give the same result. They only agree on the specific punches that already fall exactly on the rounding interval.
Applying a rounding interval that does not match the actual timekeeping system's own interval, which produces a comparison that looks plausible but does not reflect what the real system would report.

Limitations

This rounds a single clock-in or clock-out value, not a whole timesheet at once, and it does not apply any specific payroll system's own rounding policy beyond the interval and direction you select here.

Frequently asked questions

What happens exactly at the halfway point between two intervals?: In nearest mode, a tie rounds up, a half-up rule stated directly in the result so the tie-break is never left ambiguous.
Does rounding always favor the employer or the employee?: Nearest rounding tends to average out over many punches, while a directional rule like always up or always down does not, a distinction covered in the timecard rounding rules resource linked below.