How to Convert Time into Decimals in Excel

Converting time into decimals in Excel can be useful for various calculations, such as payroll, time tracking, or project management. Follow these steps to convert time into decimals in Excel:

1. Enter the time values in a column or a cell in Excel. Make sure that the time values are in the proper format (hours:minutes:seconds, e.g., 02:30:00 for 2 hours and 30 minutes). You can also use a shorter format (hours:minutes, e.g., 02:30).
2. In an adjacent cell or column, use a formula to convert the time value into a decimal value. The formula should multiply the hours by 24 (since there are 24 hours in a day), the minutes by 1440 (24 hours * 60 minutes), or the seconds by 86400 (24 hours * 60 minutes * 60 seconds).

Here's the formula to convert time into decimals in Excel:

=HOUR(time_cell) + MINUTE(time_cell) / 60 + SECOND(time_cell) / 3600

Replace time_cell with the cell reference that contains the time value.

Example

Let's say you have a list of time values in column A (from A2 to A6), and you want to convert these values into decimals in column B.

1. Enter the time values in column A (A2:A6):

   A
   1  Time
   2  02:30:00
   3  01:45:00
   4  00:30:00
   5  03:15:00
   6  00:15:00

2. In cell B2, type the following formula to convert the time value in A2 into a decimal:

   =HOUR(A2) + MINUTE(A2) / 60 + SECOND(A2) / 3600

3. Press Enter to see the result. In this case, the result should be 2.5, as 2 hours and 30 minutes is equal to 2.5 hours in decimal format.
4. Now, copy the formula from B2 and paste it into the other cells in column B (B3:B6) to convert the remaining time values into decimals. The final result should look like this:

    A          B
   1  Time      Decimal
   2  02:30:00   2.5
   3  01:45:00   1.75
   4  00:30:00   0.5
   5  03:15:00   3.25
   6  00:15:00   0.25

Now you have successfully converted time values into decimals in Excel.