# How to multiply hours and minutes by an hourly rate in Excel

Convert the time to hours first: `=B2*24*C2`. Without *24 the pay comes out 24 times too small.

**Excel:** `=B2*24*C2` (Every current version)

**Google Sheets:** the same formula works.

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Contractor | Hours (h:mm) | Rate | Pay |
| Ruiz | 0.3125 | 40 |  |
| Hale | 0.53125 | 35 |  |
| Kwan | 0.1388888888888889 | 55 |  |
| Moss | 0.84375 | 28 |  |
| Ortega | 0.034722222222222224 | 90 |  |

Formula in D2, filled to D6: `=B2*24*C2`

Result: $300.00; $446.25; $183.33; $567.00; $75.00

## How it works

A time like 7:30 is stored as 0.3125 of a day. Multiplying by 24 turns it into 7.5 hours, and multiplying by the rate gives the pay: 7.5 × $40 = $300.

## Other ways

- `=ROUND(B2*24*C2,2)`: Rounded to the cent. (Rounded to cents.)
- `=B2*C2`: The common mistake: it multiplies a fraction of a day by the rate. (Pays 7:30 at $12.50 instead of $300.)

## Common mistakes

- The pay cell can inherit the time format and show a time. Format it as currency.
- Durations of 24 hours or more must be entered with a [h]:mm format (25:30), or they wrap and lose a day.

## Questions

**How do I add overtime?**

`=MIN(B2*24,40)*C2+MAX(0,B2*24-40)*C2*1.5`.

**How do I total the hours as a decimal?**

`=SUM(B2:B6)*24`.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/multiply-hours-by-an-hourly-rate