Unpaid lunch extends the day
An unpaid lunch is normally time away from paid work. It is excluded from the paid-work denominator, but it still happens between clock-in and clock-out. For a clock-out estimate, calculate allowed paid work time first, then add the unpaid break to elapsed time.
Elapsed clock time = paid worked minutes + unpaid break minutes
Example 1: 30-minute unpaid lunch
306 credited minutes at an 85% target allows 360 paid minutes. With a 7:30 AM start and 30 unpaid minutes, the estimated clock-out time is 2:00 PM.
Paid lunch remains in paid time
A paid lunch or paid break is part of paid worked minutes, even if that time produces no credited billable minutes. Do not enter it as an unpaid break. It uses part of the nonbillable allowance already contained in the paid-work calculation.
Example 2: paid lunch
Using the same 306 credited minutes and 85% target, a paid lunch is not added after the calculation. A 7:30 AM start produces 1:30 PM. The lunch remains within the 360 paid minutes.
Multiple unpaid breaks
Add separate unpaid breaks together and enter the total. For example, a 30-minute lunch plus a 15-minute unpaid break is 45 unpaid minutes. Do not include paid breaks in that total.
Example 3: 45 total unpaid minutes
An 8:00 AM–4:30 PM day has 510 elapsed minutes. Subtracting 45 unpaid minutes leaves 465 paid minutes. With 360 credited minutes, current productivity is 77.4%.
Common break mistakes
- Adding 30 minutes automatically even when lunch is paid.
- Subtracting unpaid lunch from credited billable minutes instead of from paid work time.
- Removing documentation or meetings from paid time because they are nonbillable.
- Entering each unpaid break separately when the calculator expects one total.
- Assuming every employer defines paid time and productivity credit identically.
The calculator applies only the assumptions entered. Confirm the timekeeping and credit definitions used by your employer, and record all compensable work.
Calculate with your break