Time card calculator for restaurants: split shifts, late closes, weekly overtime
Restaurant hours break the usual one-in, one-out time card: servers work a lunch and a dinner on the same day, closers clock out after midnight, and tipped staff are paid under different rules. Here is what to record and a real week worked through.
What matters for restaurants
Record both halves of a split shift
A lunch shift and a dinner shift are two in/out pairs on the same day. The unpaid gap between them is not work time as long as the employee is free to leave; type both pairs instead of one long shift with a break, so the gap never gets paid or lost by mistake.
Closing past midnight belongs to the day it started
A close from 5 pm to 1:15 am is one 8.25-hour shift on the start day. Splitting it across two dates can push hours into the wrong workweek.
Overtime is weekly under federal law
The FLSA pays 1.5× after 40 hours in the workweek, with no daily overtime (California and a few other states add daily rules). Double shifts that make a long day are not overtime by themselves federally.
Tipped staff: overtime is based on the full minimum wage
With a tip credit the cash wage can be as low as $2.13, but overtime is figured on the full minimum wage: 1.5 × $7.25 = $10.875 an hour, minus the $5.12 tip credit, so at least $5.76 an hour in cash for overtime hours under federal rules. Many states set higher wages or ban the tip credit.
Worked example
A server's week with two split days and two closes past midnight, $15.00/hour, federal weekly overtime (over 40 h at 1.5×), exact minutes.
| Day | Shifts | Unpaid break | Worked | Regular | Overtime | Double time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Oct 5 | 10:30 AM–2:30 PM, 4:30 PM–10:00 PM | 9:30 | 9:30 | Split: lunch + dinner | |||
| Tue Oct 6 | 4:00 PM–11:30 PM | 30 min | 7:00 | 7:00 | |||
| Wed Oct 7 | off | ||||||
| Thu Oct 8 | 10:30 AM–2:30 PM, 4:30 PM–10:30 PM | 10:00 | 10:00 | Split: lunch + dinner | |||
| Fri Oct 9 | 5:00 PM–1:15 AM (+1) | 30 min | 7:45 | 7:45 | Close, past midnight | ||
| Sat Oct 10 | 4:00 PM–12:30 AM (+1) | 30 min | 8:00 | 5:45 | 2:15 | Close | |
| Sun Oct 11 | 9:30 AM–3:00 PM | 5:30 | 0:00 | 5:30 | Brunch |
How to set it up in Hoursprig
- Type the employee's name and hourly rate (for tipped staff, see the limit below).
- For split days, use Add pair to enter the lunch shift and the dinner shift separately.
- Enter late closes with the clock-out time after midnight (for example 5p to 1:15a); Hoursprig keeps the shift on its start day.
- Leave weekly overtime at 40 hours and 1.5× unless your state says otherwise, then print or download the timesheet for signatures.
Limits
- Hoursprig does not track tips or calculate a tip credit. Its overtime pay line is 1.5 × the rate you type, so for tip-credit employees use it for the hours and overtime hours, and work out pay with your payroll provider.
- It does not handle a shift differential or a bonus in the regular rate.
FAQ
Is a split shift paid as one shift or two?
Two. Only the time actually worked is paid; the gap is unpaid when the employee is completely free during it. Some states (California, for example) require an extra split-shift premium in some cases, which Hoursprig does not add.
Do servers get overtime on tips?
Federal overtime for a tipped employee is based on the full minimum wage, not on the tips received. See the Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #15 for the formula.
Can I enter a shift that ends at 1 am?
Yes. Type 5p in and 1a out; Hoursprig counts it as an overnight shift on the start day.