Time Card Calculator
Our time‑sheet tool quickly creates printable weekly summaries that reflect the hours you’ve worked and the rates applied. It understands common time notations like 8:00 AM, 8.30, 15:30 and more, and can store the entered data locally for later use.
Wages and Overtime
- According to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the current federal floor wage stands at $7.25 per hour (as of Jan 2026). When a state’s minimum wage is higher, workers must receive the larger amount. Most U.S. states already set a wage above $7.25. Employees classified as non‑exempt under the FLSA also qualify for overtime pay of at least one‑and‑a‑half times their regular rate for any hours beyond 40 in a workweek (a week being any recurring 168‑hour period).
There are also regulations surrounding what constitutes hours worked, as well as regulations governing recordkeeping and child labor.
Exempt vs. non-exempt employees
Employees are generally grouped into exempt or non‑exempt categories, each safeguarded by provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and, in many cases, additional state labor statutes. Whether you’re an employer or a worker, knowing which classification applies to you is essential.
Non‑exempt staff are entitled to at least the minimum wage and overtime compensation under the FLSA. Employers must pay time‑and‑a‑half for any week in which the employee exceeds 40 hours. Workers who are paid on an hourly basis typically fall into this group, and they may file an overtime claim with the U.S. Department of Labor if they are denied proper pay.
Exempt staff are not covered by the FLSA’s overtime rules. Certain roles—such as commissioned sales reps, IT professionals, agricultural laborers, drivers, seasonal workers, and those performing executive, administrative, or professional duties—are presumed exempt. The Department of Labor lists common exemptions, though the list isn’t exhaustive. Generally, a worker is classified as exempt when they satisfy three basic criteria outlined by the law.
- The employee is paid at least $35,568 per year ($684 per week)
- The employee is paid on a salary rather than an hourly basis
- The employee performs exempt job duties (discussed below)
Exempt positions usually fall into three buckets: executive, professional, and administrative responsibilities. Detailed definitions are available from the Department of Labor; the summary below outlines the core elements of each category.
Executive exemption:
To qualify for the executive exemption, an employee must earn at least $684 per week and perform managerial functions such as overseeing the entire organization or a distinct department. They must also supervise a minimum of two other workers and have primary authority over hiring and termination decisions.
Administrative exemption:
The administrative exemption also requires a weekly salary of $684 or more. In addition, the role must involve non‑manual office work that directly supports management or overall business operations, such as human‑resources, public‑relations, payroll, or accounting duties.
Professional exemption:
This category covers both "learned" and "creative" professionals, each still subject to the $684 salary threshold. Learned professionals primarily engage in work demanding advanced expertise—typically intellectual tasks in scientific or scholarly fields. Creative professionals perform duties that call for imagination, originality, or artistic talent. Examples include attorneys, doctors, teachers, architects, registered nurses, writers, journalists, actors, and musicians.
Other exemptions:
Other frequent exemptions include those for computer workers and outside sales staff. The computer exemption applies to employees earning at least $684 annually or $27.63 per hour, covering roles like systems analysts, programmers, and software engineers. The outside‑sales exemption is for workers whose main responsibility is to generate sales or secure contracts away from the employer’s premises.
Professions that are NOT exempt:
In general, the exemptions described above are limited to employees in white‑collar occupations. Workers who perform manual or repetitive hand‑based tasks—often labeled blue‑collar—do not fall under these exemptions, even if they satisfy the salary and duty thresholds. Regardless of how much they earn, non‑managerial staff in manufacturing, maintenance or construction must receive at least the statutory minimum wage and overtime compensation. This group comprises trades such as carpenters, electricians, mechanics, plumbers, ironworkers, artisans and other construction‑related jobs.
These exemption rules also leave out public safety personnel such as police officers, firefighters, EMTs, correctional staff, park rangers and other first‑response professionals whose duties involve fire suppression, crime prevention, rescue operations or suspect apprehension. Their responsibilities are not covered by the exemption criteria.
Brief history of time cards/clocks
Time‑card systems date back to the late 19th century, originally appearing as rectangular cards that listed daily and weekly work hours. Industrialisation and the expanding use of factory labor created a demand for a more efficient method of recording employee hours, prompting the development of these cards to boost productivity.
The inaugural clock‑card recorder, the Rochester Time Recorder, was created by Daniel M. Cooper in 1894. The device stamped precise clock‑in and clock‑out times onto individual cards that workers carried and placed into the machine at the start and end of each shift. The printed timestamps allowed the company's timekeeper to total each employee’s weekly hours.
While the Rochester model was the first to use clock cards, earlier attempts at hour‑tracking existed. In 1888, William Bundy patented the Bundy Key Recorder, which imprinted the exact time and a specific key identifier onto a pre‑printed tape when an employee inserted their assigned key. In the same year, Dr. Alexander Dey introduced the Dey’s Dial Recorder, a device where workers selected their personal number on a large dial and pressed a lever, causing the machine to mark the current time beside their number on an internal sheet.
The demand for such time‑keeping equipment grew during the early 20th century, prompting major firms like the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) to invest in the field. Under the leadership of Thomas J. Watson, IBM established a dedicated Time Recorder Division and produced a variety of solutions—including time‑attendance machines and timestamp devices—some of which could print a red‑ink stamp for late arrivals and offered heightened precision.
While time recorders and clock cards are still in use today, there are many new electronic time tracking solutions, including the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID), magnetic cards, and biometric time recorders.