Practical guide
Weekly vs. Biweekly Time Cards: How Hours and Overtime Totals Work
A biweekly time card is a 14-day record containing two distinct weekly subtotals, not one undifferentiated block of hours.
The practical difference
A weekly time card covers seven days. A biweekly time card covers fourteen days and should show Week 1, Week 2, and the combined pay-period total separately.
Each day can contain one or several work periods. Calculate every period, subtract its breaks, add the periods for the daily total, and then add daily totals into the appropriate week.
Biweekly total = Week 1 net hours + Week 2 net hours
Example pay period
If Week 1 totals 40 hours and Week 2 totals 35 hours, the biweekly total is 75 hours. Keeping both subtotals visible matters because a configured weekly overtime threshold resets at the week boundary; a pay-period threshold does not.
HourSimple lets the user choose the threshold and whether it applies by week or across the selected period. That is a mathematical configuration, not a statement about overtime eligibility.
Regular time, overtime, and pay estimates
When overtime is enabled, hours up to the entered threshold are shown as regular and hours above it as overtime. Optional estimated pay uses the entered hourly rate and multiplier.
Estimated pay = regular hours × rate + overtime hours × rate × multiplier
The estimate does not include taxes, deductions, premiums, paid leave, jurisdiction-specific daily overtime, or rules that determine whether a person qualifies for overtime.
What a useful time-card record contains
- Date and day label.
- Each start and end time, including midnight crossings.
- Break minutes for each work period.
- Daily, weekly, and pay-period totals.
- Regular and overtime totals when the option is enabled.
- Hourly rate and estimated pay only when pay is being calculated.
A printable report is useful for review, while a structured CSV is better for moving the record into another system. Keep a copy of the source entries alongside any rounded values.