Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Rounding Time.

Rounding Time

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 1, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There may be instances when you need to round a time value. For instance, you may need to round some time to the nearest quarter-hour. One way to do this is to use the MROUND worksheet function, which is part of the Analysis ToolPak provided with Excel.

For example, let's assume the unrounded time was in cell B7. You could then use the following formula to perform the rounding:

=MROUND(B7, TIME(0,15,0))

This formula relies, as well, on the use of the TIME worksheet function, which returns a time value (in this case, for 15 minutes).

If you don't want to use the MROUND function (perhaps you don't want to use the Analysis ToolPak), there is another way you can round to the nearest 15 minutes. The clue is to remember that 15 minutes is 1/96th of a day. So, to round to the nearest 15 minutes, take the time value, multiply it by 96, round it, and then divide it by 96.

For example, if the time value you wish to round is in cell E5, the following formula does the rounding very nicely:

=ROUND(E5*96,0)/96

Notice that this formula uses the ROUND worksheet function, which is intrinsic to Excel and doesn't require an add-in.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2186) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Rounding Time.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Applying Consistent Shading to a Table

Formatting tables can be very time consuming. When you get a document from another person, you can spend a lot of time ...

Discover More

Adding Information after the Endnotes

Endnotes appear at the end of the document, right? Not always, as Word provides a way that you can actually add as much ...

Discover More

Modifying How Windows Notifies You of Impending Changes

Part of the security system built into Windows involves notifying you when changes are about to occur to your system. ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Adjusting Times for Time Zones

Collect a series of times in a worksheet, and you might need to adjust those times for various time zones. This involves ...

Discover More

Checking for Time Input

Need to know if a cell contains a time value? Excel doesn't contain an intrinsic worksheet function to answer the ...

Discover More

Rounding to the Nearest Quarter Hour

When entering times in a worksheet, you may have a need to round whatever you enter to the nearest 15-minute increment. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 1 + 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.