# Help Me, For I Am Dumb At Math- Paycheck/Accountant Humans Especially
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 10, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068 "2005-12-10T22:15:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/1 "2005-12-10T22:15:59Z")
Gar! I have to figure a partial paycheck amount. And yet, I am math-dumb and cannot do it.
If the yearly gross was $61,000, and workweeks are the standard 40 hr/5 day deals, how much would you shell out for 2 days of work only? I’d like to believe that it’s (61,000/52) \* 0.40, but I am highly likely to be wrong.
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### Author:  [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/2 "2005-12-10T22:19:32Z")
Oh, and don’t worry about taxes. They aren’t a factor here.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/3 "2005-12-10T22:19:53Z")
That is right. It is $469.23. The only other factors would be if you have to be if you need to subtract out sick time or vacation for some reason.
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### Author:  [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/4 "2005-12-10T22:24:35Z")
Nope. I just got told I had to fire someone on Monday and have to be able to hand them their paycheck at that time. So I am cutting a check from our department funds and getting reimbursed from The Man in our headquaters office.
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### Author:  [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/5 "2005-12-10T22:25:51Z")
uh, I hit “enter” and it posted without the last sentance. I am even dumber than I thought today.
Point being I have to cut a check for 2 days of work.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [December 10, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/6 "2005-12-10T22:49:18Z")
> [@inkleberry](#):
>
> Gar! I have to figure a partial paycheck amount. And yet, I am math-dumb and cannot do it.
>
> If the yearly gross was $61,000, and workweeks are the standard 40 hr/5 day deals, how much would you shell out for 2 days of work only? I’d like to believe that it’s (61,000/52) \* 0.40, but I am highly likely to be wrong.
That is, in fact, correct: 61,000 is for the whole year, defined as 52 weeks. Since you aren’t paying for a whole week, you have to take a fraction of the weekly wage (which is the yearly divided by how many weeks a year). There are five days in a workweek, and 1/5 is equal to 0.2, so one day is 0.2 of a week. Thus, 2/5 is equal to 0.4 of a week.
So, two days’ wages is 0.4 of a week’s wages, which we’ve already established to be 1/52 of a year’s wages. Thus, (61,000/52)\*0.4 is correct.
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### Author:  [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/7 "2005-12-11T02:13:40Z")
Um. In every organization I ever worked for that had standard 40 hour workweeks, the standard work year was 2000 hours. Why 2000 instead of 2080? Because of allowances for holidays, etc., I guess, or maybe Just Because.
Figured that way, it would be $488. I think the OP needs to ask Personnel/Payroll/Human Resources/whatever how they define it. Accounting departments have weird and wonderful ways of doing things that don’t necessarily correspond to the ways that the rest of the company or whatever does things.
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### Author:  [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/8 "2005-12-11T03:30:04Z")
> [@tygerbryght](#):
>
> Um. In every organization I ever worked for that had standard 40 hour workweeks, the standard work year was 2000 hours. Why 2000 instead of 2080? Because of allowances for holidays, etc., I guess, or maybe Just Because.
>
> Figured that way, it would be $488. I think the OP needs to ask Personnel/Payroll/Human Resources/whatever how they define it. Accounting departments have weird and wonderful ways of doing things that don’t necessarily correspond to the ways that the rest of the company or whatever does things.
Huh. In every place I’ve worked, it’s been the opposite- using 2080. We also calculate direct care staff at 365 day/year pay rate.
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-for-i-am-dumb-at-math-paycheck-accountant-humans-especially/335068/9 "2005-12-11T03:45:39Z")
**inkleberry** , doesn’t your company have a payroll department? If you’re going to fire someone, payroll should be told immediately so they can cut a check for the right amount (or, at worst, tell you how big his final paycheck should be).
There are things to consider other than the number of hours the employee has worked since the last paycheck. Has he accrued any vacation time? If so, you have to pay him for it. Does the company owe the employee for any expenses?
You really want to get this right. If you underpay the employee he could make legal trouble for your company, which is something your boss probably won’t be happy about. If you overpay him you may never see the money again.
If I were you I would get on the phone with the payroll department at the first opportunity and not hang up until they promised to get me the employee’s final check in time for you to fire him.
Good luck, BTW. These things are never fun.