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TimeTracker

PTO tracking that keeps every balance correct

What it does

What this feature does

What it is

PTO tracking lives in the same place you track work hours. Your team requests vacation, sick days, or any category you set up, and the request goes straight to their manager. Balances accrue and draw down on their own, so nobody has to keep a spreadsheet. Because leave sits next to tracked time, you can see who is out and who is free before you promise a client a date.

Who needs this

PTO balances accrue on their own and sit next to tracked work hours, so you are not running a separate leave tool beside your timesheets.

Setup

How to set up PTO tracking for your team

Set up your PTO policies

A policy holds one type of time off, such as vacation or sick leave, and how many days people earn over a year.

Enter opening balances

Give everybody the PTO balance they already carry, so your first year on the system does not start from nothing.

Let people request time off

A request names the type of time off and the dates, and the number of days is worked out from them.

Approve or decline

The request goes to that person's approver. An approved request comes straight off their PTO balance.

For owners and admins

What admins and owners see

See every PTO request waiting on you

Pending requests are listed with who asked, which type of time off it is, and the dates covered, so you can approve a week's worth in one sitting instead of digging through email.

Check the balance before you say yes

Each type of time off keeps its own running balance, so you can see what someone has left and who else is already booked off that week before you approve.

Export PTO for payroll

Requests and balances export to CSV, which is what payroll usually needs from you at the end of a period.

For your team

What your team sees day to day

Ask in a few taps

Pick the type of time off and the dates. The request shows how many days it will use before you send it, so there is no guessing.

Watch your own PTO balance

Your balances sit on the same screen as the request form, so you can see what is left before you ask for more.

Popular features

Time Tracking

Employee time tracking your team will actually use

One click starts a timer, or people type hours in by hand. Every entry ties to a client, project, and task, so the record stays clean.

Explore Time Tracking
Billing

Bill for every hour you earn

Mark each entry billable or non-billable while you work. Approved hours roll straight into reports you can bill from.

Explore Billing
Reports & Dashboards

See where the time really goes

Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.

Explore Reports & Dashboards
Expenses

Expense management software built for client work

Log a cost against the project it belongs to, attach the receipt, and send it for approval. Approved expenses go on the client invoice.

Explore Expenses
Invoicing

Invoicing software that bills from tracked hours

Approved time turns into itemised invoice lines with tax and multiple currencies handled for you. Check it over, then send it.

Explore Invoicing
Project Management

Keep projects on track and in budget

Define project phases, set budget caps, and track work progress in real-time. See margins and utilization without building reports manually.

Explore Project Management
Rates

Configure custom rates for every agreement

Manage complex billing agreements with ease. Set client rates, assign member role pricing, and handle multi-currency projects with zero confusion.

Explore Rates
Timesheets

Timesheets your team submits on time

Hours build into a timecard as people work. Send the week for approval, lock it once it is signed off, and bill from a number that cannot quietly change.

Explore Timesheets

A worked example

Five days of PTO, balance updated

Derek Mullins asks for vacation from Jul 20 to Jul 24, which is 5 days. The request sits as pending until Karen Whitfield approves it. The vacation balance was 12 days, so it drops to 7. The sick and personal balances of 6 and 3 days are untouched.

Good to know

Limits and edge cases

  • PTO is tracked in days against a policy, so it is not the same thing as the working hours your team tracks.
  • A balance only changes once a request is approved, not when it is asked for.
  • Payroll is fed by CSV export. There is no direct connection to a payroll provider.
  • Each type of time off carries its own balance, so a spare sick day cannot cover a vacation day.
  • There is no FMLA or leave of absence case management, so statutory leave tracking needs an HR system.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can employees request time off in the app?
Yes, team members can easily submit requests for vacation, sick leave, or any other custom category directly through the platform.
How do approvals work?
Requests are automatically routed to the employee's designated manager. Managers receive an email notification and can approve or deny the request with one click.
Does it track time-off balances?
Yes, the system automatically tracks accrued and used balances for each time-off category, so employees always know how many days they have left. If you are still deciding how your policy should work, start with what PTO is and how it accrues.
Can I create custom time-off policies?
Absolutely. You can set up custom policies for different departments or regions, including accrual rules and carry-over limits.
Does time off show up on the team schedule?
Yes, approved time off is immediately reflected on the capacity planning dashboard and team schedule to prevent overbooking.
Can we track public holidays?
Yes, you can define public holidays for different office locations, and they will automatically be blocked out on the team calendar.
How does it handle partial days off?
Employees can request time off in hours or full days, allowing for flexibility when someone just needs a morning off for an appointment.
Is there a team calendar view?
Yes, there is a centralized calendar where everyone can see who is out of the office on any given day.
Can I export time-off reports for payroll?
Yes, you can generate detailed reports of all approved time off for any date range and export them for payroll processing.
Does it integrate with Slack or Teams?
Yes, you can set up automated alerts to notify a Slack or Teams channel when someone is out of the office for the day.
Manager holding a printed leave calendar beside a window in a quiet office

Start tracking time today

Set up TimeTracker in minutes and put pto tracking to work. Track hours by client, project, and task, and bill for every hour your team works.

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