Paid Time Off (PTO)

Let's take a closer look at how to get started with utilizing Paid Time Off (PTO)

Turning on PTO

How Custom Categories Impact PTO

Understanding PTO Accrual & Allowance

Setting Up & Managing PTO

Managing PTO Settings

Viewing & understanding PTO on Timesheets & Payroll

Viewing PTO Balances

Turning on PTO

You can begin utilizing PTO by turning on the setting for Turn on PTO & Custom Time Off Request Categories in Settings>Time Off

Simply enter the category in the New Category Name box and toggle ON for Paid or OFF for Unpaid (This is where the label to the front of the name comes from, so no need to write Paid or Unpaid with the category name. This will be added for you based on the toggle.)

Deleting Categories:

You can delete a category by clicking on the X next to the custom category name. This will not delete the history of the categories use, but will make it so it is no longer usable for new Time Off Requests. You cannot delete Default Categories. 

How Custom Categories Impact Time Off

Once you turn on Time Off Request Categories your Team Members can begin to select from these Paid and Unpaid options when Submitting a Time Off Request. 

Understanding Paid Time Off (PTO) Accrual & Time Off Allowance

There are two categories for entering Team Members Paid Time Off into the system: Accrual & Annual Allowance

Accrual: Time Off Accrual is when Team Members earn days off based on hours worked.

Allowance: Time Off Allowance is when Team Members receive a bulk amount of days to use during the year. 

*Important: Unless PTO Rollovers are enabled, Accrual and Allowance reset their totals on 1/1. (Keep reading to learn about Rollover)

Setting up & Managing Paid Time Off Accrual/Allowance 

Accrual and Allowance can be entered at the Team Member level or by Primary Position. 

Team Member Level: 

To enter Time Off Accrual or Allowance at the Team Member level go into the Team page, and click on the Team Member you want to add PTO for. (Please note that if this Team Member already has a PTO Accrual or Allowance rate based on Position, that rate will be overwritten by any edits you make directly to their Team Member profile.)

Accrual Rate works like this:

Annual Allowance works like this:

Primary Position: 

To enter Time Off Accrual or Allowance based on Primary Position go into Settings>Positions. Click on the position you want to set this rate for and choose the Accrual or Annual Allowance rate. Entering PTO this way can allow you to apply a PTO policy across multiple Team Members at once. (Please note that this rate will only be applied to users with that as their Primary Position, or who do not already have PTO set up at the Team Member level.)

Managing PTO settings

Aside from turning on PTO, you will want to decide on 3 other PTO settings in Settings>Time Off Requests. They are outlined below:

Allow Negative PTO Balances: This setting allows Team Members to go over their Accrued or Allowed PTO balance. If this is Off, and they attempt to submit a Paid Time Off Request that goes over their total remaining PTO, they will not be allowed to do so. If it is on, then they will still be able to submit it.

Rollover PTO Balances: If this setting is on, it allows Team Members to keep the PTO they have left, and have it added into their next year's bank on 1/1. If it is off, any unused hours at the end of the year will disappear. Use the chart below to understand how this works for all scenarios (Please note numbers in the chart for PTO left and PTO value are examples):

Max Daily PTO Hours: This setting controls how many hours are deducted from PTO when someone chooses "All Day" on their PTO request.

Viewing & Understanding PTO on Timesheets & Payroll

You can manage all of your Unpaid & Paid Time Off Requests from the Time Off Requests Page or on any Schedule Page. You can learn more about this here: Time Off Requests

Timesheets

Once your Time Off Requests are approved they will be differentiated by their Paid or Unpaid status in the system, and will replicate onto the Timesheets page. Unpaid Time Off Timesheets will pay out $0, and Paid Time Off will pay the hourly rate (As set on the Team Page) for the amount of time the request is set for.  

(*This image is taken on the Timesheets Page in Team Member Grid)

Payroll

Since the PTO requests that are approved move to Timesheets, they will also move to Payroll. Hours for PTO will be listed in the Time Off column and will calculate into Payroll Totals.

Viewing PTO balances

As Team Members begin submitting Time Off Requests and they are being approved, Allowances and Accrual totals will begin to decrease. As a Team Member you may want to keep track of your balance to know how much time you have left to use. As a Manager you may want to view how much time Team Members have left to use, as well as how much you have left to pay out for those balances.

Team Members: 

You can view your PTO balance by opening up a Time Off Request when on the Schedule page. Simply click +New>Time Off Request (On the Web) or +>Time Off Request (On Mobile) and you will see your PTO total:

Managers: You can view PTO balances and value quickly in Attendance>Time Off Report. 

(Learn more about this Time Off Report page Here)

Or, on the Payroll page under the column PTO balance. 

Additionally, you can view totals individually by opening up a Time Off Request as noted above for Team Members, or on the Team Page by clicking on the Team Member profile.

Commonly Asked Questions: 

How can I view Time Off Request data, in order to build a report? You can read about viewing data and building reports based on Time Off here: Time Off Reports & Data

I had a Team Member who had an individual Team Member rate of PTO that I put on their profile, but then I decided to add a Position rate to their primary position. Their rate did not update. Why? Rates added on the Team Member level will override any Primary Position rates. If you wish them to now have that new rate, you can edit their profile individually. 

When is the PTO Rollover date? PTO will reset as of 1/1. 

Will my PTO rate added at the Position Level only be added to the Team Members Assigned to that Primary Position Now? No, that rate will be added to all who are assigned that Primary Position now, and in the future, as long as they are not already assigned a rate at the Team Member Level. 

What if my Team Members already have a bank of hours they have accrued? Is there somewhere to enter that and let them accrue on top of it? At this time we do not have a bank to accrue on top of, but we do have a worksheet to help you identify an accelerated accrual rate that can be used temporarily to get their PTO up to date in the system:  PTO Balance Migration Worksheet (Tip: If using Accelerated Accrual, set the Max PTO Per Year as equal to the employee’s current PTO balance, and click Save.  Once the employee has caught up to their current PTO balance, reduce their PTO Accrual Rate and adjust Max PTO Per Year values to normal, so they can begin to accrue on top of that amount). 

Are weekends included in PTO? Yes, weekends are included if they are chosen within the PTO range submitted. If they do not want the weekend included the manager can Deny their requests for the weekend, or the employee can submit just the days they need and exclude weekend dates.

Have more questions about Time Off in general? See this help doc that does a thorough overview of making and managing all Time Off: Time Off Requests