PTO Management

Track vacation, sick time, and other paid time off.

“How many vacation days do I have left?” is the second most common HR question (after “when do I get paid?”). Without a system, you end up digging through spreadsheets and emails every time someone wants to take time off.

PTO tracking keeps balances accurate, routes requests to managers for approval, and makes sure everyone knows where they stand.

PTO types

Most companies track several kinds of time off:

Type	What it covers
Vacation	Annual vacation/PTO days
Sick	Sick leave (some states mandate this)
Personal	Personal/floating days
Holiday	Company-observed holidays
Bereavement	Time off for family death
Jury duty	Court service (usually with pay)

You can create as many types as you need.

Setting up PTO policies

1. Go to Settings

   Navigate to Settings → Payroll → PTO Policies.

2. Create a policy

   Click Add Policy.

3. Configure the details

   • Policy name (e.g., “Vacation - Full Time”)
   • Accrual method (see below)
   • Accrual rate
   • Maximum balance (cap on accumulation)
   • Carryover rules (what happens at year-end)
4. Assign to employees

   Policies can apply to everyone, or to specific groups.

Accrual methods

How do employees earn PTO?

Method	How it works	Good for
Annual grant	Full balance given January 1 (or hire date)	Simple, predictable
Per pay period	Accrues each payroll cycle	Gradual earning
Hourly	Based on hours worked	Part-time, hourly workers
Monthly	Set amount each month	Middle ground
Unlimited	No tracked balance	Startups, trust-based policies

Per pay period example

An employee earns 15 vacation days per year, paid bi-weekly (26 pay periods):

15 days × 8 hours = 120 hours ÷ 26 periods = 4.62 hours per paycheck

After 6 months, they’ve accrued about 60 hours (7.5 days).

Policy settings

Setting	What it controls
Accrual rate	How much PTO accumulates per period
Maximum balance	Cap on how much can accumulate (prevents hoarding)
Carryover limit	How much rolls over to next year
Waiting period	New hires wait X days before accrual starts
Use-it-or-lose-it	Unused PTO expires at year-end

Example policy

• Accrual: 4.62 hours per bi-weekly period
• Maximum balance: 200 hours (employees stop accruing once they hit this)
• Carryover: Up to 40 hours roll to next year
• Waiting period: 90 days for new hires

Employee balances

See where everyone stands:

1. Go to Payroll → PTO
2. View all employees’ current balances
3. Click any employee for their full history

Balance breakdown

Component	What it means
Accrued	Total earned to date this year
Used	Time already taken
Scheduled	Approved future time off
Available	What they can use right now

Available = Accrued - Used - Scheduled

Time-off requests

Employee submits request

With self-service enabled:

1. Employee logs into their portal
2. Clicks Request Time Off
3. Selects dates and PTO type
4. Adds a note if needed (optional)
5. Submits for approval

They see their balance before submitting, so no “I didn’t know I was out of days” surprises.

Manager approves (or doesn’t)

1. Manager gets a notification
2. Reviews the request — dates, balance, team coverage
3. Approves or denies
4. Employee gets notified either way

Denied requests should include a reason (“Team already short-staffed that week”).

Payroll reflects it

When payroll runs:

1. Approved PTO for that period shows up
2. Hours deducted from balance
3. Pay stub shows “PTO: 16 hours” (or whatever was taken)

Manual adjustments

Sometimes you need to adjust balances directly:

1. Open the employee’s PTO
2. Click Adjust Balance
3. Enter the adjustment (positive or negative)
4. Add a reason
5. Save

Common reasons for adjustments:

• Policy change mid-year
• Correcting an error
• Manager granting extra days (with approval)
• Correcting a missed deduction

All adjustments are logged in the audit trail.

Company holidays

Set up your holiday calendar:

1. Go to Settings → PTO → Holidays
2. Add your company holidays (New Year’s, Memorial Day, etc.)
3. Specify who’s eligible (everyone? full-time only?)
4. Holiday pay applies automatically on those days

Floating holidays

Some companies offer floating holidays instead of (or in addition to) fixed holidays:

• Employee chooses when to use them
• Tracked like vacation
• Usually don’t carry over to next year

Good for diverse teams who observe different holidays.

PTO on termination

When an employee leaves, what happens to their unused PTO?

Your policy	What happens
Payout required	Pay their remaining balance in final check
No payout	They forfeit it
Capped payout	Pay up to X hours, forfeit the rest

But state law may override your policy. California, for example, requires payout of all accrued vacation regardless of what your handbook says. Check your state’s rules.

Reports

Track PTO across the company:

Report	What it shows
Balance summary	Current balances for all employees
Accrual detail	How much was earned and when
Usage detail	Who took time off and when
Liability	Dollar value of unpaid PTO (for your books)

The liability report is important for accounting — accrued PTO is a liability on your balance sheet.

State-mandated sick leave

Some states require you to provide sick leave:

State	Minimum requirement
California	40 hours/year (as of 2024)
New York	Up to 56 hours depending on size
Colorado	48 hours/year
Many others	Requirements vary

Pluvel tracks state requirements and helps you stay compliant. If you’re below the minimum, we’ll warn you.

Tax profile

Set up your company’s tax profile.