PTO Management

“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.

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PTO types

Most companies track several kinds of time off: You can create as many types as you need.

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Setting up PTO policies

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Accrual methods

How do employees earn PTO?

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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).

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Policy settings

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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

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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

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Balance breakdown

Available = Accrued - Used - Scheduled

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Time-off requests

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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.

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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”).

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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)

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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.

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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

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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.

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PTO on termination

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

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Reports

Track PTO across the company: The liability report is important for accounting — accrued PTO is a liability on your balance sheet.

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State-mandated sick leave

Some states require you to provide sick leave: Pluvel tracks state requirements and helps you stay compliant. If you’re below the minimum, we’ll warn you.