The right employee PTO tracker lets employees take time off while helping you keep your organization staffed and productive.
Companies aren’t legally required to offer paid time off (PTO) to workers, but many off it as a benefit. Business leaders want to attract talent and take care of their employees, and PTO is an effective way to do both.
Keeping track of who wants what days off can be a logistical headache if you’re working with spreadsheets or pen and paper. Luckily, today’s employee PTO tracker solutions make managing your worker’s time off a breeze.
These tools can integrate with scheduling and other software to make it clear who’s on vacation, who’s at work, and which PTO requests you still need to approve. Employee PTO tracker software lets workers request time off easily and ensure you’re alerted of the request in real-time, so you can plan upcoming schedules.
Even better news: We’ve put together a list of the top employee PTO tracker solutions right now, so you can find the right options for your organization.
If you don’t have the time to read through our research, jump down to our quick comparison table.
Our Top Picks
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Best all-in-one employee PTO tracker software
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Clockify: Good for time and attendance tracking.
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BambooHR: Good for employee PTO self-service.
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Our team of unbiased software reviewers follows strict editorial guidelines, and our methodology is clear and open to everyone.
See our complete methodology
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How to Choose an Employee PTO Tracker
Before purchasing PTO tracking software to manage employee vacation time, make sure to choose software with the following features:
- Customization and flexibility: Select an employee PTO tracker that accommodates your business’s specific PTO policies and requirements. It should allow you to define different types of PTO and configure holiday schedules.
- Automated PTO requests: The best software will allow employees to request time off through the app. This makes the process much simpler and more efficient than having to manually submit requests or ask a manager in person.
- Notifications and reminders: PTO tracking software should notify employees and managers about pending vacation requests, upcoming vacations, and when requests are approved or denied. This feature helps prevent scheduling conflicts and ensures everyone stays informed.
- Centralized PTO dashboard: The software should include a centralized admin dashboard that displays all PTO requests and upcoming vacation time.
- Integration with payroll and HR software: The software should integrate with your HR system to streamline data management and eliminate the need to manually enter vacation days.
- Integration with scheduling: Look for an employee PTO tracker that automatically helps you detect any overlapping PTO, conflicting schedules, and any other potential issues. This makes sure half your staff aren’t off on the same day, leaving you short-staffed.
- Mobile accessibility: Your PTO tracking software should be compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones.
- Affordability: Employee vacation tracking software should fit your budget and be affordable.
The 10 Best Employee PTO Tracker Softwares of 2024
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Connecteam — Best all-in-one employee PTO tracker software
Connecteam is the best employee PTO tracker software on the market. It’s an incredibly flexible and customizable solution that goes far beyond tracking PTO–Connecteam is a complete employee management solution that includes a wide range of features to help you manage your entire business on the go.
Let’s take a closer look at how Connecteam can help you manage all things PTO:
Eliminates manual PTO tracking
With Connctem’s time off management app, you can ditch tracking PTO balances manually because the app takes care of this for you automatically. It also provides a user-friendly admin dashboard where you can view all employee PTO balances, requests, and upcoming vacations.
Easily create and share your PTO policy
Effortlessly create a PTO policy that suits your business and upload it directly into the app with Connecteam’s document storage feature. That way, your PTO policy is always accessible to your workers at any time. With the click of a button, workers can review the policy and stay informed.
Employees can request time off directly in the app
Make your employees’ lives easier by allowing them to request time off directly in the app. This eliminates the need for long email threads and text messages to request time off. Employees can also indicate whether a request is for sick leave, vacation, or another reason.
Customize the app to suit your PTO policy
With Connecteam’s flexible time off feature, you can specify which employees are eligible for which types of PTO. This helps automate the entire PTO management process and ensures workers get paid correctly.
Eliminates PTO-related scheduling errors
Connecteam’s employee scheduler integrates directly with the time off feature. Then, the app automatically alerts you if you schedule an employee who is already approved for time off, reducing scheduling errors and speeding up the process.
Streamline team communication with in-app chat
Connecteam’s in-app chat feature allows you to immediately message employees directly with the click of a button. Easily ask employees questions about their PTO requests, or clarify the PTO policy if they need. With in-app chat, you can communicate quickly and easily, making the process much simpler.
Integrate PTO approvals with payroll
Connecteam automatically deducts vacation days from employee PTO balances when they take days off. And because the software integrates with employee timesheets, you can make sure workers are paid correctly based on your PTO policy.
And much, much more
Connecteam is not only a PTO tracking software but a complete employee management app that’s specifically designed for on-the-go use. Take advantage of all Connecteam has to offer your business, like employee scheduling, a time clock, task management, a knowledge base, and customizable training and onboarding courses.
🧠 Did You Know?
Connecteam offers a free-for-life Small Business Plan supporting up to 10 users, and Premium plans start at just $29 per month for up to 30 users. You’ll get all of Connecteam’s time off management features, like complete PTO tracking and automated balance updates, along with a complete suite of employee management tools.
Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Get Started Now!
Key Features
Categorizes types of leave
Vacation leave tracker
Scheduling conflict notifications
Easy-to-use mobile app
Pros
Digital forms and checklists are fully customizable to your business needs
Secure chat feature to communicate schedule changes to employees
Minimal back and forth due to streamlined communication tools
You can manage your employees from anywhere with the mobile app
Cons
Needs internet or wifi access to work
Pricing
Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users
14-day free trial, no credit card required
Start your free trial -
Clockify — Good for: Time and attendance tracking
Clockify is a time scheduling and management app that lets workers clock in and track their time on specific projects. They can set billable time, enter time worked manually, and get paid different rates for different work and clients. At the end of a workweek—or other time period—managers can approve timesheets.
Managers and admins can schedule holidays and create time off policies—and can even set different policies for different employees. Once an employee is ready to request PTO, they just have to indicate whether they’re requesting vacation or another type of PTO, indicate what dates they want, and submit the request for approval. Managers can then approve or deny the request.
One drawback of Clockify is that it doesn’t currently have a feature for shift planning or swapping. This may make it more challenging to cover shifts once an employee has requested time off.
Key Features
- The ability to leave a note on a PTO request to add further information about it
- Automatic accrual—each employee gets a balance of days they can request at the start of the year
- Admins can set PTO requests to be automatically approved or can choose to manually approve them
- Allows for half-day PTO requests as well as full days and multiple days
Pros
- Available through desktop, mobile, and other options—including Linux and as a browser extension
- Mobile, desktop, and other versions are synced
Cons
- Time off tracking is an added feature, only available with a Standard, Pro, or Enterprise plan
- No phone support
Pricing
Starts at $3.99/user/month Trial: Yes — For PRO features Free Plan: Yes
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BambooHR — Good for: Employee PTO self service
BambooHR is an HR software platform that lets managers and teams hire, track, schedule, train, and onboard employees. Its PTO tracking features let workers easily request time off in real time—for both sickness and vacation time. Managers get a notification of the request and can approve it. Team members can have access to a calendar that lets them see who’s away.
When employees log in to request time off, they can see how much PTO they have remaining, how much sick leave they have available, and who on their team is going to be away. Managers can generate PTO reports, so they can track trends and are also able to see at a glance when team members are off, making scheduling easier.
Key Features
- Transparent time-off calendar for teams
- Time-off calendar lets employees see how much time off they have left
- Email and push notifications to let workers know when PTO requests have been submitted and approved
- The option of creating different PTO policies by location, department, or job title
Pros
- Call, email, and chat support
- Intuitive and attractive visual interface
Cons
- Not integrated with an employee chat or communication feature
- Not integrated with a Knowledge Base for documents
Pricing
Contact vendor for price Trial: Yes Free Plan: No
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LeaveBoard — Good for: Dedicated PTO tracker software
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
LeaveBoard is a cloud-based dashboard solution specifically for vacation and PTO management. The goal is to help managers reduce absenteeism and to track and approve time off requests while staying compliant.
Employees have a self-service portal and central team calendar, so they can plan leave requests. They also have a time off allowance, so they know how much time they can take through the mobile app or the desktop dashboard.
Managers can build custom time-off policies and even manage multiple PTO policies for workers with different seniority or employees in different roles and departments. They also have access to PTO reports to help them track who has time off coming up and who has placed time off requests. Unlike other employee PTO trackers, LeaveBoard doesn’t have additional features for employee communication, training, onboarding, and other tasks.
Key Features
- Employee self-service
- HR reports
- Integrates with Slack
- Overtime calculation
Pros
- Workers can check time off balances
- Cloud-based HR web app doesn’t require app download
Cons
- Not intended for large companies
- Support only available through an online form and email
Pricing
Starts at $1.35/user/month Trial: Yes — 14-day Free Plan: Yes
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Factorial — Good for: Small and medium-sized companies
Available on
- Web
- iOS
- Android
Factorial is designed to help companies manage HR, including digital signatures, onboarding, recruitment, expenses, payroll management, time tracking, shift management, and more. Its PTO tracking feature lets employees submit PTO requests easily. Admins can see at a glance what requests have been submitted and which ones are pending. They can approve PTO requests in the dashboard and see how much time is left in PTO for each worker.
Factorial lets companies set a time off policy and enforce it. You can even set different policies for different departments and allow some unused PTO to be carried over. A calendar view lets admins see who is away and who has upcoming leave. Custom reports let you see who is and isn’t using leave and what absences at your company look like.
Key Features
- Control who can change and edit employee PTO requests
- Set up different kinds of leave—vacations, birthdays, sick leave, etc.
- Time off syncs with the Factorial portal, including scheduling
- See who’s out of the office from the dashboard
Pros
- Syncs with Google Calendar
- Easy to Use
Cons
- Custom time-off reports and notifications only available on the Enterprise plan
- Support by phone is only available 9:00 - 18:00—Europe & LATAM
Pricing
Starts at $5.25/user/month Trial: Yes Free Plan: No
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Day Off — Good for: Companies looking for a stand-alone PTO tracker without a lot of integration
Available on
- iOS
- Android
Day Off is a dedicated PTO tracker without lots of integration or additional HR features. It’s intended mostly to help managers and teams track and manage time off requests. Admins can create different time off policies for PTO, vacations, unpaid leave, and more.
They can set some requests to be auto-approved and can allow workers to take half days off too. Employees can see at a glance how many PTO days they have left, so they can plan vacation days.
Consolidated and calendar views let you and your approved team members see at a glance who is away and who has upcoming days off. Reports let managers track patterns in vacation time, sick leave requests, and absences.
Key Features
- Announcements can be sent to groups or individuals about PTO
- PTO reports
- Sub teams let you create unique time off policies for different job titles within a team
- Create multiple leave types for different workers and various situations—such as sick leave and vacation time
Pros
- Designed to work in 5 different countries and languages
- Affordable
Cons
- Designed mostly for mobile
- Support is by chat or online form
Pricing
Starts at $1/user/month Trial: No Free Plan: Yes
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ZoomShift — Good for: Shift workers
ZoomShift is a scheduling and time-tracking app designed specifically for shift workers. Employees can clock in, swap shifts, and more. Managers can review timesheets, generate reports, and export timesheets to payroll.
Employees can submit their time off requests at any time by filling out a simple digital form. Workers can update their requests, see how much time off they have remaining, and even attach a note to their request to explain why they need PTO.
Managers can see all pending requests and approve or deny them with just a few clicks of a mouse or a few swipes on a screen. Managers can also set some requests to be auto-approved and can limit PTO during the busiest days. Companies can also indicate the minimum amount of notice workers need to give for vacation or other PTO requests.
Key Features
- Can easily set yearly allowance or accruals for PTO
- One-click approval or denial of PTO requests
- Employees can make PTO requests in the ZoomShift app, where they can also see their schedule
- Works with shift swap, scheduling, and other ZoomShift features
Pros
- Integration with communications and scheduling features make it easy to find a replacement for shifts if a worker is taking time off
- Employees can edit and include a note with their requests
Cons
- Can become expensive for larger companies
- Only available in English
Pricing
Starts at $2/active team member/month Trial: Yes — 14-day Free Plan: Yes
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QuickBooks Time — Good for: Integrating with 3rd party apps
QuickBooks Time integrates with Google Drive and 50 apps in total. Those who already use QuickBooks for payroll will find the app’s interface familiar. Designed for businesses of all sizes, QuickBooks Time can easily handle PTO management for small teams or for large corporations.
To get started, customize your paid time off and unpaid time off policies. When workers are ready to request time off, they can do so in the web dashboard or mobile app, indicating the hours or days they want away. They can also attach a note to the request, with more details for the manager. Employees can easily see how much PTO they have remaining and how much will be left if their current request is approved.
Managers can approve or deny requests and set bulk time off for federal holidays or company days off. Managers can also allow employees to indicate when they’re taking time off—no approval process is needed.
Key Features
- Employees can request PTO in hours, days, or blocks of days
- Customizable notifications via text and email alerts
- You can download a ledger to keep track of PTO offline or access PTO information digitally
- A calendar view lets you see an entire team’s availability at a glance
Pros
- Integrates with the QuickBooks suite of products and other tech
- Create reports showing employee PTO balances, PTO used, and more
Cons
- Only available with QuickBooks Time Premium and QuickBooks Time Elite
- Does not include employee communications, Knowledge Database, training, and other HR features
Pricing
Starts at $20/month + $10/user/month Trial: Yes — 30-day Free Plan: No
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ClockIt — Good for: Businesses whose leave policies include business travel
ClockIt is a cloud-based scheduling and payroll solution with PTO tracking. A self-serve portal lets employees request paid and unpaid time off and check the balances of the amount of PTO they have left. A shared leave calendar lets you and team members see who is away and who is at work, even across multiple business locations. PTO accruals and balances are calculated automatically, so you reduce the risk of human error.
You can create different leave policies for different situations, such as maternity leave and paternity leave, vacation time, and more. There is no limit to the number of policies you can create. ClockIt even has features for business travel requests, so team members can get travel approval and your team can keep track of business travel and related expenses.
Key Features
- Email notifications to let workers know when requests are submitted and approved or denied
- Time tracking lets you track PTO across multiple job sites
- Custom accrual rules are possible
- Workers can ask for PTO by days or even hours
Pros
- Supports weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual accrual periods
- Tenured leave balances can help companies give more PTO to workers with higher seniority
Cons
- It takes some time to set up different types of leave and to set up the PTO system, then add employees
- Pay per team, so small teams can end up paying more
Pricing
Starts at $2.99/user/month Trial: Yes — 14 days Free Plan: No
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Buddy Punch — Good for: Teams who like transparency
Buddy Punch is a time tracker and scheduler with a PTO tracker. Workers can enter time off right in their time cards. They can send requests to managers for PTO approval, but managers can also allow some types of PTO to be automatic.
For example, workers can be allowed to just indicate when they are too sick to work. No approval is needed.
One of the unique optional features at Buddy Punch is that admins can allow the entire company to see all PTO and PTO requests. This empowers employees and offers more transparency. A worker can see when others are taking time off and when they have requested vacation days—for example—so they can choose when to take their own leave accordingly.
Key Features
- Customizable accrual
- The PTO feature can be completely disabled for companies that don’t offer paid time off
- Managers can enter days off for employees manually too
- Sync PTO requests from different locations or teams
Pros
- Simple interface
- Customizable so managers can have more control over PTO or let workers sort it out
Cons
- Few employee communication options to help workers make sure shifts are covered
- Transparency includes all workers or just limited to managers—there is no middle ground
Pricing
Starts at $3.99/user/month + $19 base fee/month Trial: Yes — 14-day Free Plan: No
Compare the Best Employee PTO Tracker Softwares
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Starts at just $29/month for the first 30 users
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Starts at $1.35/user/month
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Starts at $5.25/user/month
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Starts at $2/active team member/month
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Best all-in-one employee PTO tracker software
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Good for: Time and attendance tracking
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Good for: Employee PTO self service
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Good for: Dedicated PTO tracker software
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Good for: Small and medium-sized companies
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Good for: Companies looking for a stand-alone PTO tracker without a lot of integration
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Good for: Shift workers
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Good for: Integrating with 3rd party apps
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Good for: Businesses whose leave policies include business travel
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Good for: Teams who like transparency
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Web, iOS, Android
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Web, iOS, Android
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iOS, Android
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What is an employee PTO tracker?
An employee paid time off (PTO) tracker is a piece of software or an application that allows you to manage, schedule, and track time off for your workforce. It also typically allows employees to submit a request for time off, and for managers or admin to approve or deny it.
Whether you offer paid time off as an employee benefit or not at your organization, an employee PTO tracker can be a very useful tool for managing staffing levels and time off requests.
How does an employee PTO tracker work?
Employees can request time off and can get it approved. In some cases, you may be able to manually input days off. A tracker can let you see who has taken time off and who hasn’t. Employees are also likely to be able to see how many vacation days, sick days, and other days of time off—paid or unpaid—they have left.
PTO trackers keep everyone on the same page. They may also include calculators or automatic accrual updates, which means that employees can automatically see how many days left they still have to take off—and no one has to do the math.
The Benefits of Employee Vacation Tracking Software
These are the main benefits of using PTO tracking software:
Automates PTO requests and approvals
PTO tracking software provides a centralized place for PTO requests, manager approval, and tracking balances. This streamlines the entire PTO process and eliminates the need for manual paperwork or email chains, saving time and effort for both employees and HR departments.
Reduces errors and provides accurate PTO tracking
Using software to track employee PTO balances eliminates human error and ensures that vacation days are correct.
Reduces scheduling conflicts
Employee availability is clear and visible so you can plan work schedules better. You also reduce scheduling conflicts because the software prevents you from scheduling employees for work while they’re away. That way, you can ensure adequate coverage and plan tasks and projects accordingly.
Compliance with PTO laws and company policies
By allowing you to customize the software to enforce specific PTO labor laws and company policies, vacation tracking software reduces the risk of non-compliance.
Better analytics and reporting
PTO tracking software provides reporting and analytics so businesses can track vacation usage, patterns, and trends. To maximize employee satisfaction and optimize staffing levels, these insights can be used to inform workforce planning, identify high vacation periods, and make data-driven decisions.
Integration with payroll and HR systems
Employee PTO tracker software helps ensure accurate payroll calculations based on accrued vacation time. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the chances of errors in payroll processing.
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How Much Does an Employee PTO Tracker Cost?
PTO tracker costs vary widely. There are some programs that offer limited features for a small team at no cost. Others may require you to buy a more expensive payroll or HR platform and include PTO tracking as a feature of that system. In these cases, you will often pay a set amount per month, with an additional cost for every user at your company.
Connecteam wants to help businesses manage costs and PTO.
That’s why our pricing is free for up to 10 users, with all features included. Instead of a bare-bones system, you get access to scheduling, a knowledge base, customizable training and onboarding for your employees, secure employee communications, full PTO management, and more. For larger companies, Connecteam starts at $29 a month for the first 30 users.
FAQs
Can I create my own PTO tracker in spreadsheets?
Yes, it is possible. However, it increases the risk of mistakes and complications. Tracking PTO can get especially complicated if you offer unlimited PTO. This is one reason why many companies prefer employee PTO trackers—because they centralize the process and reduce the risk of errors.
How do I track PTO days?
The easiest method is with a PTO tracker. For employees, trackers let them see everything they need to understand and use their PTO entitlement. For managers, trackers let them see all PTO requests, as well as calendars that show exactly who is off and when.
Can PTO days be spread out?
Yes, you can spread out PTO entitlement by using leave accrual—where workers earn PTO days over a set period. You can also stipulate how and when employees can use their PTO—such as requiring that it’s used up within a set period or allowing employees to “roll over” vacation days.
The Bottom Line On Employee PTO Trackers
Employee PTO tracking software helps companies track the complexities of time off—whether it’s a last-minute sick day or a paternity leave planned months in advance. The best employee PTO tracker solutions save managers time and frustration by compiling all requests, automating notifications and calculations, and giving managers an overview of when time off is happening for everyone.
Whether you offer paid time off or not, employees will likely need to be away from work at some point. When this happens, Connecteam can help with a PTO tracker that works with your company’s PTO program and keeps communication open about who is away and when.
Connecteam integrates with many powerful features—including a knowledge base, training, and employee communication—so you’re not just keeping track of time off, you’re keeping track of your business and your workforce.