Top 3 Qualities of a Great PTO Tracker

For small business owners, HR managers, admins ,and employees alike, the ability to effectively communicate leave policies and track employee time off is essential. However, traditional methods of tracking employee paid time off such as paper-based timesheets, templates, and individual Excel spreadsheets are no longer sufficient. These outdated tactics make tracking multiple employees’ time off difficult, and submitting and approving requests can often be lengthy and time-consuming.

As a company grows, a more comprehensive management tool is necessary to optimize overall time-off management, ensure accuracy within time off records, and comply with laws and regulations. This is where a PTO tracker that doubles as an all-inclusive leave management system comes in to automate the time off request process. A PTO tracker helps your business or company comply with labor laws, keep accurate time off records of leave requests, and ensure that everyone is informed every step of the way. It also eliminates the need to manually keep track of time off, which can be very tedious and error-prone. With such important responsibilities, selecting a PTO tracker with great features and qualities is essential. But with so many of them available, how do you decide which one is best for you? 

Here are the top three qualities of a great PTO tracker:

1. Fully Customizable

A great time off tracker should be customizable to fit your business’s needs. It should allow you to create and configure time off policies, including setting the maximum number of days/hours allowed in a single request and the minimum hours or days required between requests.Your software should also offer an easy way to set up multiple leave types for certain PTO requests, each with its own rules and regulations. For example, you should be able

to create an “Annual Vacation Leave” category for employees that get a certain number of paid days off each year as well as “Sick Leave” where employees can track time to in order to align with your employee PTO policies relating to illnesses.

You should also be able to customize the approval workflow and permissions for considering requests, as well as managing everything from employee absences to department PTO balances. This way, you can create a comprehensive system that is tailored to your specific needs.

2. Shares Notifications

An excellent PTO tracking system should allow monitoring and tracking of vacation days and all other leave while facilitating communication between employees and supervisors. Your software should send notifications immediately when a request is made, accepted, denied, or altered. This is especially important for remote teams as requests can be synced swiftly with instant notification-sharing capabilities.

Notification sharing, and eventually a shared calendar view once any time off is approved, makes it easier to keep everyone in the loop regarding vacation scheduling, helping to avoid conflicts or overlapping vacations. It also helps keep managers organized and makes managing their staff’s vacation schedules easier by serving as a comprehensive vacation tracker. This feature can also help reduce the number of back-and-forth emails when employees are trying to confirm the status of their requests.

You should look for a PTO tracking software that allows users to set up email reminders and notifications for upcoming leave dates or overdue requests. This way, everyone is reminded in advance so they can plan accordingly.

3. Streamlines Workflow

A great PTO tracker should also streamline the process of tracking and managing employee leave. It should feature the following functionalities:

• A streamlined employee request process: This should include a simple request form with relevant details such as the type of leave requested, dates/duration of the leave, and any additional notes for review.
• Automatic reminders for managers when a request is made: With a leave tracker, managers no longer need to remember to review and approve vacation requests manually. Great software can send notifications when employees submit time off requests, so the manager can quickly review and act on them in real-time.
• Detailed reports: Comprehensive reports can help support your vacation tracker by easily monitoring your team’s vacation accruals, total vacation time taken, who is on vacation, and by tracking approved, denied, or pending requests. This can help you stay organized and ensure that everyone complies with your policies.
• Integrations: It is also important to select a time tracking resource that integrates with other tools like Google Calendar and Slack so that everyone can stay updated on an ongoing basis.
• Exportable data: Your PTO tracking software should have exportable data format capabilities that allow managers to easily download and share information with other departments or external stakeholders. This helps your organization stay organized, efficient, and compliant.

Make Time Tracking Easy with Planleave

If you are looking for the best PTO tracker and on the market, Planleave is the perfect solution for your leave management software needs. We are dedicated to helping businesses of all sizes manage paid time off efficiently. Our features include leave type designation, dashboard reporting, paid time off suggestions, and more – all designed to help you accurately track and manage employee vacation days in no time!

With our easy-to-use interface and easy-to-understand pricing model, you can reasonably ensure that your team is taking the appropriate amount of vacation and is in compliance with labor laws. Try Planleave for free – no credit card required – to simplify your PTO management process today.