Tracking vacation time for employees is three decisions and one record. The decisions are the policy: how many days each person gets, whether they accrue or are granted, and what happens to unused days at year end. The record is a balance per person that moves the day a request is approved, with the approver and the date against it. The U.S. Department of Labor, cited below, says the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require paid vacation, so all three decisions are the employer's own and the record is the only evidence they were applied. The free template on this site prints the year's load and the carryover exposure from the policy you enter; Offdayly Pro keeps the record.
Write the policy once
The allowance, the accrual or grant rule, the carryover cap and the pro-rating for part-timers, in writing, before the year starts. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics factsheet cited below found after 10 years of service 31 percent of private industry workers with paid vacation had 15 to 19 days, so a long-serving team's allowance is a real number to write down rather than an assumption.
Keep the record that moves on approval
The balance moves the day the request is approved; the approver's name and the date go with it; sick days sit in a separate counter. A record kept this way answers the December question from the file rather than from memory, and catches two managers approving the same week before the week arrives, which is the failure a small team meets first.
Plan the year end in January
The days the team may carry at your cap, and their pay value, are known in January from the headcount and the cap; the template prints them. Whether unused days are paid out, forfeited or carried is the policy and the state's rule, confirmed with the adviser; the number is yours to know in advance, and it is the number the accountant will ask for.
Questions people ask about tracking vacation time for employees
Do I have to track vacation time for employees by law?
Federal law does not require paid vacation, per the Department of Labor page cited on this page; state rules on accrued leave vary and are the adviser's to confirm. The record protects the employer either way.
What should the record show for each employee?
The allowance, every request with its days and status, who approved it and when, the balance today, and the sick-day counter beside it.
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