PTO planning
- Sections in the handbook
- 19
- Paid time off, hours a year
- 120
- PTO accrued per period, hours
- $4.62
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. The only constants HeadcountDesk supplies are the published federal payroll tax rates and the overtime multiplier, each cited where it is used. The defaults are a worked example to replace with your own.
PTO planning for a small employer is two things: the policy, written once in the handbook with the days, the accrual, the cap, the carryover and the notice, and the calendar, which is the requests approved against the balance and against who else is off that week. The policy is what stops the argument; the calendar is what stops the Friday with nobody in. The employee handbook template on this site writes the policy from your figures, free and without an account; HeadcountDesk Pro keeps the balances and the calendar.
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The policy, once
A PTO policy is decided by a handful of figures the employer already knows: the days per year, whether they accrue per pay period or arrive on a date, the cap, what carries over, whether unused time is paid out at leaving where state law does not already decide that, and the notice required to take it. The free employee handbook template on this site turns those into the handbook section every employee acknowledges.
The balance, visible
Each employee sees their accrued balance and the effect of a request before they make it, and the manager sees the same number. Most PTO disputes are two people with different balances; one record ends them.
The calendar, with the limits
Requests approved against the balance and against the coverage rule: how many from one team can be off at once, the blackout weeks, the notice. The rule is in the handbook; the calendar applies it.
Year end and leaving
Carryover applied on the date, the cap enforced, and at leaving the payout the policy or the state requires, calculated from the balance on record. From the vendors' own pricing pages: Homebase lists Essentials at $24 per location per month billed annually or $30 monthly, with a free Basic plan for one location of up to ten employees; BambooHR lists Core at $10 and Pro at $17 per employee per month; Deputy lists Core at $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 a month per location.
PTO planning: common questions
How much PTO should a small business offer?
Enough to compete for the people you hire, set as a number of days with an accrual rule; the handbook template takes your figure.
Is the handbook template free?
Yes. It writes the PTO section from your figures with no account. Pro keeps the balances and the calendar.
Do I have to pay out unused PTO?
Some states require it; where they do not, the handbook decides. Write the rule down either way.
Will it do what you need for PTO planning?
Tell us what your business needs and we will tell you straight whether HeadcountDesk Pro does it today, whether it is coming, or whether you are better off with something else. A person reads these and replies.