PTO policy for small business
- 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.
A PTO policy for a small business is one handbook section decided by a handful of figures: the days per year, whether they accrue per pay period or arrive on a date, the cap, what carries over at year end, the payout at leaving where the state does not already decide it, the notice to take it and the coverage rule for who can be off at once. The employee handbook template on this site writes the section from those figures, free and without an account; HeadcountDesk Pro keeps the balances and applies the rules to every request.
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The figures
Days per year, accrual method, cap, carryover, payout, notice, coverage. Seven decisions; the template on this site asks for each and writes the section.
Accrual or front-loaded
Accrual per pay period keeps the liability small and the balance visible; front-loading on a date is simpler and creates a liability on day one. Either works; the handbook says which.
The rules that prevent the arguments
Notice in days, the number from one team who can be off at once, the blackout weeks, what happens to a request over the balance. Each written, each applied the same way. Pro applies them.
The state overlay
Some states require paid sick leave separately, some require payout at leaving, some forbid use-it-or-lose-it. The handbook's state addendum carries that; the template adds one per state. 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 policy for small business: common questions
How many PTO days should a small business give?
A number you can afford and can hire with; the template takes your figure and writes the rest of the section around it.
Is the handbook template free?
Yes. It writes the PTO section and the state addendum with no account. Pro keeps the balances.
Should sick leave be part of PTO?
Where the state requires separate paid sick leave, no; elsewhere it can be one bank. The addendum says which applies.
Will it do what you need for PTO policy for small business?
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.