Standard PTO policy
- 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 standard PTO policy for a small employer is one handbook section with seven decisions in it: the days per year, accrual per pay period or a front-loaded allowance, the cap, the carryover at year end, the payout at leaving where the state does not decide it, the notice to take time, and the coverage rule for who can be off at once. The employee handbook template on this site writes the section from those figures with a state addendum, free and without an account; HeadcountDesk Pro keeps the balances and applies the rules to every request.
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The seven decisions
Days, accrual, cap, carryover, payout, notice, coverage. The free employee handbook template on this site asks for each and writes the section.
The two accrual shapes
Per pay period, visible as a growing balance with a cap; or front-loaded on a date, simpler with a rule for the leaver who used more than they earned.
Applied the same way
Every request against the balance and the coverage rule, decided and recorded with the reason. Pro does that; consistency is what makes a denial defensible.
The state addendum
Paid sick leave, payout at leaving and use-it-or-lose-it are state rules in some states; the addendum carries them. 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.
Standard PTO policy: common questions
What is a standard number of PTO days?
There is no standard; there is the number you can afford and hire with. The template takes your figure.
Is the handbook template free?
Yes, with the state addendum and no account. Pro keeps the balances.
Should the policy cover sick leave?
Where the state requires separate paid sick leave, it is its own section; elsewhere one bank is common. The addendum says which applies.
Will it do what you need for Standard PTO policy?
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.