We need a simple system to track employee time off and vacation requests for a small company.

For a small company, I’d keep this very simple: one place where employees request time off, a manager approves it, and everyone can see the team calendar and remaining PTO.

Recommended setup

Core workflow:

1. Employee submits a request:

• Employee name
• Type: Vacation / Sick / Personal / Other
• Start date
• End date
• Full day or half day
• Optional note

2. Manager receives the request and chooses Approve or Deny.
3. Approved time off automatically appears on a shared team calendar.
4. The system maintains each employee's:

• Annual allowance
• Used PTO
• Pending PTO
• Remaining PTO

5. Keep a simple history of every request, including who approved it and when.

This matches the basic workflow used by lightweight PTO systems today: request → approval → shared calendar → balance tracking.

Three good approaches

• Google Sheets/Excel — Best if you have fewer than ~10 employees and want essentially zero cost. A structured sheet can handle the request log, balances, and team calendar.
• A lightweight PTO app — Best if you want employees submitting their own requests and automatic approvals/balances without maintaining formulas. For example, SimplyPTO offers a free tier for up to 10 people and includes a shared calendar, approvals, balances, and email notifications.
• Slack-based PTO — If your company already lives in Slack, Cabana lets employees request PTO directly in Slack and managers approve it there, with automatic balance tracking.

My recommendation: If you're talking about a small company of roughly 5–25 people, I'd use a lightweight PTO app rather than building a custom HR system. If you want maximum control and don't mind a little administration, a Google Sheet is sufficient.

If you'd like, I can also design the actual system for you—including the spreadsheet/database structure, request form, approval workflow, and dashboard—so you can implement it in Google Sheets, Microsoft 365, or as a small web app.

Tracking time off for a small team doesn't need to be complicated. For a lightweight, efficient setup, you have a few practical options depending on your team's tech stack and preferred workflow.

1. The Spreadsheet Approach (Best for 1–10 employees)

If you want something free, familiar, and fully customizable right now, a shared cloud spreadsheet is the easiest starting point.

• Google Sheets / Microsoft Excel: Create a master tab for the year with employee names down the rows and months/dates across the columns. Use conditional formatting (e.g., color-coding cells green for vacation, blue for sick leave) to visualize the schedule at a glance.
• Template-ready: You can find free starter templates directly via the Google Sheets Template Gallery or download standard models from Microsoft Create.

2. The Calendar Approach (Best for visibility)

If your company already lives in a digital workspace, a centralized calendar keeps everyone aligned without extra software.

• Shared Team Calendar: Set up a dedicated "Time Off" calendar in Google Calendar or Outlook.
• Naming Convention: Require staff to title events like [Name] - PTO or [Name] - Out Sick.
• Access Control: Give everyone "view" access so they can check who is out before booking their own time off, but restrict "edit" permissions to managers or HR.

3. Lightweight HR / PTO Software (Best for 10–50 employees or scaling up)

When spreadsheets start getting messy or you need automated accrual tracking, a dedicated micro-tool saves administrative headaches.

• Time Off / HR Tools: Platforms like Gusto (which handles payroll and basic PTO together), Time Off Manager , or Deel offer simple request-and-approval workflows.
• Slack / Chat Integration: Tools like TimeBot or Kallidus integrate directly into workplace chat apps, letting employees type /pto to request days off and automatically notifying managers.

To help narrow down the best fit, let me know:

• How many employees are on your team?
• Do you already use a tool like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Slack?
• Do you need to track complex accruals or just a simple flat number of days per year?

Managing time off for a small team doesn't need to be complicated or expensive. For a small company, you can choose from ready-made lightweight software or a DIY approach using tools you probably already use.

Option 1: Lightweight & Free-to-Low-Cost Software (Best for automation)

• TimeOff.management : An open-source, straightforward PTO tracker designed specifically for small teams to request and approve leave without bloat.
• Clockify : Offers robust time tracking alongside simple time-off and leave management features that work well for small staffs.
• Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 Add-ons : Look into lightweight calendar extensions (like Teamup or CalenGoo) that integrate right into your existing shared calendars.

Option 2: The DIY Spreadsheet System (Best for zero extra cost)

If you want total control and $0 overhead, build a 3-part system in Google Sheets or Excel:

1. The Request Log (Form/Sheet) : Use a simple Google Form where employees submit their name, start date, end date, and reason (Vacation, Sick, Personal). This auto-populates a master spreadsheet.
2. The Approval Workflow : A manager reviews the row, changes a status dropdown from "Pending" to "Approved," which triggers an automated notification (via Google Apps Script or Zapier) back to the employee.
3. The Master Calendar : Sync the approved dates to a shared company Google/Outlook Calendar color-coded by department or leave type so everyone can see who is out at a glance.

Would you prefer to go the DIY spreadsheet route (I can help you outline the exact columns and formulas) or look into budget-friendly software tools tailored to your exact team size?

For a small company, I’d keep this very simple: one shared system where employees request time off, managers approve it, and everyone can see the approved schedule.

Recommended setup

You need only five pieces:

1. Employee list

• Employee name
• Manager
• Vacation/PTO allowance
• Sick/personal allowance, if applicable
• Current remaining balance

2. Time-off request

• Employee
• Type: Vacation, Sick, Personal, etc.
• Start date
• End date
• Number of days/hours
• Optional note
• Status: Pending / Approved / Denied / Cancelled

3. Manager approval

• Manager sees pending requests
• Can check who else is already off
• Approves or denies
• Employee gets notified

4. Shared calendar

• Shows approved absences
• Makes scheduling conflicts obvious
• Ideally has month/week views

5. Simple reporting

• PTO used by employee
• Remaining balance
• Upcoming time off
• Export to CSV for payroll/accounting

That basic structure matches the core features found in current small-team PTO systems: self-service requests, approvals, balance tracking, and a shared "who's out" calendar.

Two ways I'd approach it

If you want to build something internally: A simple spreadsheet/database + request form + automated email notifications is enough for a small company. I wouldn't build a full HR system. The workflow can be:

Employee submits → Manager reviews → Approved → Calendar updated → PTO balance updated

If you want to buy something: There are lightweight products specifically aimed at small teams. simplypto.com advertises a free plan for up to 10 people and includes requests, approvals, balances, a shared calendar, email notifications, and CSV exports. SimplyPTO cabanapto.com is another lightweight option, particularly if your company uses Slack.

If you tell me roughly how many employees you have and whether you use Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or Slack, I can recommend the simplest setup and lay out exactly how I'd implement it.

Here are top web results for exploring this topic:

Vacation Tracker·https://vacationtracker.io**Vacation** Tracker | PTO & Leave Management Software Track PTO, manage leave, and approve time off requests in Slack, Teams, or Google Workspace. Used by 3500+ companies. Free trial, no credit card needed. Day Off·https://tracker.day-off.app Day Off: Free PTO Tracker & Leave Tracker for Teams Day Off is the free PTO tracker and leave tracker trusted by 50000+ companies. Track vacations, sick days & absences with our leave tracking software. Free forever. No credit card required. TimeOff.Management·https://timeoff.management**TimeOff** .Management — Leave & PTO Planner for Teams of All Sizes Replace the holiday spreadsheet with one calm place for time off. TimeOff keeps time off tracking simple: employees book, managers approve, and everyone sees the right information at the right time. E TimeTrak·https://timetrak.com**Employee Vacation** Scheduling Software - TimeTrak Employee vacation scheduling software. TimeTrak's vacation scheduling software makes it easy to manage time off requests and approvals, helping you maintain proper staffing levels without the headache www.vacationtracker.com·https://www.vacationtracker.com/Free PTO Absence Tracker: Time Off Tracking Built for Modern ...VacationTracker: Track employee vacation, PTO, and absences with a flexible leave management system built for modern businesses and distributed teams. Connecteam·https://connecteam.com 6 Best Employee PTO Tracker Software (In-Depth Comparison)Connecteam — Best for Teams managing hours, PTO, absences, and staffing together. Start for free. Available on. Web · iOS · Android. Connecteam pto interface. 4.6/5 · 4.6/5 · 4.6/5 · 9.4/10 · 4.7/5 · YouTube·https://www.youtube.com The 7 Best PTO Tracking Software for Every Business - YouTube Manual PTO tracking makes it easy to lose sight of accrued hours, approve overlapping requests, or accidentally schedule an employee who requested time off weeks in advance. In this video, we review t Ironflow Technologies Inc.·https://blog.purelyhr.com Best vacation tracking tool for small teams under 50 members Best For. Pricing Tier. PurelyHR. Very fast. Highly flexible. Small teams under 50; intuitive leave management. Affordable, modular, monthly subscription. BambooHR. Complex, takes weeks. Moderate. Tea People Managing People·https://peoplemanagingpeople.com 10 Best Leave Management Software of 2026 for Tracking PTO Connecteam. Best from a mobile device. 14-day free trial + free demo available; From $29/month (billed annually). Visit Website. Rating: 4.6/5. Connecteam screenshot - 10 Best Leave Management Softwar flamingoapp.com·https://flamingoapp.com/best-pto-tracking-software/The Best PTO Tracking Software for Your Business (7 Options)Why You Need a PTO Management Software. Paid Time Off management software helps you save time spend managing PTO requests, reduce interruptions when team members take time off, and create a positive c

For a small company, I’d keep this very simple: employees submit time-off requests, managers approve/decline them, and everyone can see balances and a shared calendar.

Good options

My recommendation

If you already use Gusto for payroll, use its built-in time-off system. It supports custom vacation/sick policies, accruals, employee requests, manager approvals, and automatically updates PTO balances; approved time off can also flow into payroll.

If you don't use Gusto, I'd choose a dedicated lightweight PTO tracker rather than buying a large HR platform.

The simple workflow I'd implement

1. Employee logs in and selects Vacation, Sick, Personal, etc.
2. Enters the dates and optional note.
3. Manager receives a notification.
4. Manager approves or declines.
5. System automatically updates the employee's remaining balance.
6. A team calendar shows approved absences so people can avoid scheduling conflicts.
7. HR/admin can run a monthly report of used, remaining, and upcoming PTO.

For a small company, I'd avoid spreadsheets unless you have only a handful of employees and very few requests—the main benefit of software is eliminating manual balance calculations and approval tracking. Gusto specifically notes that automated PTO tracking reduces errors and administrative work.

If you tell me how many employees you have and whether you already use payroll software (e.g., Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP), I can narrow this to the simplest/cheapest 2–3 choices and compare their current pricing.

To set up a simple time-off tracking system for a small company, you can choose between a free manual setup (best for under 10 employees) or dedicated, low-cost micro-software (best for 10–50 employees).

Here are the best ways to build or buy a simple system, ranked from easiest to most robust.

Option 1: Dedicated PTO Micro-Software (Highly Recommended)

If you want to completely avoid manual data entry and "how many days do I have left?" questions, standalone micro-tools are the most efficient option. They automate requests, approvals, and balance calculations.

• Vacation Tracker : Built specifically for small businesses. It plugs directly into tools your team already uses like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Workspace. Employees can request time off via chat, and managers approve it in two clicks.
• Day Off : An incredibly simple, mobile-first app. It tracks live balances and features a shared team calendar so everyone knows who is out of the office.
• Timetastic : Ideal if you want a purely visual, color-coded wall chart dashboard that shows exactly who is away and when, eliminating scheduling conflicts.

Option 2: The Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 Setup (Free)

If you do not want to sign up for new software, you can stitch together a system using your existing office ecosystem.

Step 1: Create a Shared "Out of Office" Calendar

1. Create a new calendar in Google Calendar or Outlook named "Company Time Off".
2. Share it with your entire team with "View all event details" permissions.
3. When time off is approved, the entry is added here so the team has instant visibility.

Step 2: Build a Request Form

1. Use Google Forms or Microsoft Forms to build a 2-minute request portal.
2. Include fields for: Employee Name, Leave Type (Vacation, Sick, Personal), Start Date, End Date, and Total Working Days Requested.
3. Turn on "Email notifications for new responses" so managers know the moment a request is submitted.

Step 3: Link to a Tracking Spreadsheet

1. Route the form responses automatically into a linked Google Sheet or Excel workbook.
2. Create a master tab with employee names and their total annual PTO allowance.
3. Use a basic formula (=SUMIF ) to subtract approved form entries from their total allowance.

Option 3: Time Tracking Apps with Built-in PTO

If you already need to track hourly shifts, project hours, or client billing, do not get a separate PTO tool. Use a time-tracker that handles both.

• Clockify : A popular time tracker that includes a "Time Off" tab. It allows you to define vacation policies, let employees request days, and track remaining balances alongside their regular hours.
• Buddy Punch : Exceptional for hourly workers. Approved time off automatically flows straight into their timesheets, making payroll calculation seamless.

Comparison of Systems

To help narrow this down, how many employees do you need to track? Also, let me know if your team uses communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams so I can suggest the exact workflow fit.

Absolutely. For a small company, I’d keep this very simple rather than building a full HR system.

Recommended system

Use a single PTO tracker with four pieces:

1. Employee list

   • Employee name
   • Department/manager
   • PTO allowance
   • PTO used
   • PTO remaining

2. Time-off request

   • Employee
   • Type: Vacation / Sick / Personal / Other
   • Start date
   • End date
   • Number of days
   • Optional note
   • Status: Pending / Approved / Denied

3. Manager approval

   • Manager gets notified
   • Approves or denies the request
   • Approved requests automatically update the employee's balance

4. Shared calendar

   • Shows who's out
   • Pending requests are visually distinct from approved leave
   • Makes overlapping vacations easy to spot

That covers the core functionality most small businesses need: requests, approvals, balances, and visibility.

Easiest ways to implement it

If you already use payroll software:
If your payroll is through Gusto, its built-in PTO tracker handles policies, employee requests, approvals, accruals, balances, and payroll synchronization.

If you want a standalone, lightweight tool:
Absenca currently advertises a free plan for up to 15 employees with a leave calendar, approvals, notifications, and PTO balances.

If you want to build it yourselves:
A Google Sheet + Google Form + calendar is sufficient for a very small team. I'd structure it so employees submit requests through a form rather than editing the spreadsheet directly. That prevents accidental changes to balances and gives you a basic audit trail.

My recommendation

For under ~15 employees, I'd start with a lightweight PTO-specific tool rather than developing custom software. If you tell me how many employees you have, whether you use Google Workspace/Microsoft 365/Slack, and whether PTO accrues or is simply a fixed annual allowance, I can lay out the exact system—including the fields, approval workflow, and employee/manager views.

For a small company, I’d keep this much simpler than a full HR system. The core workflow should be:

1. Employee submits request

   • Employee
   • Type: Vacation / Sick / Personal / Other
   • Start date
   • End date
   • Optional note

2. Manager approves or rejects

   • See who else is already out
   • Approve/reject
   • Optional comment
   • Employee gets notified

3. Shared time-off calendar

   • Monthly/weekly view
   • Color-coded by leave type
   • Filter by employee/team

4. PTO balance

   • Annual allowance
   • Accrued
   • Used
   • Pending
   • Remaining

5. Simple admin dashboard

   • Pending requests
   • Upcoming absences
   • Current balances
   • History of requests

A simple data structure

I'd also make overlapping requests visible before approval, since that's one of the practical problems that tends to get missed when companies rely on email and spreadsheets.

Build vs. buy

If you're talking about implementing this rather than developing custom software, there are already lightweight options that do essentially this without requiring a full HR platform. For example, Vacation Tracker focuses specifically on PTO/absence tracking and approvals, while Bindle provides PTO balances, approvals, notifications, and calendar integration.

If you want to build a simple internal system, I'd start with a spreadsheet/database + simple web form rather than building payroll or employee-management functionality. The MVP could realistically be just Employees + Leave Requests + Leave Types + Calendar + Approval workflow.

If you tell me roughly how many employees you have and whether you want a spreadsheet, a small web app, or an off-the-shelf tool, I can lay out the simplest system I'd recommend.

Setting up a straightforward time off and vacation tracking system for a small team doesn't need to be complicated. For a small company, you can choose between a low-cost digital tool or a lightweight manual setup.

Option 1: Lightweight Digital Tools (Recommended)

• Google Workspace / Microsoft 365 Shared Calendar : Create a dedicated calendar (e.g., "Company Time Off") that everyone can view. Employees submit requests via email or form, and an admin adds approved dates to the shared calendar.
• Trello or Notion : Set up a simple board where cards represent time-off requests. Move cards across columns like Requested, Approved , and Declined.
• Dedicated HR/PTO Apps : Use lightweight, budget-friendly software like Time Off Cloud, Clockify , or Deel/Rippling (if you need payroll integration) to automate tracking balances and approvals without spreadsheets.

Option 2: The Spreadsheet Method (Free & Simple)

• Google Sheets / Microsoft Excel : Use a shared template where rows are employees and columns are months or weeks. Color-code types of leave (e.g., green for vacation, yellow for sick leave).
• The Request Form : Pair your spreadsheet with a simple Google Form or Microsoft Form so employees submit requests in a standardized way, creating an automatic digital paper trail.

Step-by-Step Implementation Workflow

1. Define the Policy : Clearly outline how many days off employees get (N days per year), how far in advance they must request time off (e.g., 2 weeks for vacations over 3 days), and how carryover works.
2. Choose the Hub : Pick one central place where everyone looks for availability (the calendar or spreadsheet) to avoid double-booking or confusion.
3. Establish an Approval Chain : Designate a single approver (manager or HR) to prevent crossed wires, and commit to a turnaround time (e.g., response within 48 hours).
4. Communicate and Launch : Share the new process with the team and do a quick walkthrough.

To help narrow down the best approach, tell me:

• How many employees are on your team?
• Do you already use tools like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?
• Do you need to track different types of leave (sick, vacation, personal)?