Time off in Beebole is tracked through absence types — categories like vacation, sick leave, or parental leave that you define to match your organization’s policies.
Understanding absence types
An absence type represents a category of leave your organization recognizes. Common examples include vacation, sick leave, parental leave, and personal days — but you can create as many types as you need. Each absence type can be configured with:- A name — The label your team sees when logging time off (e.g., “Vacation”, “Sick Leave”).
- A unit — Whether absences are tracked in Hour or Day units.
- An allowance — The amount of time off each person receives per period.
- An accrual policy — Rules describing how time off accumulates over the allowance period. See Accruals.
Creating absence types
Add a new absence type
Click the [+] button. Enter a Name for the absence type (e.g., “Vacation”, “Sick Leave”).
Add a new absence type
Click Add Time Off Type, enter a Name for the absence type (e.g., “Vacation”, “Sick Leave”), and click Add Time Off Type.
Choose the unit
In the Units panel, select whether this absence type is tracked in Hour or Day units. The change is saved automatically, and the new absence type is available for allowances and timesheet entry.
Archiving absence types
When a leave category is no longer offered, archive its absence type instead of deleting it — past time-off records stay intact while the type disappears from day-to-day use.- Go to Settings > Time Off and open the absence type.
- Click the ⋯ action menu next to its name, then Archive.
Setting up allowances
An allowance (Beebole’s term for a time-off quota) defines how much time off a person receives for a given absence type within a specific period. You can set allowances on the organization for everyone, on a tag for a group, or on an individual person.Open the Absence allowances panel
For an organization-wide default, go to Settings > Account Settings. For a group, click Tags in the sidebar and open the tag. For one person, click People in the sidebar and open their profile. Each shows an Absence allowances panel.
Define the quota period
Set the Start date and End date for the quota period (e.g., January 1 to December 31 for an annual allowance).
Define the period
Set the Start - end dates for the allowance period (e.g., January 1 to December 31 for an annual allowance).
Set the default allowance
Enter the default number of hours or days each person receives for this period.
Set the amount
Enter the number of hours or days in the Available field. Every change is saved automatically.
Adjust individual quotas
To give specific people a different allowance, go to their profile under People and adjust the quota for this absence type. Individual quotas override the default.
To give specific people a different allowance, add one on their profile under People — person-level allowances override tag-level ones, which override the organization default. See People.
Tracking balances
Beebole tracks time-off balances based on allowances, accruals, and recorded absences. Each card in the Absence allowances panel shows:| Balance field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Available | The amount of time off granted for the allowance period |
| Consumed | The time off already recorded over the period (shown when you open an allowance on a person) |
| Accrued | A manual adjustment field for accrued time |
Negative balance controls
By default, Beebole prevents people from booking more time off than their available balance. You can change this behavior per allowance. To let a balance go below zero — useful for organizations that handle overdrawn leave manually or at year-end — open the allowance in the Absence allowances panel and check Allow negative balance. The change is saved automatically. When the box is unchecked, Beebole blocks time-off entries that would push the balance below zero.Paid vs. unpaid absences
Beebole lets you mark each absence type as paid or unpaid. Paid absences are automatically included in people cost totals across reports and budgets, so a paid leave day still counts toward project costs even though no project time was tracked. Unpaid absences are excluded — they reduce the person’s available capacity but do not add to cost. Use this distinction to make sure your cost reports stay accurate when people are off. Paid leave like vacation or sick days should typically be paid. Unpaid leave like extended career breaks or unpaid sabbaticals should be unpaid.Toggle Is paid
In the Units panel, check the Is paid (included in people costs) checkbox to include this absence type in cost calculations. Uncheck it to exclude the absence from cost totals. The change is saved automatically and applies to all future cost calculations — existing reports reflect the new setting the next time they’re generated.
Cost inclusion uses each person’s cost rate for the day of the absence. Beebole multiplies the absence duration by the rate the same way it would for a regular time entry, so paid leave appears in budgets and profitability reports alongside billable work.
Absence approval
Time-off entries follow the same approval workflow as regular time entries. When a person records an absence on their timesheet and submits it, the assigned manager reviews and approves or rejects it. Approval does not gate the balance: every recorded time-off entry counts against the allowance immediately, even before it is reviewed. Approving locks the timesheet; if an absence is rejected, the person can edit or remove the entry, which restores the balance.The approval workflow for absences is part of Beebole’s general timesheet approval process. See Approvals for details on configuring approval stages and managers.
Toggle Is paid
Tick the Is paid (included in people costs) checkbox to include this absence type in cost calculations. Untick it to exclude the absence from cost totals.
Absence notifications
Beebole can send automatic notifications related to time off to keep managers and administrators informed. They are configured per absence type, in the Time off notifications panel:- Going negative — Triggered when a person’s balance drops below zero.
- Requesting in advance against accruals — Triggered when someone requests time off they have not yet accrued.
- A frequency alert — Triggered when a person takes this absence type more than a set number of occurrences in a Month or Year.
Recording time off on the timesheet
Team members record absences directly on their timesheets, just like regular time entries.Add an absence row
Click Add a row. Select the absence type (e.g., “Vacation”) instead of a project.
Related content
Accruals
Configure how time-off allowances accrue on a recurring schedule.
Public Holidays
Define non-working days so they don’t consume time-off allowances.
Work Schedule
Set working hours so day-based absences calculate correctly.
Approvals
Understand how absence entries flow through the approval workflow.
Add an absence row
Click the [+] button to add a new row. Select the absence type (e.g., “Vacation”) instead of a project.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set different time-off allowances for different people?
Can I set different time-off allowances for different people?
Yes. Add an allowance in the Absence allowances panel of a person’s profile under People. Person-level allowances take priority over tag-level ones and the organization default.
What happens when someone exceeds their time-off balance?
What happens when someone exceeds their time-off balance?
It depends on the allowance. If Allow negative balance is checked, the person can continue booking time off and their balance shows a negative number. If not, Beebole blocks the entry.
How does time off interact with approvals?
How does time off interact with approvals?
Time-off entries follow the same approval workflow as regular timesheet entries. Absences count against a person’s allowance as soon as they are recorded — approval reviews and locks the timesheet but does not change the balance. See Approvals.
Can I track time off in both hours and days?
Can I track time off in both hours and days?
Each absence type uses a single unit — Hour or Day. If you need both, create separate absence types (e.g., “Vacation (days)” and “Medical appointments (hours)”).
How do accruals work with time-off allowances?
How do accruals work with time-off allowances?
Accrual policies describe how leave accumulates over time rather than being granted all at once. Accrued time is reflected on the allowance through its editable Accrued field, a manual adjustment to the accrued balance. See Accruals.