Leave tracking gives a headache to HR managers, whether they use old-school spreadsheets or some sophisticated software. They have to manually pull up leave requests from emails, messengers, or even paper applications into a single place, which is time-consuming and prone to human error.
And finally, paid time off (PTO) calculations are tough to maintain manually. Managers need to update the number of leave days every month, reduce it whenever employees take leaves, and more. Errors are inevitable if your HR managers do all the calculations themselves.
Luckily, the software market offers leave management solutions to automate these processes. Read on and discover the best deals
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Best Absence & Leave Management Software
actiPLANS
Price: Free for up to 3 users with limited functionality.
Paid tiers start at $1.5 per user per month. 30-day trial period.
Best for: Nonprofits, small, medium, and large companies.
Overview: actiPLANS is a leave & absence management tool that allows you to request leaves, inform your team about your absence, and see who is absent today.
With this web-based software, you can request, review, and approve time off in a few clicks, view who is absent, and when they are going to get back to work. After you are all set with PTO calculation setup, actiPLANS automatically updates paid-time-off and sick-days balances and displays the data on your dashboard.
The main dashboard shows your schedule where you can request vacations, time offs, sick leaves and assign other custom statuses. It also displays your colleagues’ schedules so that you can see if they are absent today, working remotely and more. And finally, you can see the PTO balance as of today or any future date of your choice.
Integrations: actiTIME — time tracking and project management tool.
Deployment: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
Calamari
Price: Starting at $10 per month per up to 10 employees for all features.
Best for: Small, medium and large companies.
Overview: Calamari is an online time-off manager that allows you to automate PTO calculation in your company.
Automate your leave management processes in accordance with your PTO policy. The software allows you to set up a multi-level approval process to meet the needs of medium companies and corporations. Using shared calendars, you can track employees’ vacations, days off, and remote work. Synchronize time-off requests with G Suite Calendar, Office 365, iOS, Apple, and others.
Integrations: JIRA, Slack, Office 365, G Suite, Basecamp, and Asana.
Deployment: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
AttendanceBot
Price: Free for teams with up to five users.
Paid tiers start at $2 per user per month with basic leave management features.
Best for: Nonprofits, small and medium companies.
Overview: AttendanceBot is attendance and leave management system for Slack, MS Teams, and Hangouts Chat.
Apply for leaves, remote working, WFH, and others. Customize the approval workflow, leave quotas and holidays according to your company policy. Invite AttendanceBot to your team’s chats and get automatic notifications in the morning and evening so that everyone can plan their days. Get summaries for the team’s leaves and download Excel reports.
Integrations: Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook calendar, Apple Calendar, and more.
Deployment: Web-based.
Leave Dates
Price: Free for teams with up to five users.
Paid tiers start at $1 per user per month.
Best for: Nonprofits, small and medium companies.
Overview: Leave Dates is a leave management system software.
Leave Dates allows you to configure allowances, leave types, and working schedules according to the company’s needs. It supports automated requests and approvals, so you need to take action when you are notified of something in your queue. Import public holidays from over 100 countries around the world to save time on manual setup.
Integrations: Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook 365, and more.
Deployment: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
Kissflow HR Cloud
Price: Starting at $690 per month for up to 100 users.
Best for: Medium and large companies.
Overview: Kissflow’s HR Cloud is an HR software and leave management tool.
HR Cloud allows managers to record, monitor, and manage leave requests using automated validations, balance updates and visual reports. Managers can also create custom leave policies and set up a time-off process. The mobile apps allow them to manage leave requests from any place on the go. Integrate with payroll systems to sync the data and automate the leave management and payroll calculation processes.
Integrations: QuickBooks, Salesforce, Dropbox, and more.
Deployment: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
ADP Workforce Now
Price: Contact the company.
Best for: Small and medium companies.
Overview: ADP Workforce Now is human capital management (HCM) software for companies with more than 50 employees.
Primarily, it offers time and attendance record keeping and payroll, but also suits for recruitment, performance evaluation and goal tracking needs. The software maintains accurate compliance with federal, state and local taxes, which relieves the pressure from the company. ADP recently started virtual assistance in real-time to troubleshoot or answer any questions, which is super helpful.
Integrations: QuickBooks, Wave, Xero, FinancialForce, TSheets, and more.
Deployment: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
Kronos Workforce Central
Price: Contact the company.
Best for: Medium and large companies.
Overview: Workforce Central suite includes Workforce Absence Manager solution that allows you to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. It also lessens the administrative burden of complying with state or municipality sick-leave regulations.
Your employees can view their accruals online via their mobile or tablet devices, and request time off on their own, freeing supervisors and HR and payroll staff members from having to respond to these common inquiries. Once a time-off request is approved, the data is automatically recorded and applied to update the employee’s online schedule — increasing visibility into team coverage requirements.
Integrations: No information.
Deployment: Web-based, Android, and iOS.
HRnest

Best for: Small and medium companies.
Overview: HRnest is a Human Resources software with absence tracking support.
If offers easy leave request submissions and approvals, notifications, and customizable workflow. Work schedules display employees’ leaves so that employees can plan their absences accordingly, and managers — stay up-to-date. Generate reports on leave requests or leave use for a given time. Employees have access to their unused leaves and can easily keep track of their PTO balance.
Integrations: Slack, iCal, SAP, Google Calendar, and more.
Deployment: Web-based.
Vacation Tracker
Price: Starting at $25 per month.
Best for: Small and medium companies.
Overview: Vacation Tracker is a leave management system for Slack.
The tool allows you to book leaves and approve leaves in Slack, while daily and weekly notifications keep the team informed about scheduled leaves. Manage active and inactive users, customize their profiles, generate and export leave reports in CSV format. Use Administrator Dashboard to approve or deny requests, set Leave Types, manage notifications, and customize all settings.
Integrations: Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal.
Deployment: Web-based.
To Automate or Not to Automate
Of course, it’s up to you, but we think it’s out of the question. Old-school spreadsheets and manual leave management are time-consuming and prone to human error. Leave management software is a real time-saver that allows your HR team to automate their daily routines and devote time to the things that software can not handle.
Originally published at https://www.actiplans.com.