Set up leave types and PTO balances (W-2)

W-2 staff leave runs on per-type balances. You define leave types with an earning policy, staff request leave against them, and approving a request deducts the hours, with a hard stop if the balance doesn't cover it. Every balance change is recorded in a ledger, so there's always an answer to "why is my balance what it is?"

Step by step

1. 1Open Settings and find the Leave Types card to create your types (for example PTO, Sick, Unpaid).
2. 2For each type, choose whether it tracks a balance. Untracked types (like unpaid leave) skip balances entirely and work as simple approve-or-deny requests.
3. 3For tracked types, pick how hours are earned: "Manually" (admin adjustments only), "Yearly grant" (a set number of hours each year), or "As you work" (accrual per hours on approved timecards).
4. 4Set the year-end policy: carry unused hours over (optionally capped) or reset them, and decide whether the balance may go negative.
5. 5Review requests on the Leave page: each pending request shows the projected remaining balance, and Approve is disabled when the balance can't cover it (unless the type allows negative).
6. 6Adjust an individual's balance from their roster slide-over's Leave Balances section: enter the hours and a reason, and the change lands in their ledger.
7. 7If a person has an old lump-sum PTO balance from before leave types, use Convert in the same section to move it onto a typed balance.