Usage

Welcome to BookYourPTO Cloud. Follow this guide to create your organization, manage users, and configure leave policies.

First Time Setup

Create Your Organization

1. Navigate to https://app.bookyourpto.com
2. Click Register to create the first administrator account
3. Fill in your organization details:
   • Organization name
   • Admin email and password
   • Time zone and country (for holiday detection)

Configure Leave Types

BookYourPTO includes 24 built-in leave types, including:

• Annual Leave
• Sick Leave
• Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Unpaid Leave
• Remote Work Days
• Custom leave types

Navigate to Settings > Leave Types to enable, disable, or customize leave types for your organization.

Managing Users

Adding Users

Users are added one at a time:

1. Go to Users > Add User
2. Enter employee details (name, email, department, role)
3. Set initial leave balance
4. Click Create User

Moving from another HR system? Import your whole team at once instead — see Data Import & Migration.

User Roles

BookYourPTO has four roles:

• Employee: Can request leave and view their own records
• Department Head: Can approve requests for their own department
• Administrator: Full system access including organization settings
• Executive: Everything an administrator can do, plus audit and sign-in logs, branding, and deleting the organization

See Roles & Permissions for the full matrix.

Leave Management

Requesting Time Off

Employees can submit leave requests by:

1. Navigating to Calendar or Dashboard
2. Clicking Request Leave
3. Selecting leave type, dates, and duration (full, half, or quarter-day)
4. Adding optional notes
5. Submitting for approval

Approvals

Approval is a single step. A request is actioned by someone with the isApprover flag, or by a department head, administrator, or executive — there is no multi-level approval chain to configure.

See Leave Approvals for how the queue works.

Balance Tracking

Leave balances are automatically calculated based on:

• Accrual schedules: Monthly, yearly, or custom
• Carry-forward policies: How unused leave transfers to next year
• Expiry rules: When unused leave expires

Configure carry-forward in Settings > Carry Forward, and per-type accrual and expiry rules in Settings > Leave Types. See Carry Forward and Leave Balances.

Calendar Integration

Connect Google Calendar

1. Go to Settings > Connected Apps
2. Click Connect Google Calendar
3. Authorize BookYourPTO to access your calendar
4. Approved leave will automatically sync as calendar events

Connect Outlook

1. Go to Settings > Connected Apps
2. Click Connect Outlook
3. Sign in with your Microsoft account
4. Calendar events will be created for approved leave

Branding & White-Labeling

Customize your organization's appearance:

1. Go to Settings > Branding
2. Upload custom logos (light and dark mode)
3. Configure custom domain (requires DNS setup)

Reporting and Analytics

Generate Reports

Access reports from Reports section:

• Leave balance reports (by department, user, or leave type)
• Approval history and audit trails
• Team availability forecasts
• Trend analysis (peak leave periods)

Export Options

Reports export as CSV (for Excel or Google Sheets) and PDF (for printing or sharing). See Reports for what each tab offers.

Email Notifications

Notification Types

BookYourPTO sends automated emails for:

• Leave request submissions, approvals, rejections, and cancellations
• Approval requests waiting on you
• Low leave balance warnings and carry-over expiry
• Upcoming leave reminders
• Expense, document, training, and onboarding activity

Configure SMTP and email settings in Settings > Email. See Notifications for the full list of what triggers a message.

Security Best Practices

Access Control

• Review user roles quarterly
• Disable inactive user accounts
• Enable two-factor authentication — see Two-Factor & Devices
• Monitor audit logs for suspicious activity

Data Retention

Review audit and sign-in logs under Settings > Security & Compliance. For how long records are kept, and for GDPR data export and account deletion, see Account Deletion & Privacy.

Getting Help

• Documentation: Browse this documentation site
• In-app help: Use the help option inside BookYourPTO, or contact your organization's administrator
• Support: Open a ticket from Settings > Support, or email support@bookyourpto.com