For managers
How to approve time off requests
Approve or deny from the app or from Slack, with the balance and who else is off in front of you before you decide.
Also on YouTube, where captions are available.
Step by step
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1
Open Approvals
Everything waiting on you is in Approvals. The count in the sidebar only ever shows requests you personally can action, never the whole company's queue.
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2
Read the context before deciding
Each request shows how much is being asked for, what the balance will be afterwards, and who else on the team is already off those days.
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3
Watch for the clash warning
If someone in the same department is already approved for overlapping dates, PTODesk tells you before you approve rather than after.
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4
Approve or deny
Approving deducts the balance and adds the dates to the team calendar. Denying deducts nothing at all. The employee is notified either way.
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5
Or do it from Slack
The Slack card carries the same numbers and approves with one tap, no login. Once decided, the buttons are removed so the same request cannot be approved twice from a stale message.
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6
Add a note when you deny
It goes to the employee with the decision and stays on the request. Ten seconds that saves a follow-up conversation.
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7
Everything is recorded
Who decided, when, and what the balance went from and to. That record is what you want if the request is ever questioned months later.
Common questions
Can more than one person approve?
Yes. Owners, admins and managers can all approve, and on the Team plan and above you can require a specific approver per department.
Does denying a request take anything off the balance?
No. Nothing is deducted at any point unless a request is approved. A pending request is shown as committed so it cannot be double-spent, but it is never deducted.
What happens if I approve the same request twice in Slack?
You cannot. The buttons are removed from the card the moment a decision is recorded, and the server rejects a second decision on an already-decided request.
Can I undo an approval?
Cancel the request and the deduction is reversed as a new ledger entry. The original entries are never edited, so the history stays honest.