Top leave management software
Nov 8, 2022
Leave management software is the cornerstone of any people-centric organisation, we think. When you start, spreadsheets and brief emails work decently enough. But relying on spreadsheets and email chains create many hoops for teammates to jump through just to take a holiday. No one should be penalised for taking a break, right? And yet, that's the tone set by these hacky approaches. So if you have your heart set on productivity and growth (don't we all?), you need proper leave management software.
That's easier said than done because organisations are pretty much spoilt for choice in this department. There are tonnes of features, a range of prices, and levels of customisation and transparency that can confuse even the stout-hearted.
From our experience building for leave management software users like you, here's what you ideally should prioritise:
Employee-self-service: to allow teammates to manage their time off and leave balances without HR needing to step in
Simple application and approval processes: To apply for and approve time off as soon as needed and without the process taking weeks
Multiple leave types: To account for the various legal and situational circumstances during which someone might need time off
Real-time leave tracking: To ensure up-to-date information that enables better capacity planning
Workspace integrations: To connect leave management software with popular workspace tools including Slack and Google Calendar
Top leave management software to consider
Pause
Ideal for: Startups, agencies, remote teams
Pause helps you manage time off in the easiest way possible and automates much of the process, so you have your hands free. While perfect for startups, agencies, and remote teams, Pause is also used by larger teams, who value the tool's transparency and seamless communication.
Pause has all the high-priority leave management software features we talked about above, and then some:
Three-step application and approval processes
Colour-coded calendar and table views to see teammates' leave bookings
All Hands feature to lock critical dates when you need all hands on deck
Leave summary notifications on Slack for better planning
Google Calendar integration that auto-declines meeting invites during leave periods
Clear leave policies that guide employees while taking time off
Automatically calculated leave balances that teammates can see for themselves
Data exports to manage payroll and other HR processes
Birthday and work anniversary notifications to celebrate important days
Pause is super customisable. Set custom workweeks, change leave cycles, create personalised leave types, even divide employees into teams to make leave management easier. We're proud to say that our support service is also considered top-notch — simply open up a fresh chat and you'll be talking to a teammate in minutes!
Pause offers a free trial with no credit card details required. At $1 per user per month after that, Pause is considered one of the most affordable options. It also offers discounts for non-profits! For context, here is the pricing of other options:
Vacation Tracker
Ideal for: Slack-based small to mid-sized companies
Vacation Tracker helps you eliminate paper and spreadsheets as well, making leave management easier. You can set up custom notifications for upcoming leave bookings; administrators can get a comprehensive overview through the Administrator dashboard.
Vacation Tracker also has integrations for Slack, Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams making it simpler to manage time off from where you do work.
You get a 14-day free trial when you choose this leave management software. After that, the pricing is $25/month for 50 employees or less. They also have custom pricing for enterprises which includes everything in their core plan and more.
Calamari
Ideal for: companies needing both attendance and absence management
Calamari is a cloud-based people management software that integrates with a whole host of tools: Slack, JIRA, Office 365, Google Workspace, Basecamp, and Asana. The tool serves two main purposes, which are clock in/clock out management and leave management. Depending on which one you need, you can select that plan. It supports languages other than English, including German, Polish, French and Spanish.
The leave management software side of Calamari costs $2 per person per month when billed monthly, and $1.7 per employee per month when billed annually. The clock in/clock out package costs $2.5 per user on a monthly plan and $2 on a yearly plan. They offer a 14-day free trial to help you get started.
sumHR
Ideal for: Large organisations looking for HR suites
Some larger teams want more than leave management software; they want the whole HR shebang. SumHR is that kind of HR suite. Along with tracking attendance and time off, their employee experience platform allows HR to:
automate payroll and expense claims
use biometric devices
manage GPS-based attendance
streamline onboarding and exits
recruit candidates
organise HR operations, and
review performance and OKRs. Phew!
Their pricing reflects their extensive suite of features. The basic plan, which includes leave management and payroll, costs $3 per month per person. However, adding on features like recruitment and OKR tracking costs extra. They also charge a one-time setup fee when you sign up. All of this might prove to be expensive for small to mid-sized companies, but affordable for large ones with over 1000 employees.
GreytHR
Ideal for: Large organisations and those looking for HR suites
GreytHR automates several HR processes including leave management, making it more than just a leave management software. Their list of features includes:
Payroll processing
Attendance management
Employee lifecycle management
Guidance for HR and payroll managers
Employee self-service portal
If you have less than 25 employees, you can get started on GreytHR for free, with access to limited features. However, their more extensive plans cost upwards of $0.3/ month/ employee with a minimum $20/month cost. However, you do get a 7-day free trial to take these plans for a spin. Small to mid-sized companies may not need all of these features — but for the ones that do, this leave management software is worth giving a shot.
The bottom line
Whatever leave management software you decide to spring for, the bottom line is that having a streamlined, automated process is a must for happy teams. After all, you want everyone to focus on being their productive best, not feeling guilty over breaks and struggling with complicated processes, right?
All these software are poised to help you achieve that. However, it's essential to look carefully at what level of complexity, pricing, and number of features suits your organisation.
If you've decided to go with Pause after all that reading, we're so glad! We'd love to have you onboard and help you build happy and engaged teams.
You can book a demo with our team here or jump straight into your free trial. Happy Pausing!
