How time off accruals work
Understand how fixed grants and earned accruals add time, how caps limit automatic earning, and what carries over at renewal.
Each time off type can grow a balance over time through an accrual policy. This page explains how the policies behave so you can pick the right one; the form where you configure them is on the Time Off Types page, and the balances they produce are on Time Off Balances.
Clockspot updates accruals when balances are read or time off changes. Due grants keep their effective dates, even when they are recorded later. There's nothing to run manually.
The methods
- No accrual — stop automatic earning under this rule. Previously earned time, manual adjustments, and recorded time off remain in the balance history.
- Annual — grant the year's hours at once when the employee becomes eligible, then at each accrual-year boundary. Prorate first year reduces a partial first-year grant based on the remaining months.
- Each pay period — split Hours per year across Weekly, Biweekly, Semi-monthly, or Monthly periods.
- Hours worked — earn a set amount of time off for a set amount of recorded work. Earning is calculated by work date in the saved PTO calendar, including completed work so far. Fractions carry forward until a whole minute is earned.
Accrual year starts anchors the year to either Calendar year (January 1) or the employee's Hire date anniversary. Waiting period in days delays automatic earning after hire; it does not remove an existing balance or prevent a manual adjustment.
Caps and limits
All optional, set under Limits on the time off type:
- Max balance — limits automatic earning. Once the balance reaches this amount, no more time is earned until the balance drops below it. A dated manual grant can put the balance above this amount without changing the earning rule.
- Max accrual per year — caps automatically earned time within the accrual year, independently of Max balance. Manual adjustments do not count as earned accruals.
- Max usage per year — caps how much can be taken in one year.
- Max negative balance — how far available time may go below zero when recording time off. Leave it empty for no negative-balance limit, set 0 to prevent spending below zero, or enter the permitted negative hours.
An individual balance adjustment is useful for a starting balance, correction, or one-off grant. For example, an employee at an 80-hour earning cap can receive an extra 8-hour manual grant and have 88 hours. The 80-hour earning cap stays in place, so automatic earning pauses until the balance falls below it. Carryover and usage limits still apply separately.
Carryover at year-end
When a new accrual year begins, the balance carries forward — capped by Max carryover. Anything above the cap is forfeited.
Escalating by tenure
Milestones change the annual rate after a length of service — for example, 80 hours a year to start, rising to 120 after three years. The applicable rate is used on each grant date. Milestones apply to Annual and Each pay period; Hours worked uses its saved earning rate.
Changing a rule
An earning-rule change applies from its Effective date. Open View policy history on the time off type to see earlier and scheduled rules. Stopping automatic earning preserves time already earned.
Changing a rule does not itself issue an extra grant. Future earning follows the applicable grant dates or recorded work.
A backdated rule or a correction to recorded work can change the affected accruals. Balance activity keeps the earlier entries and adds reversals and replacement amounts. Manual adjustments and recorded time off remain part of that history.
Watching it happen
Open Time Off Balances to see available time and its accruals, usage, carryover, and adjustments. Employees can check their own balance on My Time Off. A next scheduled grant is shown when its date can be determined; future earning from hours worked depends on the work recorded.
Common questions
- Which method should I use for sick time that accrues as people work?
Choose Hours worked and set Hours earned and Per hours worked. The balance grows with recorded work, so this suits employees with variable schedules.
- If I change a rule, do past balances recalculate?
A saved rule applies from its effective date. Backdated changes and corrected work can recalculate affected accruals, while balance activity retains the earlier entries, reversals, and replacements.
- What's the difference between Max balance and Max accrual per year?
Max balance pauses automatic earning when the balance is full. Max accrual per year limits automatically earned time within the accrual year even when the balance has room. Manual adjustments can exceed either earning limit.
- Can I grant extra vacation to someone who is already at the cap?
Yes. A dated manual balance adjustment can add the extra hours without changing the earning rule. Automatic earning stays capped, and carryover and usage limits still apply.
Clockspot keeps clock-ins, corrections, approvals, and payroll-ready hours connected so owners and managers can review the workweek before payroll.
Want to simplify how your employees track time? See how Clockspot works.