Accrual rules that run themselves
PTO accrual software that matches your actual policy
Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or bi-weekly accrual, pro-rata for mid-year joiners, caps, carry-over with expiry and seniority tiers — modelled once, then applied automatically.
Most leave tools can store a number of days. The hard part is the accrual policy behind that number: how much is earned each period, how it pro-rates for someone who joins in March, what happens to the unused balance in December, and whether a five-year employee earns more than a new hire. Get any of that wrong in a spreadsheet and you only find out when someone disputes their balance.
Absenca lets you describe the accrual policy you actually run — the frequency, the cap, the carry-over expiry, the seniority steps — and then applies it to every employee, every period, without anyone re-calculating by hand. The balance an employee sees is the balance the policy produces.
Any accrual frequency
Accrue monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or per bi-weekly pay period — or grant the full entitlement up front. Set the rate per period and it credits on schedule.
Pro-rata, both ends
Mid-year joiners accrue from their start date and leavers stop on their last day, so nobody is over- or under-credited when they don't work a full year.
Caps & carry-over expiry
Set a maximum balance, cap how much rolls into the next leave year, and give carried-over days an expiry date — use-it-or-lose-it, enforced automatically.
Seniority tiers
Award more days as tenure grows — for example +1 day after 3 years, +2 after 5 — with the higher rate applied automatically when an employee crosses the threshold.
Model the policy once, apply it everywhere
You define an accrual policy in plain terms: an annual entitlement, how often it accrues, an optional cap, the carry-over rule and any seniority steps. Absenca turns that into a running balance for every employee the policy covers, recalculated as each period passes — so 1.67 days a month, or 6.5 days a quarter, simply appears in the right balance on the right date.
Different groups can have different policies. A full-time office team, part-timers on a pro-rated rate, and a senior cohort on a higher tier can all run side by side, each with the correct accrual, in the same organisation.
Carry-over and year-end without the panic
At the end of each office's leave year, Absenca applies your carry-over rule: roll everything over, cap it at a set number of days, or expire what isn't used. Carried days can be given their own expiry date, so the January-to-March 'use your remaining days' rule enforces itself instead of living in a reminder email.
Because each office can have its own leave-year start month, year-end happens on the right date for each location rather than forcing everyone onto one calendar.
Balances people can actually trust
Every balance shows accrued-to-date plus carry-over minus what's booked, so an employee can see not just a total but where it came from. When a request is approved, the balance updates immediately — there's no month-end reconciliation and no spreadsheet quietly drifting out of step with reality.
Half-day and hourly leave is handled in the same maths, so booking a morning off deducts the right fraction rather than rounding to a whole day.
Why teams choose Absenca
- Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or bi-weekly accrual
- Automatic pro-rata for mid-year joiners and leavers
- Balance caps and carry-over with expiry dates
- Seniority tiers that step up entitlement with tenure
- Per-office leave years so year-end lands on the right date
- Free for up to 15 people, then $0.75/user/month
Frequently asked questions
- What is PTO accrual software?
- It's software that earns paid time off for employees automatically according to your policy — crediting a set amount each period (monthly, quarterly, per pay period) and applying caps, carry-over and seniority rules — so balances stay correct without manual calculation.
- Which accrual frequencies does Absenca support?
- Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and bi-weekly (per pay period) accrual, as well as granting the full entitlement up front. You set the rate per period and Absenca credits it on schedule.
- How does it handle someone who joins mid-year?
- Accrual is pro-rated from the employee's start date, so a mid-year joiner earns the correct partial entitlement rather than a full year. Leavers stop accruing on their last day for the same reason.
- Can carried-over days expire?
- Yes. You can cap how many days roll into the next leave year and give carried-over days an expiry date, so a use-it-or-lose-it rule is enforced automatically rather than tracked by hand.
- Does it support more days for longer-serving staff?
- Yes — seniority tiers let you add days as tenure grows (for example +1 day after 3 years), and the higher accrual rate applies automatically once an employee crosses the threshold.
- Is there a free version?
- Yes — Absenca is free for up to 15 people with full accrual, carry-over and seniority support, then a flat $0.75 per user per month.