Module · Leave

Where to find it in the app

Use it: Time & pay → Time off & shifts

Turn it on/off: your business name (top-left) → Settings → Modules → Time & pay → Leave

Plan: Solo and Business · Module group: Your team · Navigation: Time & pay → Time off & shifts (Leave tab)

1. Overview

Purpose. Staff request time off on a calendar; managers approve it and see who's away at a glance. Approved leave automatically blocks bookings for that person, so you can't be booked when someone's off. Optional leave balances give an indicative view of how much leave each person has left.

Important, balances are indicative only. HappierBiz leave balances are a convenience view, not payroll and not Single Touch Payroll (STP). Your payroll system (e.g. Xero) remains the source of truth for entitlements and accruals.

2. When to use it

For staff to request annual, personal/carer's, parental or other leave.
For managers to approve time off and keep the roster/bookings honest.

3. Required permissions

Request leave & track their own (leave.view).
See the whole team's leave (who's off) (leave.view_team).
Approve leave & edit leave types (leave.approve).

4. Navigation path

Time & pay → Time off & shifts (Leave tab)

5. What you'll see

A header that adapts to your role: approvers get "Book time off, approve requests and see who's away"; staff get "Request time off and track your leave."
Your leave balance cards (if balances are enabled), current balance and yearly entitlement per leave type, shown as indicative.
A To approve section for managers (pending requests awaiting them).
Your leave, your own requests and their status.
A who's away view across the team.
A settings panel (approvers) for leave types, balances and employment.

6. Turning it on

Settings → Modules → Your team → Leave. Set up your leave types (AU defaults like Annual and Personal/Carer's are seeded and editable) and, if you want balances, the entitlements per employment type.

7. Step-by-step tasks

7a. Request leave (staff)

Open Time & pay → Time off & shifts and pick the Leave tab.
Choose the leave type and the dates. For a part-day, set custom hours.
Submit. If balances are on, you'll see a projection of your balance after the request.
The request goes to a manager and shows as pending.

7b. Approve / decline (manager)

In To approve, open a pending request.
Review the dates and the requester's projected balance.
Approve or decline. Approved leave blocks that person from bookings for those dates/times and shows in who's away.

Two-step sign-off (optional). If your business has turned on two-step approvals, a leave request takes two approvals: the requester's direct manager confirms the time off first, then a Payroll Officer signs it off (any time-in-lieu draw happens at that final step). A request part-way through carries a "Payroll sign-off" tag and stays in the list until payroll releases it. See Approvals & payroll sign-off. With it off (the default), approving leave is a single decision.

7c. Manage leave types & balances (approver)

Open the settings panel on the Leave screen.
Add/rename leave types, set balance behaviour (unit, hours per day) and per-employment entitlements.

8. Examples

Beginner: a casual requests a single day off; the manager approves it and that day is no longer bookable for them.
Real-world (salon): a stylist books a week's annual leave; their column on the roster/calendar is blocked and reception can't book clients with them.
Advanced: an approver configures separate entitlements for full-time vs part-time staff so balance projections are realistic, while reminding the team that Xero remains the payroll source of truth.

9. Reports & exports

The who's away view and per-person balances (indicative) are the at-a- glance reports. Pending approvals also appear in the notifications bell. From the team leave directory you can also Export CSV of the leave requests you're looking at, filtered by status, type and year (name, type, dates, duration, status, paid/unpaid and reason).

10. Common mistakes

Treating balances as payroll, they're indicative; reconcile with your payroll system.
Approving leave that clashes with bookings, check the person isn't already booked; approved leave blocks new bookings but won't auto-cancel existing ones.
No leave types set up, staff can't categorise requests; seed your types first.

11. Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Leave doesn't block bookings	Confirm the request is approved (pending leave doesn't block).
A staff member can't request leave	They need Request leave & track their own, and the module on.
A staff member can't see who else is off	Give them See the whole team's leave (who's off).
Balances look wrong	They're indicative and depend on the entitlements you set, your payroll system is authoritative.
Can't edit leave types	That needs Approve leave & edit leave types.

12. Error messages

Requests and approvals confirm inline. Balance projections show whether a request leaves enough balance, as guidance only.