Vacation Tracker makes managing paid time off easier by bringing everything into Microsoft Teams. From requesting leave to setting holidays and keeping an eye on who’s off, it’s all just a few clicks away.
With so many teams already collaborating in Teams, bringing PTO management into the same platform helps reduce delays, eliminate miscommunication, and improve visibility across your organization.
This guide walks admins through the complete setup and use of Vacation Tracker within Teams.
Still choosing your approach? Compare five ways to manage leave in Microsoft Teams.
Watch: Vacation Tracker for Microsoft Teams Demo
Getting Started: Connecting Vacation Tracker to Microsoft Teams
To use Vacation Tracker in Teams, you’ll first need to sign up via our online dashboard using your Microsoft account. Once your account is set up, you can install the Vacation Tracker app directly in Microsoft Teams by heading to the Apps section in the left sidebar and searching for "Vacation Tracker." Click the "Add" button to install it.
This gives your team access to the bot and key tabs like Overview and Calendar and allows users to request and approve leave, check their balances, and view upcoming time off, all without leaving Teams.
Not sure how to set it up? Follow this step-by-step guide in our Helpdesk to connect Vacation Tracker to Microsoft Teams.
Using the Vacation Tracker Bot in Teams
Once installed, the bot can be accessed directly from the sidebar within Microsoft Teams. It has two main tabs: "My Profile" and "Request Leave," designed to help employees manage their time off efficiently.
My Profile Tab
The "My Profile" tab provides a personal summary of each employee’s PTO information. It includes a clear breakdown of:
- Remaining leave entitlements
- How much time off has already been taken
- Scheduled leave
This view also shows a list of upcoming public holidays, which can be location-specific, and includes access to the full Vacation Tracker dashboard via a convenient link at the top. This setup ensures employees have everything they need to keep track of their own leave without needing to ask HR.
Request Leave Tab
Employees can submit time-off requests in a few clicks. From the Request Leave tab, users select their desired leave type (vacation, sick, WFH, etc.), pick the relevant dates, and optionally include a reason for the request.
Other Ways to Request Leave
Leave can also be requested directly in the Teams chat. Typing “request leave” triggers a quick form to pop up. For those who prefer natural language, Vacation Tracker also supports AI-powered input. Phrases like “I want to take next Friday off” or “Can I get the first week of July as vacation?” will be understood and turned into formal requests.
Requesting Time Off in Lieu (TOIL)
Organizations that offer time off in lieu can also use Vacation Tracker to manage it. Employees simply enter “request TOIL” in the chat, and they’ll be guided through a process similar to a regular leave request. The tool automatically calculates entitlements and tracks TOIL balances just like any other leave type.
I love that it integrates directly with Microsoft Teams and Outlook so that employees can see everything in one application. - Capterra Review, 2023
Responding to Requests
Once a request is submitted, the assigned Approver receives a notification in Microsoft Teams. They can respond right away, choosing to approve or deny the request.
If the Approver doesn’t respond immediately, Vacation Tracker will send up to three reminders to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Once a decision is made, the employee is notified in real time.
If the request is approved, employees can choose to add the time off directly to their calendar. Additionally, Vacation Tracker will prompt users a few days before their scheduled leave to set an out-of-office message. A ready-to-use template is provided, but users can also create their own custom message.
Adding Vacation Tracker Tabs to a Teams Channel
For added team-wide visibility, Vacation Tracker lets you add dedicated tabs to any Teams channel. These tabs help managers and employees stay informed without needing to check the dashboard.
To add a tab, go to your desired Teams channel and click the "+" icon at the top. Search for "Vacation Tracker" and choose between two views: Overview or Calendar.
Overview Tab
The Overview tab gives a real-time snapshot of who’s currently out of the office, who has leave coming up, and which holidays are approaching. If you're an Admin or an Approver, you’ll also see a panel listing any pending leave requests that require your attention. This tab is great for maintaining situational awareness within your team.
Calendar Tab
The Calendar tab provides a visual overview of time off using a standard monthly calendar format. Each entry is color-coded by leave type, and filters allow users to narrow results by department, location, or labels.
Configuring Notifications in Teams
Vacation Tracker offers automated notifications that help teams stay aligned on who’s off and when.
Types of Notifications
There are two main notification types:
- Daily notifications: See scheduled leave for today and the next working day.
- Weekly notifications: See leave scheduled for the current or upcoming week.
These notifications can be especially useful for team leads and project managers who need to plan workloads and coverage.
Setting Up Notifications
Notifications are configured through the web dashboard and delivered directly to Microsoft Teams. To configure them, go to the “Notifications” section in the dashboard.
From here, you can:
- Choose how often notifications are sent
- Select what time of day they should be delivered
- Decide which Microsoft Teams channel should receive them
- Choose to filter by department, location, or label
- Customize other preferences, like grouping leaves by department or location
You can create multiple notification rules to suit different teams or office locations. For example, you can choose to send updates about Marketing’s time off only to your Marketing channel.
Feature Highlights
Vacation Tracker’s Microsoft Teams integration includes:
- Chat-based and tab-based leave requests
- Approvals managed directly in Teams
- Leave balances and history viewable at any time
- Daily and weekly notifications to Teams channels
- Calendar and Overview tabs for real-time visibility
- TOIL management
- Natural language processing for more intuitive requests
- Custom holidays and blackout dates
- Department and location-specific rules and approvers
Each feature is designed to help your team spend less time on admin tasks and more time focusing on their work.
Everything is accessible from our Teams workspace, which is a huge advantage. I can request leaves through the bot and access all leave-related information without logging into another site. Plus, the customer support team is super friendly and always here to help! - Capterra Review, 2023
Support and Next Steps
With Vacation Tracker fully embedded in Microsoft Teams, your team can manage PTO directly where they already communicate. No more email chains, just clear, centralized leave management with built-in accountability.
Getting started is easy: you can try Vacation Tracker’s full features free for 14 days. Microsoft Teams integration is included in all plans. Microsoft Teams integration is included in all plans. For help getting started, head to the Helpdesk or reach out to our support team to book a personalized setup session. If your team uses Slack or another tool, Vacation Tracker has integrations for those platforms too.
Manage leave across all your locations
Leave policies and public holidays for every office, state or country, in Microsoft Teams, Slack or Google Workspace.
