Last updated on January 27, 2026
Can Users Request Their Accrued Leave in Advance?
Yes — Vacation Tracker has a setting that lets employees request leave using days they'll earn later in the year, not just what they've accrued so far. Flip one toggle on the leave policy and you're done.
How to Turn It On
The toggle sits inside the Accruals block of each leave policy. It only appears when an accrual type is set — if Accrual Type is None, the toggle isn't shown because there's nothing to request in advance.
- Sign in at app.vacationtracker.io.
- In the left-hand menu, expand Leave Setup and click Locations.
- On the Location you want to configure, click Edit Leave Policies.
- Find the leave policy you want to update and click the edit (pencil) icon on its row.
- Scroll to the Accruals section. If Accrual Type is None, switch it to Monthly, Semimonthly, Biweekly, or Weekly first — see How Do I Set Up and Configure Accruals if you haven't set accruals yet.
- Find Allow Requesting Accrual-based Leave In Advance and toggle it to Yes.
- Click Update at the bottom of the page to save.
What Changes for Users
Once the toggle is on, the leave request form stops blocking a request just because the employee doesn't have the balance today. Instead, the system projects how many days they'll have accrued by the leave's end date and accepts the request if that projected total is enough.
Common Questions
No — the toggle lives on a single leave policy (one Leave Type at one Location). You can allow it on Vacation and not on Sick Day, for example. Each policy's toggle is independent.
Check the Accrual Type dropdown at the top of the Accruals section. If it's set to None, the advance toggle is hidden — switch it to Monthly, Semimonthly, Biweekly, or Weekly and the toggle will appear below.
That's a policy call on your end — the app lets them book against projected accruals, but the real-world settlement (payback via paycheck, forgiven, etc.) is handled outside Vacation Tracker. Most teams only enable this for leave types where they trust the forecast, like Vacation under a stable accrual schedule.