SOURCE:    Vacation Tracker
TITLE:     Admin Training 4: Choose Who Approves Whose Leave With Departments (Email Only)
URL:       https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/admin-training-email-only-choose-who-approves-whose-leave-with-departments/
LANG:      en
PUBLISHED: 2026-10-23
UPDATED:   2026-10-23
READING:   2 min
SUMMARY:   Create Departments as approval groups, add Approvers, choose the approval flow and pick your default Department.
Admin Training 4: Choose Who Approves Whose Leave With Departments (Email Only)
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Last updated on October 23, 2026

Admin Training 4: Choose Who Approves Whose Leave With Departments (Email Only)

A Department is an approval group. When someone requests leave, the request goes to the Approver(s) of their Department.

Decide First

  • Which groups? Build Departments around who approves whose leave. They don't need to match your org chart.
  • Single-level or Multi-level Approval? With Single-level, one Approver signs off. With Multi-level, approvals happen in sequence, and any one Approver at each level can move the request forward. Multi-level is on the Complete plan only.
  • Should pending requests expire? If not kept open, requests expire after 7 working days or on the leave end date, whichever comes first.

Create the Department

  1. In the left-hand menu, under Team & Approval Flows, click Departments, then Create New Department.
  2. Enter a Name and, optionally, add Users.
  3. Under Approval Flow, choose the Approval Flow Type and add one or more Approver(s).
  4. Optionally, add email addresses under Notify Watcher(s) After Final Approval.
  5. Set Keep future pending requests open? to Yes or No.
  6. Choose whether to Make This Department Default. All new users are added to the default Department automatically.
  7. Click Create Department.
Create Department form showing Approval Flow Type, Approver(s) and Keep future pending requests open?
Subdepartments don't inherit
You can nest a Department under a parent, but each Department still needs its own Users, Approvers and settings.

Check It Worked

  • On the Departments page, every Department shows at least one Approver.
  • Open any user's profile. The Approvers line shows who will receive their requests.

Common Questions

Yes. An Approver can be assigned to multiple Departments.

No. Approver is set on the Department, so the person's Role stays the same.

What's Next?

Admin Training 5: Add Users and Assign Their Location and Department (Email Only) How Do I Set an Approver within Vacation Tracker? How To Set Up Multi-level Approvals?
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