SOURCE:    Vacation Tracker
TITLE:     Admin Training 3: Decide What Time Off People Get With Leave Types and Policies (Email Only)
URL:       https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/admin-training-email-only-decide-what-time-off-people-get-with-leave-types-and-policies/
LANG:      en
PUBLISHED: 2026-10-23
UPDATED:   2026-10-23
READING:   2 min
SUMMARY:   Create each Leave Type once, then give each Location a Leave Policy with its own quota and rules.

# Admin Training 3: Decide What Time Off People Get With Leave Types and Policies (Email Only)

# Admin Training 3: Decide What Time Off People Get With Leave Types and Policies (Email Only)

A Leave Type is a kind of leave, like Paid Time Off or Sick Day. A Leave Policy decides how that leave works in one Location. Create each type once, then give each Location its own policy.

## Decide First

For each Leave Type in each Location, decide:

- How much: a yearly quota, or unlimited.

- How it's earned: all at once, or accrued over the year (monthly, semimonthly, biweekly or weekly).

- Approval: whether requests need an Approver.

- Unused days: whether they carry over to next year (Brought Forward).

- Smallest request: full day, half day, or shorter.

Start with quota, approval and smallest request. Turn on accruals or Brought Forward only if your leave policy has them.

## Create the Leave Type

- In the left-hand menu, under Leave Setup, click Leave Types, then Create a Leave Type.

- Enter a Name, pick a Color, and choose how the leave shows in calendars (for example, Busy).

- Click Next. If a similar Leave Type already exists, Vacation Tracker suggests using it in more Locations instead. Click Yes, I want to create leave type only if you need a separate type.

- Under Assign to Locations, choose the Locations that offer this leave, fill in the Leave Policy (at least the Yearly Leave Quota) and click Create And Assign.

Accruals and TOIL come later

You can't turn on Accruals or Time Off In Lieu while creating a Leave Type. Turn them on afterwards in the Leave Policy for a specific Location.

To add an existing Leave Type to another Location later, open the Location, go to Leave Policies, and click Assign Leave Policy.

![Create Leave Type dialog with Name, Color and the calendar Busy setting](https://cms.vacationtracker.io/uploads/admin_training_email_only_decide_what_time_off_people_get_with_leave_types_and_policies_1_960108b806_2f883d36bf.png)

## Set the Policy

The main settings on a Leave Policy:

- Yearly Leave Quota or Unlimited Quota

- Approval Required

- Shortest Leave Duration

- Accruals and Brought Forward Settings

- Allow Negative Balance, Reason Required, Edit & Request Leaves In The Past and Hide Leave Type

- Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)

![Edit Leave Policy page for one Location, showing Approval Required, Yearly Leave Quota and Shortest Leave Duration](https://cms.vacationtracker.io/uploads/admin_training_email_only_decide_what_time_off_people_get_with_leave_types_and_policies_2_446c0b55f6_5956687c34.png)

Same type, different rules

One Leave Type can work differently in each Location. For example, Paid Time Off can be 10 days a year in half days in one Location, and 15 days a year in 15-minute steps in another.

## Check It Worked

Go to Leave Setup > Leave Policies and filter by Location. Every leave type that Location offers should be listed and switched on, with the right Yearly Leave Quota, Approval Required and Shortest Leave Duration.

## Common Questions

Why can't my team see a Leave Type?Check that their Location has a Leave Policy for it and that the policy is switched on in Leave Policies.

Why can't I choose half days?Half-day leave is only available when the Location's workday is 8 hours.

### What's Next?

Admin Training 4: Choose Who Approves Whose Leave With Departments (Email Only) (https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/admin-training-email-only-choose-who-approves-whose-leave-with-departments/)
How Do I Create and Configure Leave Policies? (https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/how-do-i-create-and-configure-leave-policies/)
How Can I Create and Configure Leave Types? (https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/how-can-i-create-and-configure-leave-types/)

Need help?

Contact our Support team via email (mailto:hello@vacationtracker.io) or chat (#), Monday to Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM EST.