Balances that behave like payroll: caps, carryover, tenure and part-timers handled for you. Free to download.

Track paid time off and sick leave for your whole team without HR software or macros. This ledger works out every employee's balance pay period by pay period, the way payroll does. Caps, carryover, tenure increases and waiting periods are all handled for you.

Who it’s for

Small business owners, office managers and "HR-of-one" teams with up to 25 people who need real accrual rules, not just a calendar of days off.

What it does

• Accrues PTO and sick leave separately, per employee, with a choice of method: per pay period, per hour worked (e.g. 1 hour for every 30 worked) or front-loaded
• Weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly pay schedules
• Maximum-balance caps that behave correctly: accrual pauses at the cap and starts again as soon as leave is taken, with hours "lost to cap" shown
• Tenure tiers (e.g. +16 h/year after 2 years, +40 h after 5) that start automatically after each work anniversary
• Waiting periods for new hires, end dates for leavers, opening balances and year-end carryover limits
• Time-off log that counts workdays for you (skips weekends and your holidays), with half-day overrides and Approved / Pending / Denied status
• Balances dashboard: balance at the last payday, earned and used year to date, approved leave still ahead, projected year-end balance, projected carryover and forfeit, and $ liability
• "Can they take it?" request checker: pick a person and dates and get a clear YES / NO, checked against the rest of the year so later bookings can't go negative
• Team calendar: month view of who's out, with a daily head-count that turns red when coverage drops below your minimum
• Status flags: negative balance, over-booked, at cap, near cap, will forfeit

What you get

1. PTO-Sick-Leave-Ledger.xlsx: the working spreadsheet (11 tabs, pre-filled with fictional sample data so you can see how it works)
2. PTO-Sick-Leave-Ledger-Guide.pdf: a 6-page step-by-step guide with a worked example and FAQ

Good to know

• Free instant download. Nothing will be shipped, and there's no sign-up.
• This is a record-keeping tool, not legal or payroll advice. Set your caps and carryover limits to match your written policy and local law.
• Free to use for yourself or within your business. Please don't resell it or re-host the file; share a link to the Tidewick page instead.

Compatibility

Tested in LibreOffice Calc (free for Windows, Mac and Linux). Every calculation was recalculated there and checked against an independent model across nine scenarios.

Other apps: not yet tested. The workbook has no macros and uses only standard functions (IF, INDEX, MATCH, COUNTIF/COUNTIFS, SUMIFS, NETWORKDAYS, DATEDIF, EDATE, EOMONTH, TEXT and similar). All of them appear in Microsoft's Excel function list (none are marked as newer than Excel 2010) and in Google's Sheets function list. That's a good sign, but it isn't a test, so we don't claim it works in Excel or Google Sheets yet.

Known limits. Google's help says Sheets conditional-formatting rules can't point at other tabs directly. Three colour highlights in this file do that: weekend/holiday shading and the red coverage alert on Team Calendar, and the red “unknown name” cell on Time Off Log. They may not show in Sheets; the numbers don't depend on them. Date text uses English month names. Phones and tablets haven't been tested.

How to use it

1. Download both files (the .xlsx and the PDF guide) from the product page on the Tidewick site.
2. Open the .xlsx in LibreOffice Calc (free), where it has been tested. Other spreadsheet apps haven't been tested yet; see Compatibility.
3. Clear the yellow sample cells on Employees, Hours Worked, Time Off Log and Holidays.
4. Settings: plan year start, pay frequency, first pay period end date, hours per workday, minimum staff on duty.
5. Employees: one row per person with accrual method, yearly hours or rate, cap, carryover limit and opening balance.
6. Log time off as it's approved. Check Balances, Planner and Team Calendar whenever you need them.

Questions

Do I need Excel?

No. It has been tested in LibreOffice Calc, which is free. It uses standard functions that Excel and Google Sheets also have, but it hasn't been tested in those apps yet.

Does it need macros?

No. It's formulas only, so there are no security prompts.

How many employees?

Up to 25, with 500 time-off entries per plan year. For bigger teams, use one copy per department.

My policy is "X hours per pay period", not per year.

Enter the yearly equivalent (X × pay periods per year), or use "Per hour worked" with a rate.

Can it handle part-timers?

Yes. Use "Per hour worked" and enter hours on the Hours Worked tab (blank = standard hours).

What happens at year end?

Balances shows each person's projected carryover and forfeit. Start a new copy and enter the carryover as the opening balance.

Can I track unpaid leave or WFH?

Yes. Log them as "Unpaid" or "Other". They show on the calendar but aren't deducted from PTO or sick balances.

Does it cost anything?

No. It's a free download with no sign-up.