# 4 Best Free Leave Management Systems | Capterra > Looking for leave management software for your business? Check out these four free leave management systems that can help you manage time off and leave effectively. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/top-free-leave-management-systems --- HR BasicsHuman Resources # 4 Best Free Leave Management Systems By Shephalii Kapoor Shephalii Kapoor Writer Experience I’ve been writing for Capterra since September 2021, providing expert insights to help small businesses find the right software solutions. ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/skapoor/) Published November 23, 2022 7 min read ## A leave management system automates the leave approval process. Despite being one of the most critical human resource (HR) responsibilities, leave management can be challenging for HR partners and line managers alike. Inefficient tracking of accrued leave, setting up leave policies, managing compliance, and informing the employees about their available leave balances are some common challenges associated with the process. One smart way to deal with all these issues effectively is to replace the manual processes with a leave management system. [Leave management software](https://www.capterra.com/leave-management-system-software/) helps streamline the leave approval workflow, thereby making it easier for employees to apply for leave and for managers to approve or decline leave requests. The software provides users access to employee data, including leave balance, accruals, and special leave requests, if any. While there are several paid leave management solutions available in the market, there are plenty of free tools as well that can help you assess the features of this technology. If you are a small business looking for a leave management tool on a budget, these can be the right fit for you. This article highlights the four best free leave management software solutions (listed alphabetically) based on user reviews and ratings. ([Read how we selected these products](#methodology)). Check out the complete list of leave management solutions in Capterra’s software directory. [](https://www.capterra.com/leave-management-system-software/) ## 1\. Connecteam: Offers PTO template for drafting policy [Connecteam](https://www.capterra.com/p/153140/Connecteam/) is a workforce management app that features an absence tracker to help users manage all kinds of leave, such as paid time off (PTO), sick, and vacation leave. The employees simply need to mark the date and time for their absence on the app using the time clock feature, select a reason for the leave, and submit their requests. As a manager, you’re notified of the requested time off or absence via a notification on your dashboard. Connecteam features a template library, which includes a PTO template that helps you put in place a PTO policy for your business and specify details such as eligibility, accrual, and PTO reporting. The software also allows you to monitor employee breaks and set breaks or overtime rules in accordance with city, state, and federal laws. Connecteam offers a timesheet tab on the dashboard that allows you to gain visibility into employee time records, time-off requests, and staff absence requests. The cloud-based solution has a mobile app for both Android and iOS users. In case of assistance, you can reach the customer support team via phone, email, and chat. #### Key Features - Activity dashboard - Approval process control - Attendance tracking - Leave tracking - Templates - Time-off management #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $29 per month, billed annually #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots _Time clock feature in_ [_Connecteam_](https://www.capterra.com/p/153140/Connecteam/) \* Analysis Accurate as of July 2022 ## 2\. Freshteam: Create multiple leave policies [Freshteam](https://www.capterra.com/p/166825/Freshteam/) is a human resource software solution that allows users to create multiple leave and time-off policies. As an HR manager, you can create policies for different teams, departments, and locations. You can map holiday calendars to your policy and set individual rules, accrual frequency, and balance carryovers for each policy separately. The leave management tool features a team calendar that displays the availability of all the team members in a single place, which can help you plan a workday or workweek in advance. Freshteam allows you to set up calendars for employees across different countries and map individuals and teams to their respective holiday calendars. The platform features over 15 holiday calendar templates with access to fixed and optional holidays across different countries. All you need to do is modify these templates and add custom holidays to them by specifying the name and date. Freshteam also comes with a multi-purpose dashboard that enables managers and HR partners to approve or decline absence requests. The cloud-based tool has a mobile app for Android and iOS users. Freshteam offers customer support via phone, email, and chat. #### Key Features - Applicant tracking - Approval process control - Calendar management - Employee database - Leave policy management - Leave tracking #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $1.20 per user, per month (billed monthly) #### Device Compatibilty #### Screenshots _Leave management in_ [_Freshteam_](https://www.capterra.com/p/166825/Freshteam/) \* Analysis Accurate as of July 2022 ## 3\. Leave Dates: Import public holidays from over 100 countries [Leave Dates](https://www.capterra.com/p/190981/Leave-Dates/) is an online leave management system that allows users to plan leave and track staff-wise holidays, including planned vacations, maternity leave, annual leave, sick leave, and regular absence from work. The software features a virtual wall chart that gives users complete visibility of all their leave. By default, the wall chart displays the availability of all team members in a single place, including the leave that they have taken or booked. However, you can grant access permissions to people in each department for restricted viewing. As a Leave Dates user, you can configure leave allowances as per your company policy, carry over unused leave to next year, and even set up a carry-over policy. The platform also allows you to import holiday calendars from over 100 countries across the world and configure custom leave policies. Leave Dates sends push notifications to users, including managers and team members, upon receiving a new leave request, comments, and approvals. You can choose to receive these notifications via email as well. The cloud-based app integrates with several third-party applications, such as Slack, Google Calendar, Zapier, and Okta, which helps users to fit the system into their existing processes. Leave Dates has a mobile app for both Android and iOS users. It offers customer service support via phone, email, and chat. Best functionality #### Key Features - Approval process control - Calendar management - Employee scheduling - Leave policy management - Leave tracking - Self-service portal #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $1 per user, per month (billed monthly) #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of July 2022 ## 4\. Shiftbase: Accumulates vacation hours [Shiftbase](https://www.capterra.com/p/177706/ShiftTime/) is a workforce management solution that allows HR managers to monitor time-off requests, overtime hours, absence requests, and scheduling changes in real time. With Shiftbase, employees can raise absence requests and view current leave balance and vacation accrual on a mobile app. The software automatically forwards the leave requests for supervisor approval. By default, an employee can only request vacation leave. Other absence types, which include national holidays, unpaid leave, and long-term care leave, must be registered by the administrator. The software provides users with an overview of employee absence for a particular year, which includes the time-off balance, leave adjustments, and any pending leave requests from the employee. Shiftbase also provides you with an overview of accumulated vacation hours for employees, which are calculated automatically by the software based on the employee’s worked hours. The software integrates with several payroll software, point-of-sale (POS) solutions, and other third-party applications, such as AFAS, Exact Online, and Webfleet. The cloud-based tool has apps for both iOS and Android users. The solution offers customer support via phone, email, and chat. #### Key Features - Approval process control - Calendar management - Leave tracking - Mobile access - Time-off management - Timesheet management #### Trial/Free Version - Free Trial - Free Version #### Cost to upgrade $3 per user, per month #### Device Compatibilty \* Analysis Accurate as of July 2022 ## How to choose the right free leave management system Selecting the best leave management software can be tricky and challenging. However, these three parameters can help you shortlist products out of all the available options in the market. - **Look for auto-updates:** The leave management system that you finalize should be able to automatically record employee leave, update the leave balance, track employee leave history, and display it to both the employees and their supervisors. This will help save you time that you would otherwise invest in the manual computation of employees’ leave. - **Look for the ability to create personalized leave policies:** Not all businesses are similar when it comes to leave policies. In general, leave policies differ based on various factors, such as your business location, nature of employment, and applicable laws. A good leave management system allows users to create an effective leave policy by configuring various rules for workweeks, leave accrual, encashment, and balance proration while taking into account all the necessary state and central laws. - **Assess the leave reporting capabilities:** Leave reporting is important for both management and compliance. Before you select a free leave management tool, make sure that it can generate important reports, including availed leave, leave balance, leave encashment, and time-off reports. This will help you monitor employee attendance, absenteeism, and leave-taking patterns. ## Common questions to ask when choosing free leave management system Here is a list of some common questions that you can ask software providers before selecting the best free leave management app for your business. What are the available integration options? Before you finalize a free leave management tool for your business, make sure to ask the vendor about the list of integrations offered by the software. Ideally, a good leave management solution should integrate with your day-to-day work management tools, such as your timesheet management system and payroll software, to enable cross-functional reporting. What are the leave notification options? Automated notifications are important for efficient leave management. Therefore, an ideal leave management system should offer multiple ways, such as email and push notifications, to inform managers about a new leave request. Similarly, the employees should also be notified about their leave status via email. Does the software offer an all-in-one dashboard? Before shortlisting the free leave management app, make sure that it offers an intuitive dashboard that allows you to check employee leave balance, holiday lists, department schedules, and time-off requests all in one place. ## How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did To find your ideal software match, you need information you can trust so you can save time, stay on budget, and focus more energy on growing your business. It’s why we vet and verify all our user reviews and recommend only the tools endorsed by people like you. In other words, our product recommendations are never bought or sold, or based on the opinion of a single individual—they’re chosen by your peers, reflecting the views and experiences of our independent base of software reviewers. ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * _​​At Capterra, we objectively select and rank products based on a methodology developed by our research team. Some vendors pay us when they receive web traffic, but this has no influence on our methodology._ To be considered for this list, products have to: 1. Have at least 20 unique product reviews published on Capterra within the past two years, with an average rating of 3.0 or higher (as of August 5, 2022). We selected four products with the highest ratings to feature in this article. 2. Offer a free, stand-alone version of the software—not a trial version you have to purchase after a certain amount of time to get the full experience. 3. Meet our definition of leave management system: “_Leave management system allows organizations to manage employee time off, setup leave policies, and automate leave requests approval.”_ The “best functionality” tool is identified based on the highest user ratings for functionality that a vendor received based on publicly available reviews (as of August 5, 2022). * * * Looking for Talent Management software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Talent Management software](https://www.capterra.com/talent-management-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Shephalii Kapoor](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/skapoor/) Shephalii Kapoor is a writer at Capterra. 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