Free Google Sheets PTO tracker template

What's in the template

Five tabs, with example rows for the fictional company NovaTech. Template updated 23 October 2026; nothing is locked.

• PTO log: one row per request, with employee, department, PTO type, dates, half day, status and notes. Type, half day and status are dropdowns, and Working days fills itself in with NETWORKDAYS, skipping weekends and the Holidays tab.
• Balances: one row per person. Type the yearly PTO allowance and any days carried over; taken, pending, remaining and sick days are SUMIFS formulas over approved rows in the current year.
• Holidays: US federal holidays for 2026 and 2027 as observed, from OPM. Swap in your company holiday calendar.
• Settings: the date your PTO year starts. Balances count requests starting in the 12 months from it.
• Lists: the PTO types and statuses behind the dropdowns.

How to set it up in 3 steps

1. Import it. In Google Sheets, File, Import, Upload, choose the file and Create new spreadsheet.
2. Set the year and holidays. On Settings, change the start date if your PTO year isn't the calendar year. Replace the Holidays tab with the days your company closes.
3. Add your team. Clear the NovaTech rows, type each person's name and allowance on Balances, and log requests with the name spelled the same way.

Example: Greta Vogel at NovaTech has 25 days and carried 2 over. If she books Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July 2026, Working days shows 4, not 5, because Friday 3 July is the observed Independence Day. Once the row says Approved, those 4 days come off her 27.

Sharing and privacy in Google Sheets

Sharing is what a sheet does well and where it goes wrong. Anyone with edit access can change any cell, including someone else's balance.

• Protect what people shouldn't touch. Data, Protect sheets and ranges: lock Balances, Holidays, Settings and Lists so only the owner edits them.
• Share view access, not edit. Collect requests by form or email and log them yourself, so one person owns the record.
• Keep sick leave off the shared view. Anyone who can see the file sees every row. Keep sick days in a separate, unshared copy and log them in the team sheet as plain PTO, or leave them out of the shared file.
• Record dates, not reasons. A diagnosis doesn't belong in the Notes column.

When to move off the shared sheet

• Accrual per pay period and carry-over that expires, without manual maths
• An approval workflow and a record of who approved what
• Private sick leave that colleagues see only as "Away"
• Several offices, each with its own holidays and PTO rules

Prefer Excel? The Excel leave tracker adds a month calendar and a custom weekend pattern. Writing the rules down first? Start from the PTO policy template.