Free PTO tracking
spreadsheet.
A shared record of who’s away and who’s covering. Download the Excel template, add your team’s dates, and keep the handoff beside the request.
Free .xlsx file · No signup · 200 leave records
What is a PTO tracking spreadsheet?
A PTO tracking spreadsheet is a shared log of employee leave dates, approval status and covering teammates. Ample’s free Excel template holds 200 leave records and counts full weekdays, excluding entered holidays. It can be imported into Google Sheets; it does not calculate accrued balances or automatically approve leave.
One place for the dates and the details.
This PTO tracker is a leave log for teams that need a simple shared record. It calculates full weekdays between the start and end dates and keeps approval status, a covering teammate and handoff notes alongside each absence.
Best for Monday–Friday teams. Add your team’s holidays to exclude those dates. It does not calculate accrued balances, carryover, half-days or staffing coverage.
What’s in the PTO spreadsheet?
| Field | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Person and team | Keep one row per absence. Filter the table to find a person or team. |
| Start and end dates | Enter real spreadsheet dates, including the first and last day off. |
| Weekdays | A formula counts Monday–Friday, including both dates. Weekends and dates on the Holidays tab are excluded. |
| Holidays tab | Add up to 100 holiday or closure dates for the whole team. No holidays are prefilled. |
| Status | Choose Requested, Approved, Declined or Cancelled from the dropdown. |
| Cover and handoff | Name the covering teammate and link to a completed vacation handoff template. Confirm the teammate has agreed to cover; a name alone is not a handoff. |
| Review | Flags missing names, invalid dates, missing status or cover. It does not approve requests. |
A filled-in example, before you download.
Fictional example: Alex requests Friday, September 18 through Monday, September 21, 2026. Sam agrees to cover the support queue. Enter one row in the tracker:
| Person / team | Start | End | Weekdays | Status | Cover / handoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex / Support | Sep 18, 2026 | Sep 21, 2026 | 2 | Requested | Sam — check the support queue at 9am; escalate urgent issues to the team lead. |
With an empty Holidays tab, Friday and Monday count as two weekdays. If your company closes on September 21 and you add that date to Holidays, the result becomes one weekday. This is an example closure, not a public-holiday claim. Keep the status as Requested until your team confirms approval.
The workbook stays blank when you download it. Add your own records in the yellow cells; preserve the formula columns.
How to use the Excel PTO tracker
- Download and open the file. Use Excel to edit the .xlsx workbook.
- Add one absence per row. Fill the yellow cells. Leave the Weekdays and Review formulas in place.
- Check the schedule. Avoid duplicate or overlapping entries for the same person. The spreadsheet does not detect overlaps automatically.
- Agree on cover. Check each affected day with the PTO coverage planner, then confirm the covering owner and handoff before recording your team’s approval.
- Keep one shared copy. Share through your team’s file storage so everyone refers to the same record.
How are PTO days calculated?
The template uses NETWORKDAYS to count full Monday–Friday days between the start and end dates, inclusive, excluding dates you enter on the Holidays tab. With no holidays entered, a Friday-to-Monday absence counts as two weekdays. If that Monday is listed as a holiday, it counts as one. A Saturday-to-Sunday absence counts as zero.
Formula reference: Microsoft’s NETWORKDAYS documentation.
How do I add holidays?
Open the Holidays tab and enter each date, including its year, in the yellow Date column. You can add a name beside it. Use real spreadsheet dates and leave unused rows blank. The same list applies to all 200 leave records, so use separate workbooks for teams with different holiday calendars.
Can I use it for unlimited PTO?
Yes. The spreadsheet records time off without subtracting it from an allowance. Requested, approved, declined and cancelled absences stay distinct. For more on this approach, read our guide to tracking unlimited PTO.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes. We imported this workbook into Google Sheets and checked the weekday formulas, holiday exclusions, status dropdown, date formats and review prompts. Download the .xlsx file, upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. Save it as a Google Sheet if you want a native shared copy.
After importing, try a Friday-to-Monday request: it should show two weekdays with an empty Holidays tab, or one when that Monday is listed as a holiday. Clear the test row before adding your team’s requests.
When should we move beyond a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet works when your team can keep one record current and review coverage together. If that takes too much coordination, join Ample’s early-access list for a shared leave schedule, coverage reviews and handoffs. The free spreadsheet is available now without joining the list.
Prefer a monthly view? Use the free team vacation calendar to see overlapping absences and print the schedule.
Want the request and handoff forms too? Download the complete team time-off kit.