Introduction to annual vacation earnning
This article explains how to set up a vacation policy with annual earning in BitaBIZ.
The article describes:
how the policy is set up
how earning works
which rules may affect vacation planning
how vacation is handled in the calendar and integrations
This article describes the general functionality in BitaBIZ.
If your company follows specific national vacation regulations, you should also follow the relevant country-specific article.
Other leave that is managed via an additional leave balance (e.g. additional vacation days, the 6th week of vacation, and care days) is set up separately from vacation. Read more about additional leave balance here.
Annual earning
With annual earning, all vacation days are allocated at once at the start of the vacation year.
This means:
Employees receive their full vacation balance in one go
There is no ongoing earning during the year
The balance is reduced as vacation is taken
Example:
If the policy grants 25 vacation days per year, all 25 days are allocated at the start of the vacation year.
Set up annual earning on a policy
The earning rule is selected in the policy and applies to all employees assigned to it.
Go to Setup Admin
Select Modules
Click Create new policy or Edit an existing one
Open the Vacation tab
Find the Earning section
Then select: Earning method → Annual earning
Earning settings
When annual earning is selected, the following settings can be configured.
Vacation year
Choose which vacation year the policy should follow.
The vacation year defines:
when vacation days are allocated
when they can be used
when they may expire
Vacation year rules vary from country to country. See country-specific articles for details.
Annual number of vacation days
Enter the number of vacation days allocated to the employee per year.
When the vacation period ends, any remaining days are handled as remaining vacation (carry over, delete, or pay out).
Earning for new employees
New employees can be handled in several ways:
Full earning from the start of employment
No earning in the first year (earning starts the following year)
Pro-rated earning in the first year
If the standard settings do not fit, the starting balance can be adjusted manually.
Selection of vacation registration rule
BitaBIZ supports two methods for annual earning, which are configured in the policy:
Go to “Setup Admin”
Select “Modules”
Click “Edit” for the desired policy, or click “Create new policy”
Open the “Vacation” section
Open the “Rules” subsection
The two available methods are:
Max policy → employees can only plan accrued days
No max policy → employees can also request non-accrued days
Under Vacation rules, you can also control:
whether approval is required for vacation registrations
whether half vacation days are allowed
Find user guides for the two vacation registration rules here:
User guide for vacation with Max policy
User guide for vacation without Max policy
Click on the image to view the two vacation methods:
Available settings for the vacation policy
Once the basic setup for annual earning is in place, you can add a range of optional settings to help manage calendar rules, notifications, and integrations.
Public holidays
Fixed public holidaysBitaBIZ supports official public holidays for more than 40 countries.
Vacation days that fall on public holidays are not deducted from the vacation balance.
Add public holidays under “Public holidays” in the policy – they are automatically created in employees’ calendars. |  |
Floating public holidaysFloating public holidays can be scheduled freely by the employee.
They are created via an additional leave balance or a day bank, which can be renamed to “Floating public holidays” and supports earning.
This gives employees flexibility to choose their own days off, for example for religious reasons. |
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Approval message
Reminder to approverYou can send an automatic reminder to approvers if vacation or absence registrations have not been approved by a selected date.
This is activated under Modules → Messages & rules → Payroll administration. |
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Integrations
Payroll exportVacation can be transferred to the company’s payroll system.
Once the vacation has been processed in payroll, the registration is locked and cannot be changed by the employee.
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Outlook ExchangeVacation is automatically synchronized to employees’ Outlook calendars when the integration is enabled.
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Policies with or without paid vacation
Payroll codes for vacationDifferent payroll codes for vacation can be assigned to policies.
Payroll codes can be customized per employee group (e.g. with or without paid vacation) and ensure that vacation is transferred correctly to the payroll system. |
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Special employee groups
If your company has employees with special conditions, such as part-time employment, a specific setup for their policy may be required.
Read more about vacation policies for part-time employees here.
Employee statistics for annual earning
The vacation statistics show the number of remaining vacation days (remaining vacation).
Remaining vacation is the accrued vacation days for the vacation year minus the days already used.
FAQ
What does annual vacation earning mean?
What does annual vacation earning mean?
Annual vacation earning means that all vacation days for the year are allocated at once at the start of the vacation year.
How are new employees handled?
How are new employees handled?
New employees can be handled in three ways:
Full earning from the start of employment
No earning in the first vacation year
Pro-rated earning based on the employment start date
The selected option determines how many vacation days the employee has available in the first vacation year.
If the standard settings do not meet your needs, choose the option that comes closest and adjust the employee’s starting balance manually via Payroll Admin → Calendar access in the first vacation year.
What happens to unused vacation days at the end of the vacation year
What happens to unused vacation days at the end of the vacation year
Depending on how the policy is configured, unused vacation days can be:
carried over
paid out
deleted
See the article on remaining vacation for more details.
When is a vacation policy with annual earning used?
When is a vacation policy with annual earning used?
Annual earning is used in countries or setups where vacation days are allocated in full at the start of the vacation year – not accrued continuously.
The vacation year and the country’s regulations determine which earning method should be used.
See the country-specific articles for the correct setup.
Can employees take vacation that has not yet been allocated?
Can employees take vacation that has not yet been allocated?
It depends on the vacation rule whether non-allocated vacation can be used:
Max → only allocated vacation days can be used
No max → employees can request vacation before the days are allocated
If employees are unable to register vacation, it is typically because the Max rule is selected.
Why can an employee not register vacation?
Why can an employee not register vacation?
If an employee cannot register vacation, it may be due to several reasons, for example:
The Max rule is enabled (only accrued days can be used)
There are not enough vacation days remaining
Another type of registration is blocking the period
A period has been selected that consists only of public holidays