PTO accruals let workers earn paid time off over the course of the year instead of receiving their full allowance up front. With accruals turned on, Thera tracks each worker's balance as it builds, handles carryover at year-end, and decides what happens when someone tries to request more time than they've earned.
Here's how to set up an accrual-based time off policy.
PTO accruals are configured at the policy level, so any worker assigned to a policy follows the same rules. You'll need admin access to create or edit policies.
Go to Settings → Time Off Policies and click Add Policy.
Step 1: Name the policy
Give the policy a clear name workers and admins will recognise, like "Annual PTO – Full-time" or "Contractor Sick Leave."
Then pick the Pay Type (Paid) and the Leave Type (Paid Leave, Sick, Personal, etc.) and click Continue.
Step 2: Set up the accrual
Track accruals decides whether Thera actively tracks earned balance and carryover. Off means it's a simple allowance with no tracking.
Track accruals
Off = simple policy (allowance only).
On = accrual, carryover, and balance tracking.
Accrual Limit is Limited if there's a fixed allowance per year, or Unlimited if workers can take time off without an annual cap.
Accrual Method is the key choice:
Accrual based - workers accumulate their allowance gradually. Pick this and you'll set how often time is earned (annually, monthly, etc.).
Granted all at once - workers receive their full annual allowance at the start of the year.
Allowance and unit is how much workers get per year, in Days or Hours.
Mid-period Joining Allowance handles workers who join partway through a period. Full Amount grants the entire allowance regardless of join date; other options pro-rate based on when they joined.
Accrual Cap is the maximum balance a worker can save up. Once they hit it, they stop earning more until they take some time off. Leave it empty for no cap.
Waiting Period is how long new contractors have to wait before they can actually start accruing their PTO. The PTO is not accrued until this period is elapsed. Set it to 0 if there's no waiting period.
Step 3: Carryover and balance rules
Allow Carryover decides whether the unused balance rolls over to the next year. If you turn it on, you'll set:
Carryover Limit - Limited (set a maximum) or Unlimited (everything carries over).
Maximum Carryover - the cap on how much can roll over. The unit follows whatever you picked in Step 2.
Reset Date - January 1 for a calendar-year reset, or Policy Anniversary to reset on the worker's start date.
If carryover is off, unused balance is forfeited at year-end.
When balance is exceeded controls what happens if someone requests more time off than they have:
Block Request - reject it outright.
Allow with Warning - let it through, but notify the admin.
Require Approval - route it to the admin approval queue.
Apply for sets whether the policy covers US Employees, Contractors, or both.
If you've ticked Contractors, a Deductions section appears.
ℹ️ Deductions are not automatic for contractors. Admins can apply deductions while approving contractor invoices.
Once you save, accruals start tracking right away based on the rules you've set.
If you face any problem setting this up, feel free to contact [email protected] for further assistance.