My employee's automatic accruals are not showing in the time off history.

  • May 14, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
My employee's automatic accruals are not showing in the time off history.
Article Text
Time Off accruals are available on the Core, Pro, and Elite packages.

Purpose: This resource will help you troubleshoot automatic accrual questions in BambooHR. The scenarios below will take you through a tree map of questions to help you find the right solution for your account. Click on number 1 below to begin.

Table of Contents

Did you know we have a BambooHR Learning course about Time Off Troubleshooting? Click here to learn more about what is included in this course. 

1. If you go to the employee’s Time Off tab, does the name of the correct policy show under the time off category?
Screenshot of an employee’s Time Off tab. Several time off categories are displayed in separate boxes, each showing “0 Days” or “0 Hours” with the policy name (e.g., Bereavement, COVID-19 Related Absence, FMLA). An orange warning in the top-right indicates accruals are paused until a future date.
  • No, the policy name doesn’t show: 
    • You will need to assign the policy to this employee. We recommend verifying that your policy is set up correctly before you assign it. This guide can help you with verifying that your policy is set up correctly: “Create a Time Off Policy.”
  • No, the incorrect policy name shows:
  • Yes, move to question #2. 
2. When you hover over the time off category, click "change policy", and select "adjust accrual start date" what does the current accrual start date show as?
  • It is a future date.
    • The automatic accruals will not kick in until that future date. If needed, you can change the date to a past date. If you need to start automatic accruals before an employee’s hire date, you will need to change the accrual level start date, which you can learn about here.
  • It is a past date. Move to question #3.
3. Is the Accrual Level Start Date correct?
Screenshot of an employee’s Time Off tab. Several time off categories are displayed in separate boxes, each showing “0 Days” or “0 Hours” with the policy name (e.g., Bereavement, COVID-19 Related Absence, FMLA). An orange warning in the top-right indicates accruals are paused until a future date.

Note: A future accrual level start date will block accruals until that future date.

  • No, the accrual level start date is incorrect.
    • Select the correct accrual level start date, then save the changes. Keep in mind that the accrual level start date applies to all time off categories. Changes to the accrual level start date are reflected only on future accruals, unless you refresh the accrual history. This help guide walks you through how to do this: “Update Accruals for an Employee’s Time Off Policy.”
  • Yes, the accrual level start date is correct. Move to question #4. 
4. Go to Settings > Time Off, and click on the assigned policy. Is the policy set up to start at the correct/intended time?
Screenshot of a Time Off policy’s Accrual Schedule settings. The page shows input fields defining accrual frequency (e.g., “Employees accrue X hours twice a month”), as well as options regarding waiting periods, balance caps, and carryover rules.

Note: No accruals will show until the employee has reached that designated accrual start time.

Example: The policy starts 30 days after hire date. An employee gets hired on September 1 and is assigned to the policy on September 1. The employee is not eligible to receive automatic accruals until October 1.

  • No, the start time is incorrect.
    • If the start time is incorrect, enter the correct starting time, and then save the changes to the policy. Policy changes are reflected only on future accruals, unless you refresh the accrual history. This help guide walks you through how to do this: “Update Accruals for an Employee’s Time Off Policy.”
  • Yes, the start time is correct. Move to question #5.
5. Is the balance cap correct?
Screenshot of a Time Off policy’s Accrual Schedule settings. The page shows input fields defining accrual frequency (e.g., “Employees accrue X hours twice a month”), as well as options regarding waiting periods, balance caps, and carryover rules.

What is a balance cap? Once the employee’s time off balance reaches the capped amount, the employee will stop receiving accruals until the balance falls below the maximum.

  • No, the balance cap is incorrect.
    • If the balance cap is incorrect, enter the correct balance cap, and then save the changes to the policy. Policy changes are reflected only on future accruals, unless you refresh the accrual history. This help guide walks you through how to do this: “Update Accruals for an Employee’s Time Off Policy.”
  • Yes, the balance cap is correct. Move to question #6. 
6. Scroll down to the bottom of the time off policy. Do you have the Employees receive accrued time... option set up correctly?
Screenshot of the “Some Fine-tuning” section of a time off policy. Dropdown menus allow selecting when employees’ first accrual should occur (e.g., prorated based on accrual period) and when accrued time should be received (e.g., at the end of the accrual period).

If this option is set for accruals to happen at the end of the accrual period, keep in mind that it’s normal not to see accruals right away because the time must be worked before your employees will receive the accrual.

  • No, the Employees receive accrued time... option is incorrect.
    • If the Employees receive accrued time... option is incorrect, there are two different ways you could resolve this:
      • 1) Create a new time off policy with the correct Employees receive accrued time... option, and then assign the new time off policy. OR
      • 2)  Edit your current time off policy, select the correct Employees receive accrued time... option, and then save the changes to the policy. Policy changes are reflected only on future accruals, unless you refresh the accrual history. This help guide walks you through how to do this: “Update Accruals for an Employee’s Time Off Policy.” After you have updated the accrual history, it is possible that you will need to submit a manual adjustment to fully correct the balance. As long as you have corrected the policy, the future accruals should not require any manual adjustments.
  • Yes, the Employees receive accrued time... option is correct. Move to Question #7.
7. Look through the other options on the assigned policy. Are all other parts of your policy correct?

If needed, you can review this resource to make sure that you understand what all policy options mean: “Create a Time Off Policy."

  • No, I needed to make some corrections to the policy. 
    • If you need to make corrections to the policy, enter the corrections, and then save the changes to the policy. Policy changes are reflected only on future accruals, unless you refresh the accrual history. This help guide walks you through how to do this: “Update Accruals for an Employee’s Time Off Policy.” [Resolved?]
  • Yes, the policy is correct. Move to Question #8.
8. Go to Settings > Time Off and click on the assigned policy. Is the policy set to accrue per hour worked?
Screenshot of the Accrual Schedule settings in BambooHR. A dropdown menu is open under “Accrual Frequency,” showing options including Per hour worked, Every other week, Twice a month, Monthly, and more. The interface also shows a configured value for how many hours employees accrue.
  • No, the policy does not accrue per hour worked. Move to question #14.
  • Yes, the policy accrues per hour worked. Move to question #9.
9. Do your employees use BambooHR® Time Tracking?
  • No, they do not track their hours worked through Time Tracking. Move to question #12.
  • Yes, they track their hours through Time Tracking. Move to question #10.
10. Is the timesheet approved?
  • No, the timesheet is not approved.
    • Timesheets must be approved in order for the accruals to calculate for Per Hour Worked policies. Approve the employee’s timesheet, and then the accruals under the time off history will automatically update.
  • Yes, the timesheet is approved. Move to question #11.
11. Are the tracked hours on your employee’s timesheet correct?
  • No, the hours worked are not correct.
    • If the timesheet was incorrect, you can add to or edit the timesheet to ensure that the hours worked are correct. This help guide gives you more information on adding hours to timesheets: “Add Hours to My Timesheet.” As long as the timesheet is approved, the time off accruals will automatically update after you have updated the timesheet.
  • Yes, the employee’s timesheet is correct. Move to question #14.
12. Have you completed the Hours Worked import for your employees?
  • No, I have not imported the hours my employees have worked.
    • If you do not have BambooHR Time Tracking, importing hours worked is required for your per hour worked policy to calculate correctly. This help guide walks you through how to complete this import: “Hours Worked Import.”
  • Yes, I have completed the Hours Worked import. Move to question #13.
13. In your Hours Worked import, did you use the correct effective date that falls in the accrual period you are expecting to see?

Example: Accruals happen every other week at the end of the period. On January 15, you expect to see an accrual for the time worked January 1 - January 14. The effective dates in your Hours Worked import must be between January 1 - January 14 to be included in the calculation of the accrual on January 15.

  • No, I did not have the correct effective dates on my Hours Worked import.
    • If the effective dates on your Hours Worked import are incorrect, you will need to do a few things. 
      • 1) You will need to complete a deletion import to reverse the incorrect import. Essentially, you will add a Delete column to your original import to reverse that. This help guide shows you what your deletion spreadsheet should look like: “Import Hours Worked.” 
      • 2) You need to re-import the hours worked after you have corrected the effective dates. 
      • 3) If the accrual should have happened in the past, you will need to update the accrual history by refreshing it.
  • Yes, I used the correct effective dates. Move to question #14.
14. You have done an awesome job troubleshooting so far! At this point, we recommend that you reach out directly to a support hero to look further into your situation.

Please reach out to a support hero here with the following information: 

  • A description of the problem you are seeing
  • The employee # of at least one employee experiencing this issue
  • What that employee’s time off balance and/or accrual should be (if it is currently showing incorrectly)
  • A description of the problem you are seeing
  • What you have tested so far
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