Set up Time Off Approvals

The article provides a guide on setting up time off approvals in BambooHR. It emphasizes the importance of timely responses from approvers and outlines the steps to create approval workflows for time off requests. Users can access an interactive guide by replacing "REPLACEME" with their BambooHR subdomain. The article includes sections on approval settings, explaining various approver options, and details on multi-level approvals. Users can select approvers such as Account Owners, Full Admins, or specific individuals. Multi-level approvals require sequential consent from all designated approvers, and the process can include up to five levels. Notifications are sent at each stage, with employees informed only after final approval or denial. The article also discusses advanced approval paths for departmental needs.

  • May 15, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Set up Time Off Approvals
Article Text
This feature is included in the Core, Pro, and Elite packages.

How do I set up a time off approval?

Purpose: Time off approvals in BambooHR help ensure that approvers are prompt in responding to time off requests. This guide will show you how to create approval workflows for submitted time off requests.

Do you prefer hands-on learning? Our interactive guides will guide you through different aspects of your BambooHR experience. We have an interactive guide specifically designed to show you how to set up your time off approvals. You can use the link below to access this guide. All you need to do is modify the "REPLACEME" with your BambooHR subdomain, and you can get started!

https://REPLACEME.bamboohr.com/home?pendo=YNoLh2J8dAI9xYV8sxFFZeYdXME

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Table of Contents

Approvals in Settings

Through a time off approval,  you can decide who will receive an email notification with a link to take action on an employee's request. You can also allow managers to access pending requests via Inbox within BambooHR.

Please note that the Account Owner and Full Admin user(s) will retain access to time off requests through an employee's profile and inbox regardless of an approval's settings.

To set up a time off approval, navigate to Settings and select Approvals. The Approvals section will appear and allows you to select which approval type you would like to set up. Click Time Off Requests and decide who can approve time off requests for your employees.

After choosing the approver(s), click Save Changes for the new settings to be in effect.

Although you cannot create an approval based on time off type or policy, you can create advanced approval paths to help you be sure the right people are approving changes for each department, division, or location.

What are the options for approvers?

When setting up an approval, you can select from the following options in the drop-down menu:

1. Account Owner: Only the Account Owner will receive an email notification regarding a time off request.

2. Full Admin(s): The Full Admin user(s) and Account Owner will receive an email notification regarding a pending request.

3. Manager (Reports To): An employee's manager* will receive an email notification and access pending items through the requests link.

4. Manager's Manager: The manager of an employee's manager will receive an email notification regarding a time off request.

5. Access Levels: All users within the selected access level(s) will receive an email notification about a submitted time off request. However, only one user needs to take action on the request for it to be approved.

6. Specific Person: Select an active and enabled user in your BambooHR account to approve a pending time off request.

*Note: The manager is the current individual listed in the Reports To field (located on the Job tab).

Multi-level approvals

When you add multiple approval levels to a time-off request, it means the request must be approved by an approver at every level in sequence. It's not a case where either one level or another can approve it; all levels must provide their approval for the request to be granted.

If your company requires a multi-level approval process for time off requests, you can create up to five different approval levels. You can do this by clicking + Add and selecting the desired approval option for each level. Save your changes.

When you set up a multi-level approval workflow, only the first approver receives a notification when the employee submits a time off request. If the first recipient approves the request, the next level approver will receive an email notification, and they will follow through accordingly. The employee will not receive a notification about their request until the final approver has approved the request. The multi-level approval process will end if any approver denies the request before completing the process, and the employee will receive an email notification about their denied request.

If you list the same person two or more times in an approval workflow, BambooHR will skip over their first approval and have them approve within their second approval instead.

For example, Olivia Sterling is the Account Owner and assigned to two levels of Approval. Olivia is Approver 1, set to Account Owner, and Approver 3 as Specific Person - Olivia Sterling (Account Owner). Olivia will be skipped over as Approver 1 since both approver levels of 1 and 3 have the same person. Instead, the request will go directly to Approver 2. Once Approver 2 approves the employee’s request, it will advance to Approver 3 (Olivia).

If you set up a multi-level approval and want to allow the last approver to bypass other approvers, you will need to give them editing access to the specific time off category of a request. Without editing access to the selected time off category, the last approver cannot access the request via the Inbox before it is their turn to approve it. You can learn more about how to set this up in Access Levels here.

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