The Time-off balance tab on an employee's profile shows their absence balances, accrual policy assignments, and usage history. This article explains how to manage it.
How to view an employee's absence balances
Go to Employees in the left sidebar
Click the employee's name to open their profile
Click the Time-off balance tab
You will see a table listing all absence types available in your company.
Understanding the balance table
Each row shows one absence type with these columns:
Absence name — the type of leave, shown with a color-coded label
Accrual policy — whether this absence type has an automatic accrual policy (yes/no)
Assigned — whether the employee is assigned to this absence type (yes/no)
Balance — remaining hours or days available
Taken — hours or days already used
Upcoming — hours or days in approved future requests
What is an accrual policy?
An accrual policy defines how leave balances accumulate over time. For example, an employee might earn 2 days of vacation per month. The policy sets the rules, and Begin calculates the balance automatically.
How to create an accrual policy
Go to Absences in the left sidebar.
Navigate to Accrual Policies.
Click on an absence type to edit its settings, including accrual policy configuration.
Configure the accrual rules: how many days/hours accrue, the accrual frequency, and the maximum balance.
Click Save changes.
How balance rounding works
Balances are rounded according to the accrual policy's rounding setting:
Nearest half — rounds to the nearest 0.5 (e.g., 10.3 → 10.5)
Whole number — rounds to the nearest integer (e.g., 10.3 → 10)
No rounding — shows two decimal places (e.g., 10.33)
How to edit an accrual policy assignment
For absence types that have an accrual policy, click the edit button on that row. A drawer opens where you can adjust the accrual policy assignment details for this specific employee.
What happens when an employee submits a leave request?
When an employee submits a time-off request and it is approved, Begin automatically deducts the used days from their balance. If the employee does not have enough balance, the request can still be approved (resulting in a negative balance), depending on your company's policy.
Where employees can see their own balances
Employees can view their own absence balances by navigating to Absences → Balance in the left sidebar. This shows the same information but only for the logged-in user. Absence types without an accrual policy appear faded.