Did you know that the cost of unplanned absenteeism is estimated to exceed a staggering $600 billion a year? The average cost of absenteeism in the US is estimated at $4,080 per full-time employee and $2,040 per part-time worker.
That’s a hefty price for missed shifts, last-minute leave requests, and scheduling confusion!
And between handling vacation requests, sick days, and personal leave, the challenge isn’t just about tracking who’s absent—it’s about preventing disruptions, maintaining productivity, and keeping everyone on the same page.
The right absence management software can do all this and more—giving you back control over your time and resources. However, with so many options for absence management software, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
In this blog post, let’s explore 15 of the best absence management software solutions to help you make an informed decision. Whether you want to improve substitute management, streamline your payroll system, keep your employee directory updated, simply reduce paperwork, or stay compliant, we’ve got a match here that can help increase efficiency.
15 Best Absence Management Software
- ⏰60-Second Summary
- What Should You Look for in Absence Management Software?
- The 15 Best Absence Management Software
- 1. ClickUp (Best for all-around leave management)
- 2. Calamari (Best employee attendance and leave management solution)
- 3. Workday (Best comprehensive enterprise HR solution)
- 4. Deel (Best global payroll & compliance tool)
- 5. Rippling (Best HR platform for scalability)
- 6. Jolt (Best employee management system for ease of use)
- 7. Keka HR (Best HR software for small businesses)
- 8. AbsenceSoft (Best absence tracking & compliance software)
- 9. Workday HCM (Best human capital management system for large enterprises)
- 10. Timestatic (Best time tracking & project management tool for teams)
- 11. Connecteam (Best mobile-first workforce management platform)
- 12. BambooHR (Best user-friendly HR software for growing teams)
- 13. actiPLANS (Best absence & leave management system)
- 14. Buddy Punch (Best time clock & scheduling tool for remote teams)
- 15. When I Work (Best work schedule sharing and tracking tool)
- Efficiently Manage Employee Absence with ClickUp
Summarize this article for me please⏰60-Second Summary
Here’s our round-up of the top absence management software:
- ClickUp (Best for all-around leave management)
- Calamari (Best employee attendance & leave management solution)
- Workday (Best comprehensive enterprise HR solution)
- Deel (Best global payroll & compliance tool)
- Rippling (Best HR platform for scalability)
- Jolt (Best employee management system for ease of use)
- Keka HR (Best HR software for small businesses)
- AbsenceSoft (Best absence tracking & compliance software)
- Workday HCM (Best human capital management system for large enterprises)
- Timestatic (Best time tracking & project management tool for teams)
- Connecteam (Best mobile-first workforce management platform)
- BambooHR (Best user-friendly HR software for growing teams)
- actiPLANS (Best absence & leave management system)
- Buddy Punch (Best time clock & scheduling tool for remote teams)
- When I Work (Best work schedule sharing and tracking tool)
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Absence Management Software?
To make the best choice when selecting an absence management software, here’s what you should prioritize:
- Robust reporting: Opt for software with strong analytics to spot absenteeism trends and take action before issues escalate
- Instant tracking: Pick tools that offer real-time updates on who’s off and for how long so you can stay ahead of scheduling gaps and avoid surprises
- Smart automation: Look for tools that automatically handle leave requests, approvals, and notifications
- Flexibility to fit your needs: Pick software that adapts to various leave types—whether it’s sick days, vacation, or maternity—and aligns with your policies
- Effortless integration: Choose software that syncs with your payroll and scheduling systems, cutting down on manual work management and errors
💡Pro Tip: Learn how to automate absence workflow with AI. See how 👇🏼
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 15 Best Absence Management Software
So, which absence management software is the best fit for your business? To make it easier for you, here’s a list of the 15 best absence management software that you must consider:
1. ClickUp (Best for all-around leave management)
Managing employee leave requires an everything app for work, such as ClickUp, to consolidate absence management with task tracking, project planning, and collaboration.
ClickUp’s Human Resource Platform enables you to create customized leave application forms that simplify time-off requests. Employees can easily submit vacation requests using user-friendly forms with specific fields like start and end dates, request type, and supporting information.
This platform transforms absence management from a complex administrative task into a streamlined, efficient system that tracks absences alongside your workflows. It makes it easier to understand where and how changes or accommodations can be made.
The intuitive Calendar View visually represents team availability, allowing managers to quickly see who is out of the office. Beyond simple availability, ClickUp’s Custom Fields allow for detailed tracking of various leave types, such as vacation, sick leave, or personal time, and the duration of each request.
ClickUp Automations further enhance efficiency by notifying managers of pending leave requests, ensuring prompt processing.
Plus, Dashboards provide a high-level overview of leave balances across the team and a forecast of upcoming absences, aiding in resource planning.
You can also leverage centralized document storage within Docs, which ensures easy access to company leave policies.
As Philip Storry, Senior System Administrator at SYZYGY, explains,
The ClickUp Time Off Request Template also goes far beyond simple form submission. Employees can input all the necessary details directly into the template—leave type, specific dates, reasons for leave, and supporting documents if required (e.g., a doctor’s note). This ensures all requests are standardized, reducing back-and-forth clarifications.
Unlike email-based systems, there’s no risk of requests getting buried in inboxes. Managers can quickly review and approve or deny requests, with comments or adjustments made directly in the task.
Do you need to track patterns in leave behavior? The template is a searchable database that provides insights without requiring spreadsheets or external tracking tools.
ClickUp best features
- Use ClickUp Forms to standardize leave requests. Employees can fill out forms to submit their details, which automatically create ClickUp Tasks for tracking and approval
- Comment on tasks, share updates, and collaborate directly within the ClickUp platform with ClickUp’s Assigned Comments
- See at a glance who’s on leave, who’s available, and where potential coverage gaps might arise with ClickUp Calendars
- Plan and track PTO requests in a centralized, customizable calendar view with the ClickUp PTO Calendar Template
- Log and monitor employee attendance to identify trends and maintain accurate records with the ClickUp Attendance Sheet Template
- Set granular permissions to ensure only authorized personnel can view or edit sensitive absence-related information
ClickUp limitations
- ClickUp’s extensive features and customization options can be overwhelming for new users
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp Brain: Add to any paid plan for $7 per member per month
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)
2. Calamari (Best employee attendance and leave management solution)
Calamari lets your company set up different vacation accrual rules for full-time employees and contractors, which can be especially useful for businesses with varied employee structures.
Plus, its multilingual support means it can cater to a global workforce, helping multinational companies manage absences while staying compliant with diverse labor laws.
A standout feature is that its accrual reports can be segmented by employee, department, or leave type. This ensures a granular view of absence trends that support strategic decision-making during capacity planning.
Calamari best features
- Track employee attendance using facial recognition and GPS location for accurate clock-ins
- Automatically sync employee leave data with payroll systems to ensure correct compensation
- Send automated reminders to managers for overdue leave requests or approvals
- Integrate with accounting software for payroll processing and compliance tracking
Calamari limitations
- Limited customization for complex leave types
- Lacks deep analytics for tracking absence patterns
Calamari pricing
- Time-off: $2.5/user per month
- Time and attendance: $3/user per month
- Core HR: $2.5/user per month
Calamari ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (550+ reviews)
👀 Did You Know? Calamari’s QR code-based clock-in system lets employees mark attendance with a quick scan.
3. Workday (Best comprehensive enterprise HR solution)
Workday’s absence management module is handy for companies with a complex mix of leave types and global operations.
For instance, it offers detailed tracking of parental leave policies across different regions, adapting to varying local laws and corporate guidelines automatically. This feature is crucial for large enterprises with multinational teams.
Workday’s deep integration across payroll, benefits, and leave management ensures that employee absences are seamlessly incorporated into overall workforce planning, eliminating any administrative disconnect that could arise with separate systems.
Workday best features
- Automate benefits enrollment and changes based on employee status
- Set up automatic alerts for compliance deadlines related to labor laws and tax changes
- Link performance data to compensation and career development for talent management
- Use machine learning algorithms to recommend the best candidates for open positions based on historical data
Workday limitations
- Steep learning curve for complex leave policies
- Time-consuming setup for large organizations
Workday pricing
- Workday Adaptive Planning Free Trial: Free for 30 days
- Workday Adaptive Planning: Custom pricing
- Workday Adaptive Planning & Consolidation: Custom pricing
Workday ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.1/5 (1,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (1,500+ reviews)
👀Did You Know? Workday offers machine learning-powered recommendations for career development and succession planning.
4. Deel (Best global payroll & compliance tool)
Are you confident your leave management system is compliant with every local labor law across your international team? Deel’s leave management system is designed with the complexity of international teams in mind, offering seamless leave tracking for employees and contractors across different time zones and jurisdictions.
If an employee in Berlin submits a time-off request, Deel automatically applies the correct German vacation laws, ensuring that the leave type complies with local regulations.
For instance, when a remote team member requests a leave day, Deel ensures that all relevant tax and labor regulations are adhered to regardless of the worker’s location.
Deel best features
- Automatically generate global contracts that comply with local tax and labor laws for employees and contractors
- Automate salary payments in multiple currencies and ensure correct tax deductions for international teams
- Leverage automated document generation for onboarding and legal compliance
Deel limitations
- Limited reporting and analytics features
- Requires additional setup for integrations
- Not suitable for businesses with basic absence management needs
Deel pricing
- Deel HR: Free
- Deel Payroll: Starts at $29/employee per month
- Deel Contractor: Starts at $49/month
- Deel EOR: Starts at $599/month
Deel ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (5,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (1,500+ reviews)
💡Pro Tip: When hiring internationally, use Deel’s country-specific contract templates to comply with local labor laws.
📮ClickUp Insight: About 41% of professionals prefer instant messaging for team communication. Although it offers quick and efficient exchanges, messages are often spread across multiple channels, threads, or direct messages, making it harder to retrieve information later.
With an integrated solution like ClickUp Chat, your chat threads are mapped to specific projects and tasks, keeping your conversations in context and readily available.
5. Rippling (Best HR platform for scalability)
Think about the last time you had to manually track different time-off policies across various departments. Rippling’s time-off management is highly customizable, offering granular control over leave policies.
You can set distinct leave rules for different employee roles and departments or even based on seniority. For example, a company could allow senior management to accrue more PTO or offer different holiday schedules compared to entry-level employees.
What sets this HRMS software apart is its powerful automation. The system can automatically update payroll based on time off taken, ensuring accurate pay calculations.
Rippling best features
- Automatically update employee data across all connected systems (payroll, benefits, apps) when changes are made in Rippling
- Sync employee time tracking data with payroll systems in real time to eliminate errors and delays
- Use analytics to predict employee turnover and proactively manage retention efforts
Rippling limitations
- Basic analytics capabilities for absence trends
- Limited customization for non-standard HR needs
Rippling pricing
- Rippling Platform: Custom pricing
- Rippling HCM: Custom pricing
Rippling ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (5,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 (3,000+ reviews)
6. Jolt (Best employee management system for ease of use)
In fast-paced industries like restaurants and hotels, staffing shortages due to unexpected absences can disrupt operations and impact customer service. Jolt is designed for industries where operational compliance and absence management are essential, such as food service or hospitality.
Beyond tracking time off, Jolt integrates absence management directly with timekeeping and regulatory compliance tools. For example, in a restaurant, employees can request leave through Jolt’s mobile app, and the system automatically cross-references the leave request with resource scheduling and local labor regulations.
Jolt best features
- Automate shift swap approvals, with notifications sent to managers for quick approvals or reassignments
- Set up customizable checklists for employees to ensure consistent execution of tasks during shifts
- Track team performance with automated reports that highlight key metrics (e.g., task completion rates)
- Sync task completion data with time tracking to ensure accurate payroll processing
Jolt limitations
- Best suited for food service and compliance-heavy industries
- Basic interface may not meet the needs of larger organizations
- Limited leave policy customization
Jolt pricing
- Custom pricing
Jolt ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (100+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (250+ reviews)
👀Did You Know? Jolt has a built-in training library, allowing managers to upload custom content for staff onboarding.
7. Keka HR (Best HR software for small businesses)
If your company has unique leave policies—like a special sick leave accrual for employees who’ve been with the company for more than 5 years—Keka can easily handle that.
Keka’s focus on user experience makes it particularly appealing: employees can easily submit leave requests and track balances via a highly intuitive dashboard. At the same time, managers can review trends and manage approvals in just a few clicks.
Keka HR best features
- Automate leave accruals and balances based on company policies, eliminating manual tasks and tracking errors
- Provide self-service portals for employees to manage leave requests, attendance, and payroll details
- Automate performance reviews by sending reminders to managers and employees for timely feedback
- Integrate with third-party tools for seamless recruitment and background checks
Keka HR limitations
- Lacks advanced features for larger enterprises
- Limited scalability for businesses with complex leave policies
- Basic reporting capabilities
Keka HR pricing
- Custom pricing
Keka HR ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (1,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (50+ reviews)
8. AbsenceSoft (Best absence tracking & compliance software)
A single miscalculation in leave accrual or a failure to comply with local regulations can lead to costly legal issues. AbsenceSoft shines in automating absence tracking while ensuring compliance with local labor laws.
One standout feature is its customizable accrual rules, which allow businesses to define leave policies for different employee groups, such as part-time versus full-time workers or unionized employees.
For instance, a company could set different rules for PTO accrual based on an employee’s seniority, with longer-tenured employees receiving more vacation days.
AbsenceSoft best features
- Automate the approval process for leave requests based on customizable rules (e.g., seniority or department)
- Sync employee leave data with scheduling software to avoid conflicts and ensure adequate coverage
- Track compliance with labor laws by automatically calculating FMLA or ADA eligibility and usage
AbsenceSoft limitations
- Complex setup for organizations with multiple employee groups
- Basic reporting features compared to larger HR systems
AbsenceSoft pricing
- Custom pricing
AbsenceSoft ratings and reviews
- G2: Not enough ratings
- Capterra: Ratings not available
9. Workday HCM (Best human capital management system for large enterprises)
If your company needs a comprehensive solution that integrates absence management into the larger HR ecosystem, Workday HCM might be your ideal tool.
One of its key strengths is handling complex, multi-tiered leave policies, such as those required by government-mandated family leave programs, short-term disability, or workers’ compensation claims.
The system’s integration with workforce analytics tools helps companies identify long-term absence trends, allowing for better workforce planning.
Workday HCM best features
- Automate workforce planning by using predictive analytics to anticipate staffing needs
- Use AI-driven insights to create personalized development plans for employees based on their performance
- Automatically match employee skills to open roles, improving internal mobility and reducing turnover
- Track and manage learning and development programs, automatically linking training completion to performance evaluations
Workday HCM limitations
- Requires significant setup time for advanced leave policies
- Advanced analytics tools may require specialized knowledge
Workday HCM pricing
- Custom pricing
Workday HCM ratings and reviews
- G2: 4/5 (1,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (1,500+ reviews)
10. Timestatic (Best time tracking & project management tool for teams)
Timestatic is ideal for small to mid-sized businesses looking for a simple but efficient way to manage absences.
Its seamless integration with popular business tools—like Google Workspace and Slack—makes it stand out. This ensures that employees can request leave without ever leaving their work environment.
Its easy-to-navigate interface means managers can approve or deny leave requests with a single click, and the system automatically calculates any accruals or deductions.
Timestatic best features
- Automate time entry with real-time tracking for accurate billing and project management
- Generate task-specific timesheets for logging time-off requests and approvals that sync with ongoing projects for better resource allocation
- Automatically detect project delays and send notifications to project managers for intervention
- Provide real-time team productivity metrics and generate reports on project time efficiency
Timestatic limitations
- Lacks advanced reporting features for larger organizations
- Limited customization for complex leave policies
- Not suitable for businesses with intricate HR requirements
Timestatic pricing
- Timestatic: $1.50/user per month
- Timestatic Pro: $2.50/user per month
Timestatic ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (20+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (550+ reviews)
11. Connecteam (Best mobile-first workforce management platform)
Perfect for mobile-first, field-based teams, Connecteam’s absence management tools allow employees to request leave via a mobile app, and managers can instantly approve or reject these requests with a simple tap.
A unique feature is Connecteam’s ability to automatically adjust team schedules when an employee takes time off, ensuring that shift coverage remains intact.
For businesses in industries like construction or logistics, where burnout statistics can be high and maintaining optimal staffing levels is critical, Connecteam’s automatic coverage alerts ensure operations aren’t disrupted by absenteeism.
Connecteam best features
- Use the mobile-first platform for managing time-off and attendance sheets for deskless employees
- Automate task assignments and due dates to ensure timely completion by employees
- Generate real-time performance metrics and send alerts to managers for underperforming team members
Connecteam limitations
- Basic leave management features for larger businesses
- Limited scalability for organizations with diverse teams
- Lacks advanced features for non-field-based employees
Connecteam pricing
- The Small Business Plan: Free for up to 10 users
- HR & Skills Basic: $35 /month for the first 30 users
- HR & Skills Advanced: $59/month for the first 30 users
- HR & Skills Expert: $119/month for the first 30 users
Connecteam ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (1,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (300+ reviews)
12. BambooHR (Best user-friendly HR software for growing teams)
A simple and powerful absence management system, BambooHR stands out for its ability to integrate with performance management tools. This allows managers to easily track absenteeism’s impact on employee performance.
BambooHR’s strong reporting capabilities also help HR teams identify patterns in employee absence, like frequent short-term absences, and take proactive steps to improve attendance.
For example, HR could create a custom report showing absence rates across different departments, helping identify trends and adjust staffing or wellness programs accordingly.
BambooHR best features
- Automatically calculate and update employee benefits based on life events (e.g., marriage, birth of a child)
- Provide detailed, customizable reports on employee data to aid HR decision-making
- Automate performance reviews with set timelines and feedback collection
- Send automatic reminders to managers about upcoming employee evaluations and goals
BambooHR limitations
- Limited leave policy customization
- Basic analytics for absence trend analysis
- Higher pricing for small businesses with simple HR needs
BambooHR pricing
- Core: Custom pricing
- Pro: Custom pricing
BambooHR ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6 (2,500+ reviews)
13. actiPLANS (Best absence & leave management system)
actiPLANS offers a cloud-based solution that’s particularly adept at managing absence policies for businesses with complex leave structures.
A standout feature is its ability to automate leave accruals for different employee groups, allowing customized policies such as granting more PTO to employees with longer tenure.
Besides, actiPLANS provides HR managers with detailed real-time analytics, helping to spot absence trends like seasonal spikes or patterns of chronic absenteeism, which can influence business decisions.
actiPLANS best features
- Ensure compliance with local and international labor laws that maintain work-life balance
- Automatically track employee absence requests and ensure compliance with company policies
- Send real-time notifications to managers for pending leave approvals to reduce delays
- Automatically calculate PTO accruals and balances based on company-specific rules
actiPLANS limitations
- Basic reporting tools compared to more advanced platforms
- Limited integration options with other HR systems
- Interface may be too simplistic for large businesses
actiPLANS pricing
- For 1-3 users: Free
- For 1-40 users: $1.9/user per month
- For 41-200 users: $1.5/user per month
- For 200+ users: Fixed cost for unlimited users (billed monthly)
actiPLANS ratings and reviews
- G2: No ratings available
- Capterra: Not enough ratings
14. Buddy Punch (Best time clock & scheduling tool for remote teams)
Imagine trying to reconcile paper timesheets or relying on manual spreadsheets to track the hours of your hourly workforce. Buddy Punch simplifies time tracking and absence management, focusing on hourly workers.
This remote attendance system allows employees to clock in and out from any device while managing time-off requests with an intuitive approval process.
One specific feature that stands out is its ability to integrate absence data with payroll in real time, ensuring that PTO and other leave are deducted from paychecks accurately.
Buddy Punch also offers detailed absence reports, allowing managers to monitor out-of-office trends and optimize staffing decisions based on real-time data.
Buddy Punch best features
- Automate time clock entries and integrate with payroll systems for accurate processing
- Send alerts for employees nearing overtime to ensure compliance with labor regulations
- Integrate with scheduling software to ensure employees are clocking in and out according to their shifts
- Generate automated payroll reports to simplify tax and compliance tasks
Buddy Punch limitations
- Limited customization for non-hourly leave policies
- Basic reporting features for absence analysis
- Limited scalability for larger enterprises
Buddy Punch pricing
- Starter: $5.49/user per month
- Pro: $6.99/user per month
- Enterprise: $11.99/user per month
Buddy Punch ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (250+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (1,000+ reviews)
15. When I Work (Best work schedule sharing and tracking tool)
Built with both managers and employees in mind, When I Work offers an intuitive interface that simplifies tasks such as creating schedules, tracking attendance, and managing shift changes.
For managers, it eliminates the back-and-forth communication often associated with shift swaps and time-off requests. Instead, the app manages these tasks, ensuring team members stay informed and engaged.
Employees benefit from the ability to manage their availability, request time off, and trade shifts—all from their mobile devices.
When I Work best features
- Build your entire work schedule in one click with auto-scheduling, saving valuable time
- Instantly notify staff about any changes and enable 1:1 or group chats
- Import timesheets for quick and accurate payroll processing
When I Work limitations
- The reporting tools may not meet the needs of businesses requiring advanced analytics or highly customized reports
When I Work pricing
- Essentials: $2.50/user per month
- Pro: $5/user per month
- Premium: $8/user per month
When I Work ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (250+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5 (1,000+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseEfficiently Manage Employee Absence with ClickUp
One missed shift or unapproved time off can quickly become a logistical nightmare—leaving you scrambling to fill gaps, update schedules, and manage payroll corrections.
Therefore, absence management should be smarter, faster, and more connected—and ClickUp delivers just that.
While other tools might handle the basics, ClickUp goes above and beyond with its seamless integrations, customizable workflows, and powerful analytics.
For businesses that demand more than attendance tracking, ClickUp is the clear winner. It’s time to move beyond outdated systems and embrace the tool that keeps your team agile, productive, and always in the loop.
Sign up for ClickUp today to get started!
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