Absence Tracking for Small Businesses: From Spreadsheet to App in One Hour

You know the drill: Monday morning, you open the vacation spreadsheet in Excel, scroll through the rows, manually check who's out this week — and hope nobody forgot to log their leave. Maybe there's a second spreadsheet for sick days. And an email thread somewhere with a vacation request from last March buried in it.

This scenario describes the daily reality for many HR managers at small and mid-sized companies. It's time-consuming, error-prone, and frustrating. The good news: switching to digital absence tracking doesn't take a week. Start today and you'll be fully operational by tomorrow.

This article speaks directly to you: the person responsible for HR at a company of 20 to 50 people who is still working with spreadsheets.

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Why Spreadsheets Eventually Let You Down

Excel is a powerful tool — but it wasn't built for team coordination. As soon as more than three people need to view or edit the same file, problems begin.

What goes wrong in practice:

• Version chaos: Which spreadsheet is the "right" one? The version from Friday afternoon or Monday morning?
• No mobile access: Employees in the field or on construction sites can't submit a leave request because they don't have a laptop with them.
• No automation: Remaining leave is calculated manually. When someone starts mid-year instead of at the start, it gets complicated fast.
• No reminders: Approvals get forgotten. Employees follow up. HR responds. Time is wasted.
• No transparency: The team can't see who's in when — leading to surprises and frustration.

Once your team reaches ten to fifteen people, the spreadsheet becomes a burden. You end up working for the spreadsheet rather than having the spreadsheet work for you.

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What You Need Before You Start: The Migration Checklist

Before you set up the new system, gather the following information. You'll need it for the initial setup.

Required Data

• Employee list: Last name, first name, email address, department
• Start date for each employee (needed for leave entitlement calculation)
• Annual leave entitlement in days (per contract, typically 20–30 days)
• Leave already taken in the current year
• Carry-over leave from the previous year (if not yet lapsed)

Optional but Recommended

• Approval hierarchy: Who approves for whom? (direct line managers)
• Absence types: Which categories do you want to track? (vacation, sick leave, special leave, training, parental leave, remote work)
• Blackout periods: Are there fixed periods when leave cannot be taken?
• Minimum staffing rules: How many employees must be present in each department at any given time?

Most of this data you already have — it's just spread across different files. Pulling it together typically takes 30 to 60 minutes.

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TodayOff Onboarding: Step by Step With Time Estimates

Here's a realistic walkthrough of the setup process — with honest time estimates for each phase.

Step 1: Create Your Account (5 minutes)

Go to app.todayoff.de and register your company. All you need is an email address and a password. No credit card, no contract details at this stage.

Step 2: Set Up Your Company Profile (10 minutes)

• Enter company name and upload logo
• Confirm time zone (Europe/Berlin)
• Set working days (Monday to Friday as default)
• Select public holidays (nationwide or by federal state)

TodayOff knows all German public holidays — including state-specific ones (Bavaria has more than Berlin). You don't need to enter anything manually.

Step 3: Add Employees (15–30 minutes depending on team size)

Either manually (recommended for teams under 20) or via CSV import (recommended for 20 or more).

For the CSV import you need these columns: name, email, start date, department, leave entitlement. A template is available directly in the system.

Each employee automatically receives an invitation email and can register with a single click.

Step 4: Set Up Approval Structures (10 minutes)

Define who approves for whom. This can be simple (the owner approves everyone) or more granular (each department has its own approver). Both options are configured in a few clicks.

Step 5: Configure Absence Types (5 minutes)

The most common types are pre-loaded by default: vacation, sick leave, special leave. You can add more or rename existing ones.

Step 6: Enter Current Leave Balances (10–20 minutes)

This is the most time-intensive step if you're starting mid-year. Enter how many vacation days each employee has already taken in the current year. The system calculates remaining balances automatically.

Tip: If you're setting up the system at the start of the year, you can skip this step entirely.

Total time: 55–80 minutes

This is a realistic estimate for a 30-person company, not a marketing claim. Smaller teams will be faster.

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What Changes on Day 1 — and What Changes in Month 1

The full impact of a new system doesn't unfold all at once. Here's what to expect and when.

Day 1: The Obvious Changes

• Employees can request leave through the app — from anywhere, at any time
• You can see all pending requests at a glance
• The team calendar shows all planned absences in real time

What you won't see yet: habits don't change overnight. Some employees will still send an email the first week. That's normal.

Weeks 1–2: Building New Habits

• Actively remind the team to submit requests through the app
• Approve the first digital requests quickly — it encourages continued use
• Answer questions about the app as they come up (often a single message does the job)

Month 1: The Change Becomes Visible

• The Excel vacation spreadsheet stops being opened
• You no longer receive leave requests by email
• The team coordinates itself through the shared calendar
• Remaining leave is always current — no more manual recalculation

Month 3: The New Normal

• Absence tracking runs fully automatically in the background
• You have capacity freed up for other HR work
• Vacation overlap conflicts occur less frequently
• Employees appreciate the transparency and quick approvals

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Frequently Asked Questions About Switching

Will historical data be lost? No. You can manually enter or import leave data from the current and previous year. Historical data you don't need doesn't have to be migrated.

What about employees without a smartphone? TodayOff is also accessible in the browser. Employees without a smartphone can log in from a PC or tablet. A dedicated app is the most convenient option, but it's not a requirement.

How long does the company have access to old data after cancellation? Data can be exported for a defined period after cancellation. It is then deleted in accordance with GDPR.

What if an employee doesn't want to use the app? Leave can also be entered by an admin on behalf of an employee. Full flexibility.

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The Five Most Common Mistakes When Switching — and How to Avoid Them

1. Waiting too long for the "perfect moment." There is no perfect moment. Start now, adjust as you go.
2. Trying to explain everything yourself. Let the tool speak for itself. Most employees don't need training — just a brief introductory email.
3. Keeping the old system as a fallback. If the spreadsheet still exists, employees will fall back on it. Archive or delete it.
4. Not configuring all absence types from the start. If sick leave is added later, gaps appear in historical records.
5. Not using support. Most vendors (including TodayOff) offer live chat support to help with migration. Use it.

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Conclusion

Switching from a spreadsheet to digital absence tracking isn't a project — it's a task you can start today and finish tomorrow. The effort is one-time; the time savings are ongoing.

If you want to understand the legal framework around absence tracking in Germany, read our article on Vacation Law for Small Businesses in Germany. And if you're weighing up the right contract model for your business, check out our post on Leave Management Without an Annual Contract.

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We'll help you migrate — personally, via live chat. Get started now, and we'll walk you through every step. → https://app.todayoff.de