Features that matter
We focused on the capabilities engineering teams rely on every week and left out everything that distracts from that work.
The problem
“Who's out when?” shouldn't require a Slack search
In distributed engineering teams, visibility degrades quickly. PTO details end up scattered across channels, spreadsheets, and DMs, and it becomes difficult to maintain a reliable view of who is available.
What we do
One shared calendar. Color-coded by person. Overlaps highlighted so you spot when too many people are away at once. Filter by team. Works across time zones. No digging.
The problem
Approvals shouldn't block on time zones
With requesters and managers in different time zones, approvals can easily stall or be forgotten without a system that keeps them moving.
What we do
Pending requests land in your inbox. Approve or deny with one click. Add a reason. Deny with preset reasons. Overlap warnings so you catch conflicts. Works async, review whenever it fits. Admins can approve their own.
Pending approvals
Alex Kim
Mar 18–21 · 3 days
Jordan Lee
Mar 25–27 · 2 days
The problem
Release week. Launch day. Quarter-end. Someone asks for PTO.
You need everyone hands-on. But without a system, you're saying no manually, or worse, finding out too late.
What we do
Set freeze periods. The app blocks PTO requests in those dates automatically. No surprises. No awkward conversations. You control when time off is allowed.
PTO requests in these ranges are blocked automatically.
The problem
Global teams need global holidays
US holidays. UK holidays. Canada. Custom company days. If you don't account for them, PTO math is wrong and people get confused.
What we do
Region-based or custom calendars. Assign org-wide or per team. Holidays auto-excluded from PTO requests. See your assigned calendars and upcoming holidays on your profile, color-coded when you have multiple.
The problem
Plan coverage. Know who has days to burn.
Without visibility, you can't nudge people to take time off before year-end. You can't spot which months are stretched thin. You react instead of plan.
What we do
PTO balances per person. Unlimited or fixed allowance. Team capacity by month, see which months have headroom and which are bottlenecks. Filter by team. Plan ahead before it's too late.
Team capacity by month
OperationsAnalytics
See what matters at a glance
Summary metrics, approval rates, time to decision. Trends by month. Team capacity and coverage. Export to CSV. Built for managers and admins who need the full picture without digging.
Pending
2
Approved
47
Avg decision
4.2h
Approval rate
94%
Absences by month
Team capacity by month
OperationsIntegrations
Time off, in the tools your team already lives in
Pausr is the system of record, but the day-to-day happens where your team already works. Connect Slack and Google Calendar so approvals and out-of-office details show up without anyone switching tabs.
What we do
Approve and deny in Slack. Approved time off lands on Google Calendar. Both connect in a few clicks, and neither changes how Pausr tracks balances, coverage, and history.
Slack
Approve or deny time-off requests and see who's in or out, without leaving Slack. Connect your workspace in one click.
Submitting requests from Slack is coming soon.
Google Calendar
Approved time off syncs to the employee's Google Calendar as an out-of-office event, so teammates see who is out. Optionally auto-decline meetings that fall during someone's time off.
The problem
Last-minute time off leaves the team blindsided
A day off tomorrow is easy to absorb. A two-week vacation with a day's warning is not. Without a rule, every request is a judgment call, and the team finds out too late to plan around it.
What we do
Set a minimum advance notice for time-off requests, and vary it by request length so longer vacations need more warning. Requests that fall short are blocked at submission with a clear message, before they reach your inbox.
Example policy