Why it matters
A worker on vacation, out sick, or taking a personal day still needs to show up correctly in your records. Without that, you'd be manually tracking those hours outside FabWise and reconciling them by hand before every payroll run. Time off flows through the same review and export path as worked time, so nothing falls through the cracks.
How it works
Once a time off request is approved, it appears in that worker's week in Timecards — even if they didn't work a single shift that week. A week made up entirely of approved time off (a full vacation week, for example) still shows up, still gets reviewed, and still signs off like any other week.
Time off doesn't carry the same kind of exceptions a worked shift does — there's no late arrival or missed meal break to review — so a time-off-only week is often a quick sign-off.
Where to find it
- Page: Timecards
- Path: Admin → Timecards → [select a week]
- Who can see it: Account owners and managers with hours-review access
What you'll see
A vacation-only week
If a worker took the whole week off, their row in Timecards shows their time off hours with no shift rows underneath — the week still needs your sign-off before it's included in the export.
A mixed week
A worker who worked part of the week and took approved time off for the rest sees both: their worked shifts (with any exceptions to resolve) and their time off hours, combined into one week.
What to do
Review and sign off a time-off week the same way you sign off any other week — see Timecards for the full sign-off flow. Once every exception on the worked portion is resolved (if any), sign off to lock the week and include it in the export.
Exporting to payroll
The payroll CSV export breaks out time off by type, so your provider can classify it correctly:
- Vacation
- Sick
- Personal
- Holiday
- Benefit Hours — time off from a benefit policy like Summer Fridays, a paid Birthday day, or Company Holiday (see Global and Benefit Time Off Policies) — always shown here, no matter what the policy is named or typed as
- Other PTO — any custom time off type your shop has set up
Each column shows the hours of that type the worker took during the exported pay period, alongside their regular worked hours. Your payroll provider takes it from there — FabWise doesn't classify pay, it hands over accurate hours by type.
Common questions
Q: Does time off count toward overtime?
A: No. Time off hours are not worked hours — your payroll provider's overtime rules apply to hours actually worked, not time off.
Q: A worker's week shows time off but I don't see any shifts — is something wrong?
A: No. A week made up entirely of approved time off (like a full vacation week) shows up with no shifts and no exceptions to resolve — it just needs your sign-off like any other week.
Q: Can I export time off before it's approved?
A: No. Only approved time off appears in the report and export — a pending request doesn't affect a worker's hours until it's decided.
Q: What if I need to make a change to a week that's already signed off?
A: Unlock the week from Timecards the same way you would for a worked-hours correction, make the change, then sign off again. See Timecards.
Related
- Timecards
- Exporting Hours for Payroll
- Time Off Policies
- Global and Benefit Time Off Policies
- Benefits Cost Report
Last updated: 2026-08-29