The quick answer
With SuitePeople Time-Off Management enabled, the employee clicks Request Time-Off on the Time-Off portlet in the Employee Center, picks the dates, chooses a time-off type and duration for each day, adds a message and clicks Submit. The request goes to Pending Approval and routes to the approver set up for the employee, usually the supervisor. In this example the supervisor opens Outstanding Time-Off Requests from the Reminders portlet, clicks View and then Approve. A pending request doesn't reduce the displayed balance here. The days move to scheduled only when the request is approved. In this example Vacation shows 13 days to book before the request and after it's submitted, and 12 to book with 3 scheduled once the supervisor approves it.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own employees, plan and dates when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, Alex Morgan at Example Supply Co. has a time-off plan that gives him 15 Vacation days this year. Two of them, December 28 and 29, are already approved. He wants Friday, October 16 off. His supervisor, Renata Voss, approves his requests. In the demo she uses an HR Manager role. Your approver's role name will depend on your account.
Time-Off Management is part of SuitePeople. The account needs the HR Information System provisioned and the Time-Off Management feature checked on the Employees subtab of Setup > Company > Enable Features. Before anyone can request time off, an administrator sets up:
- Time-off types, such as Vacation, Sick Leave and Unpaid Leave. A type marked track only records usage without an entitlement. The type also sets the increment unit (days or hours) and the minimum increment, for example 0.5 day.
- A time-off plan with rules for each type: entitlement, accrual, accrual limit, tenure and carryover.
- The employee's work calendar, which sets how many hours make a day and which days are working days.
- The plan and a start date on the Time-Off subtab of the employee record, plus a supervisor or time-off approver. Without a plan and start date the employee can't book time off against a balance.
- The approval routing. In this example one approval from the supervisor finishes the request. Accounts can use a designated approver, more than one approval level or automatic approval instead.
The employee's role needs time-off permission, and the Time-Off portlet has to be on the dashboard. If an employee can't see it, check the feature, the role's permission and the dashboard layout. The approver's role also needs permission to approve time off. Being the supervisor isn't always enough. Portlet labels can differ by version and customization.
01. Check the employee's time-off balance
Sign in with the Employee Center role and scroll to the Time-Off portlet on the home page. The Home tab shows 13 above Vacation (Days), the days Alex can still book, and says his next approved time off is booked for Dec 28, 2026 To Dec 29, 2026.
Click the Balances tab. Vacation shows 13 under To Be Booked (Days) and 2 under Scheduled + Used (Days), labeled 2 Scheduled. Unpaid Leave shows 0. Sick Leave is track only and shows 1, labeled 1 Used. Here the 13 left to book plus the 2 already scheduled make the 15-day entitlement. If your plan accrues during the year, the two columns can add up to less than the annual entitlement.
Click the Requests tab. Request #57 for Mon Dec 28, 2026 to Tue Dec 29, 2026 is Approved, with Vacation: 2.
02. Request the day off
Go back to the Home tab and click Request Time-Off. Click the first Dates field. A two-month calendar opens. Grayed-out days can't be requested, such as weekends and other non-working days in the employee's work calendar. Dates already covered by another full-day request can be unavailable too. Click 16 in October as the start date.
Click 16 again for the end date. Both fields show October 16, 2026, and a row appears for FRI OCTOBER 16 with a type list. Open the list. It notes that days available account for time off already approved this year, and shows VACATION 13 days available, UNPAID LEAVE Track only and SICK LEAVE Track only. Choose Vacation.
A panel opens with Type and Duration. Open Duration. In this account it offers All day and 0.5 day, because of the Vacation type's increment settings. Other accounts can show different increments, or hours instead of days. For a half day you'd pick 0.5 day. Keep All day and click Done.
The row now shows VACATION, All day and an edit (pencil) control. Here it also says No coworkers away. That note depends on who else has time off on that date and what you can see. In Message to Approver, enter "Long weekend for a family visit". Read the Summary before you submit: "You are requesting 1 Vacation day on October 16th 2026."
03. Submit the request and check its status
Click Submit. The Confirmation says your request has been successfully submitted. The request shows the message, VACATION REQUEST and Pending Approval, and the buttons change to Back and Cancel Request.
Click Back. On the Time-Off portlet, the Requests tab lists Request #63 for Fri Oct 16, 2026 as Pending Approval. NetSuite assigns the request number, so yours will be different.
The Home tab still shows 13 Vacation days to book. In this account a pending request isn't scheduled yet, so it doesn't reduce the displayed balance.
04. Approve the request as the supervisor
The request goes to Renata Voss, Alex's supervisor. Sign in as the approver. In this demo account both logins are in the account menu at the top right, so the recording switches to Renata's HR Manager role there. In a live account the approver signs in with their own login and a role that can approve time off. Depending on the role and dashboard, the pending requests can also be reached from another approval link instead of Reminders. Her Reminders portlet shows 1 above Outstanding Time-Off Requests.
Click Outstanding Time-Off Requests. The results show one row: 10/16/2026 to 10/16/2026, Alex Morgan, Pending Approval, Vacation.
Click View. The request shows Alex's message, VACATION REQUEST, Pending Approval and the FRI OCTOBER 16 row with VACATION and All day, plus Approve and Reject buttons.
Click Approve. The Confirmation says you have successfully approved the time-off request, and No Action Required says you have no time-off requests to approve.
Go back to the home page with Home > Dashboard. Outstanding Time-Off Requests now shows 0.
05. Confirm the new balance and status
Switch back to Alex's Employee Center role and go to the Time-Off portlet. Home now shows 12 Vacation days to book, and his next approved time off is booked for Oct 16, 2026.
Check the result
- Balances shows Vacation 12 To Be Booked and 3 Scheduled: the 2 days in December plus the day just approved.
- 12 + 3 is still 15, this plan's Vacation entitlement for the year.
- Home says the next approved time off is Oct 16, 2026.
- Requests shows Request #63 as Approved.
- The approver's Outstanding Time-Off Requests reminder is back to 0.
If Alex's plans change, he opens Request #63 and clicks Cancel Request, then submits a new request. The Employee Center doesn't let him edit a submitted request. Pending and approved requests for future dates can generally be canceled, but an approved request tied to a locked timesheet has to be corrected by an administrator or HR user with the right access. The new request gets its own number.
Approval doesn't always create a timesheet entry. The time-off type has settings that decide whether approved time off creates a calendar event and, with time tracking in use, a time entry. Payroll treatment depends on the type's payroll item and your payroll setup. None of that is shown here, so test it separately.
Common questions
Who approves a time-off request in NetSuite?
The approver set up for the employee, which is usually the supervisor. Accounts can also use a designated approver, more than one approval level or automatic approval. In this example the supervisor sees 1 Outstanding Time-Off Requests in her Reminders, clicks View and approves it.
Why didn't my time-off balance change after I submitted a request?
The request is still Pending Approval, and a pending request isn't scheduled yet. Here Vacation stayed at 13 To Be Booked until the supervisor approved the day off.
When does a time-off request reduce the balance?
When it's approved. After approval Vacation went from 13 to 12 To Be Booked, and Scheduled went from 2 to 3.
How do I request a half day off?
Click Request Time-Off, pick the date, choose the type, and change Duration from All day to 0.5 day. That option only shows up when the time-off type's increment settings allow half days. Check the Summary before you submit.
Can I edit a time-off request after submitting it?
Not from the Employee Center. Open the request from the Requests tab, click Cancel Request, and submit a new one with the right dates, type or duration. The new request gets its own number.
Can an approved time-off request be canceled?
Usually, if it's for a future date. Open it and click Cancel Request. If the approved time off is on a locked timesheet, an administrator or HR user with the right access has to fix it.
What do To Be Booked and Scheduled + Used mean in the Time-Off portlet?
To Be Booked is what the employee can still request. Scheduled is approved time off that hasn't been taken yet, and Used is time off already taken. In this example the 2 December days plus the newly approved October day make 3 Scheduled.
What do I need to set up before employees can request time off in NetSuite?
The HR Information System has to be provisioned and Time-Off Management checked on the Employees subtab of Setup > Company > Enable Features. Then set up time-off types, a time-off plan with its rules, work calendars, and the plan and start date on the Time-Off subtab of each employee record. The employee also needs a supervisor or time-off approver.
Does approving time off update the employee's timesheet?
Not always. The time-off type's settings decide whether approved time off creates a calendar event and, with time tracking in use, a time entry. Payroll use depends on the type's payroll item and your payroll setup.
Why don't I see the Time-Off portlet?
Check that Time-Off Management is enabled, that your role has time-off permission, and that the portlet is on your dashboard. You also need a time-off plan and start date on your employee record before there's a balance to show.