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Jane Payroll (Beta): Managing Vacation Pay and Time 🇨🇦

  1. Payroll
  2. Jane Payroll (Beta): Managing Vacation Pay and Time 🇨🇦

    3. 12 min read
    Practice Plan Thrive Plan Legacy Plans

This feature is currently in beta (early access) for Canadian clinics.
Learn more and add yourself to the waitlist on our landing page.

Vacation in Canada comes in two parts: vacation pay and vacation time.

  • Vacation pay is the money employees earn for vacation.
  • Vacation time is the hours or days employees are allowed to take off.

Jane Payroll can help you manage both using time off policies.

Once you’ve completed the onboarding checklist, and before you run your first payroll, you’ll find a Time Off section under Billing > Payroll > Account > Time Off. This is where you’ll create the policy that fits how your clinic manages vacation.

There are a few different ways to manage vacation in Jane, depending on what matters most to your clinic. The sections below will help you choose the right option and walk you through how to set it up.

Choose how your clinic manages vacation

Start by thinking about what you care about most.

  • If the vacation pay money balance is most important to you and you want Jane to pay it out automatically every pay cheque, Option 1 is the best fit.
  • If you want to track both the vacation pay money balance and the vacation time (hours) balance, and only pay staff when they take time off, Option 2 is the right choice.
  • If you mainly care about tracking time off, because your clinic offers more vacation than the minimum requirements and you want those balances to show on pay stubs and be paid when time is taken, Option 3 will work best.

Use the links below to jump to the option that matches how your clinic operates:

Option 1: Pay vacation pay every paycheck

(Create a Vacation Pay time off policy — recommended for most clinics)

Choose this option if vacation pay is the most important thing to track, and you want Jane to pay out what staff have earned on every pay cheque.

This is a great fit if your clinic pays vacation pay as it’s earned. With this setup, you don’t need to worry about managing vacation pay balances or recording time off to trigger payment.

How to set this up

  1. Head to Billing → Payroll → Account → Click Edit next to Time Off
  2. Click + Add time off
  3. Select Vacation Pay
  4. Customize the policy name if you’d like by clicking the pencil icon
  5. Choose pay out on every pay cheque
  6. Enter the vacation pay rate (e.g. 4% or 6%)
  7. For how time off hours are accrued, choose Manual, I will set each worker’s time off balance
  8. Click Save

How this works day to day

With this setup:

  • Jane pays out vacation pay as it is earned every payroll run, based on the rate you entered
  • You don’t need to record vacation time during payroll for vacation pay purposes
  • The vacation pay hours balance doesn’t affect payroll calculations

If this is how your clinic already operates, this option keeps payroll simple and predictable.

Option 2: Accrue vacation pay and pay it out when time is taken

Create a Vacation Pay time off policy)

Choose this option if you want Jane to track a vacation pay money balance over time and only pay it out when an employee actually takes vacation.

This option connects vacation pay dollars and vacation pay hours.

How to set this up

  1. Head to Billing → Payroll → Account → Click Edit next to Time Off
  2. Click + Add time off
  3. Select Vacation Pay
  4. Customize the policy name if you’d like by clicking the pencil icon
  5. Select Accrue and carry a balance
  6. Enter the vacation pay rate (e.g. 4% or 6%)
  7. Choose how vacation time (hours) should be handled - either a fixed amount each year (calendar year or hire anniversary), or manually setting the hours balance.
  8. Click Save

How this works day to day

With this setup:

  • Jane accrues vacation pay dollars as payroll runs
  • Vacation time hours act as the trigger for payment
  • When you record vacation time during payroll, Jane:
    • Reduce the vacation hours balance
    • Reduce the vacation money balance
    • Pay the employee for the vacation taken

This option works well if you want Jane to manage the relationship between time taken and money paid.

Option 3: Track paid time off only

Create a Paid Time Off policy)

Choose this option if you mainly care about tracking time off, rather than a vacation pay money balance.

This is common for clinics that:

  • Offer more vacation time than the minimum requirements
  • Allow staff to take time off before they’ve been with the clinic for a full year
  • Want staff to see a clear time off balance on their pay stubs

How to set this up

Instead of creating a Vacation Pay policy, you will:

  1. Head to Billing → Payroll → Account → Click Edit next to Time Off
  2. Click + Add time off
  3. Select Paid Time Off (PTO)
  4. Choose how time off hours should accrue:
    • Fixed amount each year
    • Manually setting the hours balance
    • Based on the hours worked
    • No accrual, with unlimited time of
  5. Click Save

How this works day to day

With this setup:

  • Jane tracks time off hours only
  • When you run payroll and record paid time off:
    • Jane asks how many hours were taken in that pay period
    • Jane shows the employee’s pay rate for those hours
    • You can adjust the rate if needed before submitting payroll

This option works well if your clinic focuses on tracking and paying time off, without managing vacation pay as a separate balance.

Assigning your time off policy to staff

Once you’ve created your time off policies, you’ll need to assign them to each staff member they apply to.

To assign a policy:

  1. Go to the Staff tab → [Select a Staff Member]
  2. Click Payroll
  3. Scroll to Time Off → click Edit
  4. Click + Add Time Off and choose the policy
    • If you’re switching from another payroll system or setting this up mid-year, this is also where you can enter any existing balances, such as a starting money or hours balance.
  5. Click Save

Recording time off during payroll (when needed)

You only need to record time off during payroll if you are using:

  • Option 2 (accrue and carry a balance), or
  • Option 3 (Paid Time Off only)

If you’re using Option 1, you do not need to record time off for vacation pay purposes.

To record time off during payroll:

  1. Start running payroll
  2. Find the staff member in the payroll list
  3. Click the three vertical dots on the far right of their row
  4. Select Manage Time Off
  5. Click + Add a New Time Off
  6. Select the time off policy type
  7. Enter the number of hours taken in that pay period and their current hourly rate, and Jane will automatically update the hours and money balances as they’re used.

💡Jane Tip: If you don’t see Manage Time Off when running payroll, it usually means the staff member hasn’t been assigned a time off policy yet.

FAQ

Why is my vacation pay balance negative?

This usually means your clinic provided more paid time off than what a percentage-based vacation pay rate would normally cover. In other words, the employee has already been paid more vacation than what has accrued.

You can think of the balance this way:

  • A positive balance means vacation pay is still owed to the employee
  • A negative balance means the employee has already been paid more vacation than what has accrued

This is common for clinics with generous vacation policies and does not indicate an error, as vacation pay will continue to accrue on a negative balance.

Do I need to track vacation hours in Jane?

No. Tracking vacation hours in Jane is optional. If you don’t want to track hours, Option 1 is usually the best fit.

Your clinic is still responsible for ensuring staff receive the vacation time they’re entitled to, even if you track it outside of Jane.

Do I need to track unpaid hours in Jane?

Tracking unpaid time off isn’t required for payroll, but some businesses like to keep everything centralized in one place - so this is really up to you and what feels best for you and your team.

Both paid and unpaid time off policy types are available when setting up your Time Off Policies, and you can include them in payroll as needed.

Can I adjust vacation time manually?

Yes. You can edit a staff member’s time off balance at any time:

  1. Go to the Staff Profile → Payroll
  2. Click Edit next to Time Off
  3. Click Edit next to the Vacation Pay policy
  4. Click the pencil icon next to the balance you wish to adjust
  5. Click Save

Are Timesheets connected to Time Off?

Not at this time. Marking a day as “vacation” in Timesheets does not affect time off or vacation pay balances. Time off still must be recorded through payroll.

Will Jane calculate vacation pay automatically?

Yes. Jane calculates vacation pay based on the rate and option you choose and applies it during payroll.

How do I manage unused accrued Vacation Pay?

If an employee has unused accrued vacation pay that needs to be paid out - for example, at the end of employment, before a leave, or when transitioning from accrual to being paid out each pay cheque - here’s how to handle it:

  1. Go to the Staff Profile → Payroll
  2. Click Edit next to Time Off
  3. Make note of the remaining Money Balance amount
  4. Click Edit next to the Vacation Pay policy
  5. Click the pencil icon next to the Money Balance
  6. Adjust the money balance down to $0
  7. Click Save
  8. When running payroll, you’ll want to enter the amount of unused vacation pay into the Vacation Pay - Cashout pay type. This ensures the payout shows on their pay stub, which may be needed for a Record of Employment (ROE).

If you’re unsure which option fits your clinic best, a good starting point is reviewing how you currently pay vacation pay and track time off. And if you’d like a hand figuring it out, our payroll support team is happy to walk through your setup with you — reach out at [email protected].