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Guide: Which Vacation Tracker Integration is Right for Me (Google, Microsoft Teams, Slack or Email Only)?

When signing up with Vacation Tracker you can choose between different integrations: Google, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Email. Regardless of the platform, you will have access to all the major features of Vacation Tracker such as calendar integration, online dashboard and notifications. However, some integrations have additional benefits that are not available to others.

Please note, you cannot use more than one integration when signing up with Vacation Tracker. For example: if you have signed up using our Google integration you cannot use our Slack bot.

Same Accessibility - All integrations have access to the following options:



Manage Leave Types, Holidays and Leave Requests

Using the online dashboard, Admins can set and edit leave types and holidays while Approvers can use the online dashboard to manage leave requests such as editing, approving, denying and reviewing leave information.

Configure Multiple Departments and Locations with Different Leave Policies

On the online dashboard, Admins can set and edit one or more Departments and Locations. Admins can also customize each location with independent policies and holidays.

Sync Vacation Tracker with Google Calendar / Outlook 365 Calendar / External Calendars

On our online dashboard, Users, Approvers and Admins can generate an iCal link using our Calendar page and use that link to automatically import Vacation Tracker information into their external calendar.

Invite Users via Email (Coming Soon)

An additional option to create user accounts by inviting users via email instead of creating user accounts by importing from various directories (Google, Office 365, Slack). This option will first be available for our Email Only integration and later expanded to cover all integrations.

Unlimited Admins and Approvers

On our online dashboard, Admins can set an unlimited numbers of Admins and Approvers. There are also no limits on Departments, Leave Types, Leave Policies or Locations.

Minimum Permissions Required

Vacation Tracker prides itself on requesting a minimal level of permissions in order to integrate with different platforms. We try our best to request the lowest permission level that will allow us to create user profiles and send out notifications to make setup and usage of Vacation Tracker easier. For companies requesting more complicated features which require more permissions, we do have a feature on our roadmap that should allow Admins to give additional permissions to access said features.

Adding Regional Holidays

Using our online dashboard, Admins can easily import regional holidays on the Locations page by using our import wizard. Admins can also create custom holidays such as company-specific holidays.

Access to an Online Dashboard

Our Online Dashboard is the Vacation Tracker hub where Admins can set and edit all settings related to leave tracking. It is also accesible by Users and Approvers; however, each permission level does have a different view of the online dashboard with higher limits for lower permission levels. For example: Users and Approvers are not able to see or edit any company settings within the Online Dashboard.

Daily and Weekly Notifications sent via Email

Besides receiving approval requests, Admins can also set daily and weekly notifications using the online dashboard. The notifications include holiday information and approved leaves only and notify users via email who is away for the day (daily notifications) or who is away for the whole week (Admins can choose between current and upcoming weekly notifications).

Integration Differences - Integration-specific options within Vacation Tracker:



Slack



Submit and manage Leave Requests directly from Slack

Users can use a command to activate our Slack bot and send out requests directly within Slack (without using the online dashboard). Approvers can also manage requests using the Slack bot.

Import Users from your Slack workspace

By using the online dashboard, Admins can import users directly from the Slack directory and the user profiles will be automatically created and activated. Users do not need to create their own account, they can simply use their Slack credentials to login to Vacation Tracker once they're imported and activated.

Daily and Weekly Notifications sent via Slack bot

Besides receiving approval requests, Admins can also set daily and weekly notifications to arrive to any channels (public and private) within Slack. The notifications include holiday information and approved leaves only and notify users who is away for the day (daily notifications) or who is away for the whole week (Admins can choose between current and upcoming weekly notifications).

Microsoft Teams



Submit and manage Leave Requests directly from Microsoft Teams

Users can chat and send out a message to activate our Microsoft Teams bot and send out requests directly within Microsoft Teams (without using the online dashboard). Approvers can also manage requests using the Microsoft Teams bot. Additionally, Users, Approvers and Admins can use our Microsoft Teams tabs to review their own private leave information as well as access a condensed version of the online dashboard (the view does vary depending on the permission levels: Users, Approvers, Admins).

Import Users from your Microsoft Active Directory

By using the online dashboard, Admins can import users directly from the Office 365 directory and the user profiles will be automatically created and activated. Users do not need to create their own account, they can simply use their Microsoft credentials to login to Vacation Tracker once they're imported and activated.

Daily and Weekly Notifications sent via Microsoft Teams bot

Besides receiving approval requests, Admins can also set daily and weekly notifications to arrive to any channels (public only) within Microsoft Teams. The notifications include holiday information and approved leaves only and notify users who is away for the day (daily notifications) or who is away for the whole week (Admins can choose between current and upcoming weekly notifications).

Google



Import Users from your Google Workspace

By using the online dashboard, Admins can import users directly from the Google Workspace directory and the user profiles will be automatically created and activated. Users do not need to create their own account, they can simply use their Google Workspace credentials to login to Vacation Tracker once they're imported and activated.

Daily and Weekly Notifications sent via email

Daily and weekly notifications are sent via email once the Notification settings have been configured. Admins are able to add the email addresses of the recipients in the alloted section. Once all the changes have been saved, viewing the upcoming leave information is a few clicks away!

Email Only



Inviting Users via email

With this option, no integration platform is required! Vacation Tracker Admins can add users to the account by sending a simple email invite. This option can be used for multiple email addresses with different domains. Once the users accept the invitation, they are automatically imported into the Vacation Tracker account. In a few steps, they can create their profile, and even upload their avatar!

Daily and Weekly Notifications sent via email

Daily and weekly notifications are sent via email once the Notification settings have been configured. Admins are able to add the email addresses of the recipients in the alloted section. Once all the changes have been saved, viewing the upcoming leave information is a few clicks away!


If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our Support Team! We are available from 9AM to 5PM EST via live chat and email!

Updated on: 24/03/2023

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