Cala HQ

Cala HQ is a leave management tool for small and distributed teams. It brings time-off requests, approvals, balances and the team calendar together, so managers can plan coverage and employees can check their own balances without asking someone to look up a spreadsheet.

An employee picks a leave type and dates and sends a request. The appropriate manager reviews it and can approve or decline it from the email notification. Once approved, the absence appears on the shared calendar so teammates can see who will be away. Filters help managers focus on the departments they need when planning coverage.

Teams can set up their own leave policies, including fixed allowances, accrued leave or unlimited time off. Cala HQ can prorate allowances for employees who join midyear and apply rules for carryover limits and expiry. Employees can see their remaining allowance and upcoming absences in their own dashboard, while managers can review changes and approval history in the activity log.

For teams spread across countries, public holidays appear alongside approved leave. Employees can have different local holiday calendars without the team having to maintain a separate spreadsheet for every country. Weekly summaries and leave reminders help managers and teammates plan for upcoming absences.

Cala HQ is designed for teams that need a straightforward leave process and a reliable view of availability. For example, an operations lead can check whether two colleagues will be away in the same week, review the relevant requests and plan cover in one place. Teams of up to five users can start free without a credit card.