BambooHR Core Workflow B — Time Off, Benefits & Files

Overview

Secondary BambooHR workflows covering time off requests, PTO balance tracking, employee file management, photos, goals, and training records.

Prerequisites

• Completed

  bamboohr-install-auth

  setup

• BambooHRClient

  from

  bamboohr-sdk-patterns

• API key with time-off and files permissions

Instructions

Step 1: List Time Off Requests

// GET /time_off/requests/?start=YYYY-MM-DD&end=YYYY-MM-DD
const requests = await client.request<any[]>(
  'GET',
  `/time_off/requests/?start=2026-03-01&end=2026-03-31&status=approved`,
);

for (const req of requests) {
  console.log(`${req.employeeId}: ${req.start} to ${req.end} (${req.type.name})`);
  console.log(`  Status: ${req.status.status} | ${req.amount.amount} ${req.amount.unit}`);
}

Time off request response shape:

[
  {
    "id": "100",
    "employeeId": "123",
    "status": { "status": "approved", "lastChanged": "2026-03-15" },
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "start": "2026-03-20",
    "end": "2026-03-22",
    "type": { "id": "1", "name": "Vacation" },
    "amount": { "unit": "days", "amount": "3" },
    "notes": { "employee": "Spring break trip", "manager": "" },
    "dates": {
      "2026-03-20": "1", "2026-03-21": "1", "2026-03-22": "1"
    }
  }
]

Step 2: Create a Time Off Request

// PUT /employees/{id}/time_off/request
await fetch(`${BASE}/employees/123/time_off/request`, {
  method: 'PUT',
  headers: { Authorization: AUTH, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    status: 'requested',
    start: '2026-04-15',
    end: '2026-04-18',
    timeOffTypeId: 1, // 1 = Vacation, varies by company
    amount: 4,
    notes: { employee: 'Family vacation' },
    dates: {
      '2026-04-15': '1',
      '2026-04-16': '1',
      '2026-04-17': '1',
      '2026-04-18': '1',
    },
    previousRequest: 0,
  }),
});

Step 3: Approve or Deny a Request

// PUT /time_off/requests/{requestId}/status
await fetch(`${BASE}/time_off/requests/100/status`, {
  method: 'PUT',
  headers: { Authorization: AUTH, 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    status: 'approved', // or 'denied', 'canceled'
    note: 'Approved. Enjoy your trip!',
  }),
});

Step 4: Check PTO Balances (Estimated Future Balances)

// GET /employees/{id}/time_off/calculator?end=YYYY-MM-DD
const balances = await client.request<any>(
  'GET',
  `/employees/123/time_off/calculator?end=2026-12-31`,
);

// Returns balances for each time off type
for (const [typeId, balance] of Object.entries(balances)) {
  const b = balance as any;
  console.log(`${b.name}: ${b.balance} days remaining (accruing ${b.accrualRate}/period)`);
}

Step 5: Get Time Off Policies and Types

// GET /meta/time_off/types — list all time off types
const types = await client.request<Record<string, any>>(
  'GET', '/meta/time_off/types',
);

for (const [id, type] of Object.entries(types)) {
  console.log(`Type ${id}: ${(type as any).name}`);
}

// GET /time_off/policies — list all time off policies
const policies = await client.request<any[]>('GET', '/meta/time_off/policies');
for (const policy of policies) {
  console.log(`Policy: ${policy.name} (${policy.type})`);
}

Step 6: Employee Files

// GET /employees/{id}/files/view — list all files for an employee
const files = await client.request<{ categories: any[] }>(
  'GET', `/employees/123/files/view`,
);

for (const category of files.categories) {
  console.log(`Category: ${category.name}`);
  for (const file of category.files || []) {
    console.log(`  ${file.name} (${file.originalFileName}) — ${file.createdDate}`);
  }
}

// GET /employees/{id}/files/{fileId}/ — download a specific file
// Returns binary file content
const fileRes = await fetch(`${BASE}/employees/123/files/42/`, {
  headers: { Authorization: AUTH },
});
const fileBuffer = await fileRes.arrayBuffer();

// POST /employees/{id}/files — upload a new file
const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('file', new Blob([fileContent]), 'offer-letter.pdf');
formData.append('fileName', 'Offer Letter 2026');
formData.append('category', 'Unsigned Documents');

await fetch(`${BASE}/employees/123/files`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { Authorization: AUTH },
  body: formData,
});

Step 7: Employee Photos

// GET /employees/{id}/photo/small — get employee photo (small, medium, large, original)
const photoRes = await fetch(`${BASE}/employees/123/photo/small`, {
  headers: { Authorization: AUTH },
});
// Returns image binary (JPEG/PNG)

// POST /employees/{id}/photo — upload a new photo
const photoForm = new FormData();
photoForm.append('file', photoBlob, 'headshot.jpg');
await fetch(`${BASE}/employees/123/photo`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { Authorization: AUTH },
  body: photoForm,
});

Step 8: Goals and Training

// GET /v1/performance/employees/{id}/goals — list goals for an employee
const goals = await client.request<{ goals: any[] }>(
  'GET', `/v1/performance/employees/123/goals`,
);

for (const goal of goals.goals) {
  console.log(`${goal.title} — ${goal.percentComplete}% (${goal.status})`);
}

// GET /training/record/{employeeId} — get training records
const training = await client.request<any[]>(
  'GET', `/training/record/123`,
);

for (const record of training) {
  console.log(`${record.type}: completed ${record.completedDate}`);
}

Output

• Time off requests listed, created, and approved/denied
• PTO balances and accrual rates retrieved
• Employee files listed, downloaded, and uploaded
• Photos fetched and updated
• Goals and training records accessed

Error Handling

start

end

dates

timeOffTypeId

/meta/time_off/types

Enterprise Considerations

• Audit compliance: Time off changes are logged — check audit trail for SOX/HIPAA
• Bulk time off: Use the custom report endpoint with time-off fields for bulk exports
• Holiday calendars: BambooHR manages company holidays separately from PTO; query via the Who's Out calendar
• File retention: BambooHR stores files indefinitely; implement your own retention policies for downloads

Resources

• BambooHR Time Off API
• BambooHR Time Off Policies
• BambooHR Photos API
• BambooHR Goals API

Next Steps

For common errors and debugging, see

bamboohr-common-errors