There are two kinds of tool that get lumped together in Malta: a simple leave tracker like Book Time Off, that just handles time off, and a full HR and payroll suite that runs payroll and a lot more. If all you need is to book, approve and see leave, the tracker does it for a flat €1 per user a month. If you need Malta payroll, hours-based entitlement, clocking or hiring, that's a job for a suite. Buying the wrong one costs you either way.
The two kinds of tool
A leave tracker does one job well: people request time off, a manager approves it, and everyone sees who's away. It's cheap, quick to set up, and anyone can use it without training. Book Time Off is one of these, at a flat €1 per user a month.
An HR and payroll suite does far more: it runs Malta FSS payroll, works entitlement out in hours, often clocks attendance, and holds hiring, performance and HR records. It costs more, usually needs a proper setup, and is often priced by quote. In Malta, tools like Buddy, Talexio and Shireburn sit here.
Set the allowance in days
In Malta the statutory minimum works out to about 27 days a year for a full-timer, and day to day that is how most teams plan and talk about leave. Book Time Off tracks it in days and half-days, so you set each person's allowance in days and book against it. The hours side is a payroll job; our Malta leave calculator converts between days and hours if you ever need the exact figure. (General guidance, not legal advice.)
Side by side
Roughly what each type of tool is for. The tracker column is Book Time Off.
| Feature | Leave tracker (Book Time Off) | HR & payroll suite |
|---|---|---|
| Book & approve leave | Yes | Yes |
| See who's off (wallchart) | Yes | Usually |
| Run Malta payroll | No | Yes |
| Entitlement in hours & holiday-in-lieu | No | Yes |
| Clocking / attendance | No | Often |
| Hiring, performance, HR records | No | Often |
| Cost & effort | ||
| Price | Flat €1 / user / mo | Higher · often by quote |
| Setup | Minutes, yourself | A project |
How to decide
Ask one question: is leave the problem, or is it payroll and HR? If it's leave, get a simple tracker and keep it cheap, Book Time Off is €1 per user a month with a 30-day free trial. If you genuinely need payroll and the wider HR job, get the suite and use its leave module. You can also start with a tracker for leave and keep payroll where it already is. For a ranked look at the tools, see the Malta leave software guide. Setting up a policy at the same time? Download our free Malta annual leave policy template.
Questions people ask
No. If leave is the job, a simple tracker handles it for far less than a full HR suite. Book Time Off is €1 per user a month, loads Malta's 14 public holidays automatically, and lets the whole team book and approve time off. You'd only need a suite if you also need payroll, clocking, hiring or performance.
No. A tracker like Book Time Off works in days and half-days, the way most Maltese teams plan holidays, so a full-timer's allowance is about 27 days. Running payroll, and reconciling entitlement in hours, is a separate payroll job. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Yes. Keep payroll with an accountant, a bureau or a payroll platform, and run a simple tracker for the day-to-day leave. Book Time Off exports a clean CSV record whenever payroll needs one.
In Malta, Buddy, Talexio and Shireburn are HR and payroll suites (they run payroll and more). Book Time Off, TimeOff.Management and the international names are focused leave trackers. The suites do far more; the trackers are simpler and cheaper for leave alone.
Sources, checked 21 July 2026: Malta leave from DIER and S.L. 452.87 under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452); Book Time Off from the live product. Not legal or payroll advice.