Edition: Professional, Business, Enterprise
User-level: Director, System Administrator
Setting up Leave Policy Types
The categories available when creating leave policies are determined by the tasks configured under the Leave stage of your internal project tasks. To amend or update these categories, follow the steps below:
Accessing Leave Tasks
Go to the Organisation dropdown.
Select Settings > Timesheets > Internal Project Tasks.
Locate the leave stage in the list > select the edit pencil to the right > Edit
Adding a New Leave Policy Type
Within the Leave stage, click Add Task.
Enter the name of the new leave policy type as the task name.
Click Save.
Editing an Existing Leave Policy Type
Find the relevant task under the Leave stage.
Click the edit pencil next to the task name > Edit
Change the task name as needed >Save.
Deleting a Leave Policy Type
Locate the task you want to remove.
Click the edit pencil next to it > Delete
Adding a new leave policy
With Synergy HR, you can easily create leave policies tailored to your organisation and regional requirements. You can create multiple policies depending on the leave requirements of your staff. For example, you might have a standard leave policy and a long workers leave policy.
Organisation drop-down > Settings > Organisation > Synergy HR > Leave Policies
Select 'Create New Policy' in the top right corner.
Complete the following fields:
Policy Type: This list is based on the leave tasks defined in your internal project stages.
Policy Name: Assign a clear and recognisable name to the policy.
Start Leave Accruement: Set how many days after a staff member’s start date leave begins to accrue.
First Accrual: Choose whether the initial accrual is calculated pro rata or for the full leave entitlement.
Accrual Cycle: Define how many days leave is accrued and how frequently (e.g. monthly, fortnightly, anually).
Carryover Amount: Decide whether unused leave can be fully carried over or if a cap applies. If a cap does apply, select how many days can be carried over and when the leave balance resets.
Hide Leave Balance: Choose whether to hide the leave balance from staff. This is typically used for sick leave policies.
3. Once done, save in the top right hand corner.
Adding a new public holiday calendar
You can create multiple public holiday calendars depending on your organisation or regional requirements. Once you have created the calendar, you'll also need to apply the days to all staff.
Organisation drop-down > Settings > Organisation > Synergy HR > Public Holidays
Click Create New Calendar in the top right corner to create a new public holiday calendar.
Enter a name for the calendar.
Add each public holiday by entering the holiday name, start date, and end date.
Click Add Holiday after each entry. Repeat for all holidays within the year.
Use the arrow next to the year to move to the following year and repeat the process for next year's public holidays.
Importing leave balances
Before importing staff leave balances or applying leave policies, ensure all staff records and leave policies have been set up correctly in Synergy.
Download the Leave Balance Import File
Go to the Organisation dropdown.
Navigate to Settings > Organisation > Synergy HR.
Click the Data Imports tab at the top of the page.
Select Download to get the import spreadsheet.
The import file contains four tabs:
Tab 1 – Instructions: Guidance on how to complete each sheet.
Tab 2 – Leave Policies: Assign leave policies to staff.
Tab 3 – Leave Balances: Set opening leave balances for each staff member.
Tab 4 – Public Holiday Calendars: Assign public holiday calendars.
Tab 2 – Importing Leave Policies
Use this tab to assign one or more leave policies to staff members.
Fill in the following fields:
Skip or Import: Enter Import this record to include the row.
First Name: Staff member’s first name, exactly as entered in Synergy.
Last Name: Staff member’s last name, exactly as configured in Synergy.
Leave Type: The type of leave (e.g. Annual Leave, Personal Leave).
Policy Name: The specific policy name assigned to the leave type.
You can assign multiple policies to the same staff member by adding one row per policy.
Tab 3 – Importing Leave Balances
Use this tab to enter the current leave balance for each staff member.
Required fields:
Skip or Import: Enter Import this record
First Name: As entered in Synergy.
Last Name: As configured in Synergy.
Leave Type: The leave policy the balance applies to.
Days: The number of days available.
This balance should reflect the total available as of today and should not be adjusted for any future booked leave.
To update multiple balances for a staff member, use a separate row for each policy.
Tab 4 – Importing Public Holiday Calendars
Use this tab to assign public holiday calendars to staff.
Required fields:
Skip or Import: Enter Import this record
First Name: As entered in Synergy.
Last Name: As configured in Synergy.
Public Holiday Calendar: The name of the calendar to assign, exactly as it appears in Synergy.
Uploading Your Completed Import File
Save the spreadsheet once all relevant information is entered.
Return to Synergy HR > Data Imports tab.
Click Next to proceed to the preview screen.
Review the data for any errors.
Click Import to complete the upload.
If any rows contain errors, they will be skipped. A downloadable Excel file with the failed rows will be provided so you can correct and re-import them.Before importing staff leave balances and applying policies, ensure all staff and policies have been configured.
Set default hours per day
The default hours per day should be equivalent to 1 day of the unavailable period for any staff. It should be the hours most staff work per day.
Organisation menu > settings > organisation > Synergy HR
Select the Settings tab
Enter the default number of hours per day
Save
Assigning Leave Policies to Staff Members
Once your leave policies have been set up, you can allocate them to individual staff members.
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Staff.
Open the relevant staff member's profile.
From the staff menu, choose Synergy HR > Staff HR Settings.
Click on the Leave Policies tab > In the top right corner, click Assign Leave Policy.
Fill in the following fields:
Leave Category: Select the type of leave (e.g. Annual Leave, Bereavement, Personal Leave).
Select Policy: Choose the specific policy you’ve configured under the selected leave category.
Effective Date: This is the date from which the leave policy becomes active. If the effective date is after the policy's accrual start date, no leave days will be applied automatically. In this case, you will need to manually import the staff member’s leave balance as at today.
Assigning Public Holiday Calendars to Staff
You can assign public holiday calendars to individual staff members through their HR settings.
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Select Staff.
Open the relevant staff member’s profile.
From the staff menu, navigate to Synergy HR > Staff HR Settings.
Click on the Public Holidays tab.
From the Public Holidays dropdown list, select the calendar you want to apply to this staff member.
Assigning a public holiday calendar does not automatically add these days to the staff member’s availability calendar. These dates must be added manually by:
A System Administrator, or
The staff member themselves.
How to Add Public Holidays to Staff Availability
Assigning a public holiday calendar to a staff member does not automatically display those dates in their availability calendar. To make public holidays visible in their calendar, you’ll need to manually add them by following the steps below.
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Availability > Team Availability.
Click Add in the top-right corner and select Add for Others.
Fill in the following fields:
Select Staff Members: Choose a specific staff member from the dropdown, or select All Staff to apply the holiday to everyone.
Type: Select the relevant leave type.
Detail: Choose Public Holidays.
Start and End Date: Enter the start and end dates of the public holiday.
Comment (Optional):Add a description such as the name of the public holiday (e.g. “ANZAC Day”).
When correctly entered as a public holiday, the Days field should show 0, indicating that no leave is deducted from the staff member’s balance.This ensures that the day is marked on the calendar but does not reduce their leave entitlement.
HR Office settings
You can configure default leave and public holiday policies for each office. These defaults will be automatically applied to any new staff member whose default office matches the one you’ve configured.
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Settings > Organisation > Offices.
Open the office you want to configure.
Scroll down to the Leave Policy section.
Set the default leave and public holiday policies for each policy type.
Save
Availability approvals
By default, availability approvals are enabled in Synergy. This means when a staff member submits a leave request, a notification is sent to the person they report to. That person can then approve or reject the leave.
If you'd prefer to streamline the process, Synergy HR allows you to disable availability approvals, so that all leave requests are automatically approved.
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Settings > Organisation > Configuration.
Scroll down to the Availability Approvals section.
Uncheck the box next to Availability Approvals.
Click Save in the top-right corner.
Synergy HR and the security matrix
You can control who has admin rights, and who can view, add, or edit availability requests by configuring permissions in the Security Matrix.
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Settings > Organisation > Security Matrix.
Locate the Availability feature within the matrix.
Adjust the permissions as needed for each security role (e.g. Read, Add, Edit, Admin).
Staff personal details
Synergy HR allows you to securely record and manage your staff members’ personal details, including:
Date of birth
Gender
Marital status
Private contact information (e.g. personal phone number, email, or address)
To enter personal data
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Select Staff.
Open the relevant staff member’s profile.
From the staff menu, navigate to Synergy HR > Personal Details
Select Edit in the top right
Update the relevant information and save in the top right.
If you need to store details beyond the standard fields, you can create custom fields tailored to your organisation’s requirements.
This ensures you can maintain complete and relevant staff records all in one place.
Skills and Qualifications in Synergy HR
Access to skills and qualifications is permission-based:
Users, Assistant PMs, and PMs can only view their own skills and qualifications.
To add or edit, you’ll need to ask a Director or System Administrator.
How to Add Skills and Qualifications
Go to the Organisation dropdown > Staff.
Open the relevant staff member’s profile.
From the staff menu, navigate to Synergy HR > Skills and Qualifications.
Adding a Qualification
A qualification is a formal credential, such as a Bachelor’s degree. These are important for compliance and industry requirements.
Click Add Qualification and complete the following:
Name: Name of the qualification
Authority: Issuing body or institution
Reference: Optional reference code or number
Expiry: Enter the expiry date, or select Doesn’t expire
Upload Certificate: Attach a digital copy of the certificate
Certificates are stored under:
Staff Menu > Temporary Files > HR folder > Certificates subfolder
Adding a Skill
A skill is a learned ability, often gained through training or on-the-job experience—e.g. duct sizing or fan selection.
Click + Skill, then:
Select from existing skills in the list, or type a new one—auto-fill will assist in standardising entries.
Managing Notes and To-Dos in HR
Synergy HR allows Directors and System Administrators to add private staff notes for sensitive information like performance reviews or HR matters.
How to access notes and to-dos
Organisation dropdown > staff
Staff menu > Synergy HR > Notes and to-dos
Adding a new note
Select add in the top right hand corner
Enter the following information:
Subject :A brief summary to identify the note’s purpose.
Note: The main body of text.
Active: Checked by default. Uncheck to mark as inactive (still searchable via filters).
Notify Me of Changes: Checked by default. Receive notifications when others add comments. Uncheck to disable notifications.
Tags: Add keywords to help you search for this note.
3. Select Save to finish
Adding a to-do to a note
You can attach a to-do to a note
Open the note > Select the to-Dos tab > Add
Complete the following
Subject: Brief summary of the to-do
Description: Main body of the to-do
Start and due dates: start and due date of the to-do
Status: Current status of the to-do
Assignee (any staff member)
Optional: Add tags or notify others
To-Dos are visible to all staff via the Organisation > To-Dos tab, even when added through a private HR note. Keep this in mind when assigning tasks related to confidential matters.
Editing and deleting notes
Select the edit pencil to the right of the note > Edit
Edit the subject, note or select delete in the bottom right
Editing to-dos
Select the edit pencil to the right of the note > edit
Click into the to-do tab
Select the '...' to the right of the to-do you want to edit > Edit
Edit the todo information and save.
It's not possible to delete to-dos or notes if they have to-dos against them.
Managing leave requests in the availability register
Leave requests can be approved or declined in the Team Availability screen:
Go to Organisation menu > Availability > Register.
Select the magnifying glass in the top right to filter the list for requested leave and select search
Select the '...' to the right of the leave request > choose to set as approved, set as cancelled, set as declined, or edit request
Approved requests are automatically added to the staff member’s timesheet.
Managing leave requests in the availability calendar
Leave requests can be managed in the Team Availability screen:
Light blue = pending approval
Dark blue = approved
You can hover over a request to view its dates and status.
To approve or edit:
Click into the leave period to open the leave panel on the right
Click into the requested dropdown to set the period as approved or cancelled or edit the leave period
3. Select save at the bottom of the panel
Creating a leave adjustment
To manually adjust leave balances:
Go to Organisation > Availability > Team availability
Click Add, then select Add Adjustment.
A panel will open on the right where you can enter the adjustment details for an individual staff member or a group.
Select Staff Member: Choose the staff member to apply the adjustment to
Type: Select Leave
Detail: Choose the specific leave type for the adjustment
Start Date: Set the effective date of the adjustment
Number of Days: Enter a positive number to add leave or a negative number to reduce the leave balance
Once completed, click Save. The adjustment will then appear in the Team Availability Register.