# Urlaubsverwaltung — Absence Management

Urlaubsverwaltung by Focus Shift Software GmbH holds a panel rating of 2/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 1.5/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Focus Shift Software GmbH (https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud)
- Category: [Absence Management](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/urlaubsverwaltung
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/urlaubsverwaltung/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/urlaubsverwaltung/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-21 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-01

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Focus Shift Software GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Default not stated; pages mention Germany [S1]
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

Urlaubsverwaltung is Focus Shift Software GmbH's hosted absence-management service. The bench scored it highest on absence data protection and sovereignty, both at 5-6: sickness is stored without the reason, the company-wide calendar is off by default, calendar links are deletable and regenerable, and the pages name a Karlsruhe contracting entity, Hetzner hosting in an ISO 27001-certified datacentre in Germany, and Mailjet with Paris and Berlin entities for email — though independently collected sovereignty attributes mark data residency and subprocessor exposure as unconfirmed. It scored lowest, 3-4, on sick leave and eAU and on payroll handover: sickness capture is manual, illness during booked leave requires manually cancelling the vacation, and handover to payroll is a CSV export for Excel; we found no public information on electronic certificate retrieval from health insurers, a named payroll system, or a documented API. Pricing transparency scored 4-5: the pages publish 10,00 € / Monat (zzgl. MwSt.) without stating what it applies to. The judges stayed within a single point of each other on every criterion; persona-weighted totals span 3.9 to 5.2.

**Speaks for it:**
- Public holidays are modelled per German federal state with a per-employee override and regional specials such as the Augsburger Friedensfest.
- Sickness is recorded without the medical reason, reason visibility is role-dependent, and the company-wide calendar is disabled by default.
- Calendar sharing covers own, department and company scopes, with links deletable and regenerable and a user-set window on how far past data reaches.
- Both the employee and Office-permission holders are reminded when a continuous sickness period exceeds six weeks of continued pay.
- Deletion on request and automated deletion processes are documented, with logfiles deleted after at most seven days.

**Held against it:**
- We found no public information on retrieval of the electronic certificate of incapacity from health insurers, on BEM support, or on certificates from privately insured employees.
- We found no public information on a named German payroll system such as DATEV, on absence types mapped to payroll codes, or on a documented API — handover is a CSV export usable in Excel.
- We found no public information on carry-over with expiry, part-time or joiner/leaver proration, or how the annual entitlement is computed.
- We found no public information on substitutes named on requests, multi-level approval chains, minimum-staffing or blackout rules, or a logged approval history.
- The time-tracking add-on is listed at + 2,00 € pro Mitarbeitende, but the base price of 10,00 € / Monat (zzgl. MwSt.) does not state what it applies to, and above 250 employees it becomes an individual offer.

**Best for:**
- You run a German team that needs public holidays modelled per federal state and per employee, including regional specials like the Augsburger Friedensfest.
- Your data-protection review weighs how sickness data is stored — reasons are not stored, calendars are off by default, and logfiles are deleted after seven days.
- You can hand a CSV export for Excel into your monthly payroll run and value absences and overtime syncing automatically with the same vendor's time tracking.
- You want to start on a 30-day free trial, take 10 % off for annual payment, and connect single sign-on via Microsoft Entra, Okta, Auth0 or Google Workspace.

**Avoid if:**
- You depend on electronic retrieval of the certificate of incapacity from health insurers rather than manual capture of the certificate period.
- Your payroll run needs a named German payroll system such as DATEV or a documented API rather than a retyped export.
- You expect booked vacation to cancel automatically when someone falls sick during it — the documented behaviour is manual cancellation.
- You must compute the annual invoice from public pricing before contacting the vendor — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The Team Lead | The Managing Director | The Payroll Accountant | The Data Protection Officer | The HR IT Integrator | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Entitlements & German leave rules | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Requests, approvals & team calendar | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Sick leave, eAU & continued pay | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Payroll handover, time tracking & API | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Health data, access & works council | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 |
| European sovereignty | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** |

### The judges

- **The Team Lead** (v1.0): Approves leave for twelve people across two shifts and finds out about clashes too late. Wants requests and approvals on the phone, a named substitute on every request, minimum-staffing warnings before approval, and a team calendar that shows who is away without showing why.
- **The Managing Director** (v1.0): Runs a forty-person company in two federal states without an HR department and is liable when leave is calculated wrong. Wants part-time entitlements prorated correctly, the right public holidays per site, carry-over that lapses only after employees were told, and the eAU handled without a phone call to every health insurer.
- **The Payroll Accountant** (v1.0): Closes payroll in DATEV every month and corrects whatever arrived late. Wants absences exported with the right payroll codes, the eAU result attached to the sick day, the six-week continued-pay limit counted per illness, and past months locked once they are paid.
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Treats every sick day as special-category data, because the law does. Asks who can see a reason or a certificate, how long absence records are kept and deleted, whether access is logged, where the data is hosted, and which subprocessors send the push notification that says someone is ill.
- **The HR IT Integrator** (v1.0): Wires the absence tool to payroll, time tracking, the identity provider and the calendar. Wants a documented API and webhooks, maintained connectors for the named German payroll systems rather than a CSV, SSO, and balances that agree with the time-tracking system on both sides.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Knows "eAU supported" can mean a photo upload, "DATEV integration" can mean a CSV, and "GDPR-compliant" can mean every manager sees every diagnosis-adjacent note. Reads for who actually retrieves the certificate, which leave rules are computed rather than typed in, and whether the carry-over expiry notice exists at all.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Ownership | Not determined | — | — |
| Data residency | Not determined | — | — |
| Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- DPA: yes [S12]
- Dpia: yes [S12]
- DSGVO conform calendar: yes [S7]
- Encrypted communication and backups: yes · yes [S1]
- Encryption standard: yes [S3]
- Encryption tls: yes [S3]
- ISO 27001 datacenter: Datenzentrum von Hetzner · ISO 27001 [S1]
- Tom access control: yes [S12]
- Tom backup: yes · yes [S12]
- Tom encryption: yes · yes [S12]
- Tom monitoring: yes [S12]

**Data**
- Deletion policy: yes [S3]
- Logfiles retention: 7 [S3]
- Portability: yes [S3]
- Registration fields: email · first_name · last_name · address · company_name [S3]
- Retention deletion: yes · yes · yes [S12]

**Hosting**
- Domain move: focus-shift.de [S8]
- Location: Deutschland · Hetzner [S1]
- Moved domain: https://focus-shift.de/kalenderintegration/ [S7]
- Moved domain: Site moved to focus-shift.de; this help page redirects to https://focus-shift.de/hilfe/urlaubsverwaltung/krankmeldungen/ [S9]
- New domain: site has moved to focus-shift.de with automatic redirect [S1]
- New domain: yes · https://focus-shift.de/hilfe/urlaubsverwaltung/feiertage/ [S5]
- New domain: Site moved to focus-shift.de; this page redirects to https://focus-shift.de/zeiterfassung/ [S10]
- Provider: Deutschland · Hetzner · yes [S12]
- Redirect target: Site has moved to focus-shift.de; pricing now at https://focus-shift.de/preis/ [S2]
- Region: Deutschland [S12]
- Region: Germany [S10]

**Integrations**
- Calendar integration: yes [S1]
- Export: CSV export usable in Excel [S10]
- Github: GitHub link (external) in footer [S6]
- Google calendar prerequisites: Google Calendar API aktiviert · OAuth2 Webanwendung Client erstellt · Testnutzer angelegt · Kalender ID notiert · Handshake in Urlaubsverwaltung durchgeführt [S8]
- Google calendar sync: one-way sync to Google Calendar · yes [S8]
- Help documentation link: Help documentation available for calendar integration [S7]
- Ical client guides: Apple Calendar · Google Calendar · Microsoft Calendar · Mozilla Thunderbird · Nextcloud Kalender-App [S8]
- Ical deletable: yes [S8]
- Ical privacy benefit: granular permissions and visibility configuration for privacy-compliant use [S8]
- Ical share format: iCal · yes [S8]
- Ical share scopes: own · department · company · yes [S8]
- SSO: yes · Microsoft 365 · Azure Active Directory · Microsoft Entra · Auth0 · Okta · Google Workspace [S1]

**Legal**
- Address: 76189 · Karlsruhe · Lindenallee 126 · Deutschland [S5]
- Company: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S8]
- Company: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S5]
- Company: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S12]
- Company name: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S1]
- Company name: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S11]
- Controller: datenschutz@urlaubsverwaltung.cloud · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland · Focus Shift Software GmbH [S3]
- Docs availability: Footer links: FAQ, Dokumentation, Datenschutzerklärung, Nutzungsbedingungen, Impressum [S6]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S9]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S6]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S11]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S2]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S10]
- Entity: urlaubsverwaltung.cloud · Focus Shift Software GmbH [S1]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S2]
- Entity: urlaubsverwaltung.cloud · Focus Shift Software GmbH [S3]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S5]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S6]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S7]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S8]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S9]
- Entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH [S10]
- Legal entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · Lindenallee 126, 76189 Karlsruhe, Deutschland [S4]
- Legal entity: Focus Shift Software GmbH · urlaubsverwaltung.cloud [S4]
- New domain: yes · focus-shift.de [S12]
- Register: HRB 737998 · Mannheim [S4]
- VAT id: DE336161607 [S4]

**Pricing**
- Annual contract terms: expected user count · annual · yes [S2]
- Annual discount: annual · 10 [S2]
- Annual discount: 10 [S10]
- Annual payment discount: 10 · annual payment [S7]
- Base price: no · month · 10 [S1]
- Base price: 10 · no [S7]
- Base price: 10 · yes [S10]
- Cancellation annual: annual · 1 month before end, in writing · yes [S2]
- Cancellation monthly: monthly · 14 [S2]
- Cloud features: Voller Funktionsumfang · Stetige Weiterentwicklung · Sicherheitsupdates · Single Sign On · Backups · E-Mail-Support · Onboarding [S1]
- Cloud features: Cloud plan includes full feature set, ongoing development, security updates, single sign-on, backups, email support, onboarding, GreenIT [S7]
- Cloud features: full features, continuous development, security updates, single sign on, backups, email support, onboarding, GreenIT [S10]
- Discount annual: 10 [S1]
- Enterprise contact: yes · 250 [S1]
- Enterprise contact threshold: yes · 250 [S7]
- Enterprise custom: individual offer · yes · 250 [S2]
- Enterprise offer: yes [S10]
- Free trial: yes [S10]
- Minimum: EUR · yes · 10 · 5 [S2]
- Over 250 contact: scheduled appointment · yes [S2]
- Page moved: Pricing content not present; page redirects to https://focus-shift.de/preis/ · yes · no [S2]
- Payment methods: bank transfer · SEPA direct debit · email monthly in arrears [S2]
- Prorated billing: yes [S2]
- Time tracking addon: Zeiterfassung · 2 [S1]
- Time tracking addon price: 2 [S7]
- Timetracking price: yes · 2 [S10]
- Trial: yes · 30 · yes · no [S2]
- Trial data deletion: yes [S2]
- User price monthly: EUR · yes · 2 [S2]
- Zeiterfassung price: yes · Zeiterfassung · EUR · yes · 2 [S2]
- Zeiterfassung surcharge line: Zeiterfassung · EUR · 2 [S2]

**Product**
- Absence data types: Personenstammdaten · Firmenstruktur/Rollen · Kommunikationsdaten (E-Mail) · Abwesenheitsdaten · Krankmeldungen ohne Grund · Arbeitszeiten · no [S12]
- Absence sync: yes [S10]
- Break tracking: yes [S10]
- Calendar department level sharing: yes [S7]
- Calendar ical format: Calendar integration uses iCalendar (iCal) format; link can be generated and imported into calendar applications [S7]
- Calendar own absence calendar: yes [S7]
- Calendar time window configurable: User decides how far calendar data extends into the past (sliding-window principle) [S7]
- Calendar URL regenerable: yes [S7]
- Calendar view: yes [S1]
- Child sick leave: yes [S9]
- Christmas eve new year options: Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve configurable as full workday, half workday, or non-workday [S5]
- Cloud features: Voller Funktionsumfang · Stetige Weiterentwicklung · Sicherheitsupdates · Single Sign On · Backups · E-Mail-Support · Onboarding · GreenIT & optimierte Ressourcennutzung [S2]
- Comments on entries: yes [S10]
- Company wide calendar roles: yes [S7]
- Compliance claim: compliant with BAG and EuGH rulings on time tracking [S10]
- Continued pay reminder: employee · Office permission holders · 6 [S9]
- Custom absence types: Erholungsurlaub · Fortbildung · Kur · Home-Office · yes [S1]
- Employee self submission: yes · Absences > sick leave settings [S9]
- Free trial: yes [S7]
- Google calendar integration: yes [S7]
- Holiday country region config: Country and region (e.g. German Bundesland) selectable in settings so their public holidays are not counted as workdays when applying for leave [S5]
- Holiday rules: per-person federal state and country holiday rules, supports European countries beyond Germany [S10]
- Industries: Agenturen · Apotheke · Arztpraxen · Bau · Betreuung- & Pflegeeinrichtungen · E-Commerce · Einzelhandel · Gesundheit & Yoga · Ingenieurbüro · Logistik & Handel · Notariat & Kanzlei · Öffentliche Verwaltung · Software & Hardware · Verlag · V… [S8]
- Industries: Agenturen, Apotheke, Arztpraxen, Bau, Betreuung- & Pflegeeinrichtungen, E-Commerce, Einzelhandel, Gesundheit & Yoga, Ingenieurbüro, Logistik & Handel, Notariat & Kanzlei, Öffentliche Verwaltung, Software & Hardware, Verlag, Versicherungen [S2]
- Industries targeted: Agency, pharmacy, doctor's practice, construction, care facilities, e-commerce, retail, health & yoga, engineering office, logistics & trade, notary & law firm, public administration, software & hardware, publishing, insurance [S5]
- Mobile app: Apple App Store · Google Play Store · yes [S1]
- Modules: Urlaubsverwaltung · Zeiterfassung [S1]
- Modules: Urlaubsverwaltung · Zeiterfassung [S3]
- Modules: Urlaubsverwaltung · Zeiterfassung [S6]
- Open source: yes [S1]
- Outlook calendar integration: yes [S7]
- Overtime activation setting: Overtime management must be enabled under Einstellungen > Arbeitszeiten [S6]
- Overtime deactivatable: yes [S6]
- Overtime edit restricted to privileged: Overtime entry/edit/delete can be restricted to Office, Chef, Abteilungsleiter, Freigabe-Verantwortlicher; normal users view only [S6]
- Overtime existing entries preserved: yes [S6]
- Overtime min hours per request: Minimum hours per overtime-reduction leave application globally configurable via "Minimale Anzahl an abgebauten Stunden pro Antrag" [S6]
- Overtime notification office: Office-permission users with active email notification receive an email on overtime entry create/edit [S6]
- Overtime reduction method: Overtime reduction via checkbox "Überstunden abbauen statt hinzufügen", subtracted from overtime account [S6]
- Overtime reduction without request: Direct overtime reduction (without leave application) toggleable via "Überstundenabbau ohne Urlaubsantrag aktivieren" [S6]
- Overtime sync: yes [S10]
- Overtime tracking: yes [S1]
- Overtime tracking: yes [S6]
- Overtime workflow privileged entry: Overtime recorded by privileged person (Office, Chef, Abteilungsleiter) [S6]

**Subprocessors**
- Mailjet: Mailjet SAS, Paris, Frankreich / Mailjet GmbH, Berlin · Mailjet · E-Mail-Versand [S3]
- Mailjet data: first_name · name · email · subject [S3]

**Support**
- Cloud email support: cloud · email [S2]

25 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/urlaubsverwaltung

## Questions

### Is Urlaubsverwaltung European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Urlaubsverwaltung as EU-Made.

### Where does Urlaubsverwaltung store data?

The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026. The vendor’s pages mention Germany as hosting location, per [the vendor’s page captured 1 Oct 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/5631).

### Does Urlaubsverwaltung have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Urlaubsverwaltung?

As of 15 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Kenjo (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/kenjo), [flair (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/flair-hr) and [HRlab (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/hrlab) highest among the other 16 Absence Management products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Kenjo](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/kenjo) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Urlaubsverwaltung alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/urlaubsverwaltung/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 8 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 6 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 3 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 compliance fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 hosting fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 pricing fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S2] Pricing page: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/preis/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S3] Privacy policy: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/datenschutzerklaerung/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S4] Legal notice: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/impressum/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S5] Entitlements & German leave rules — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/hilfe/urlaubsverwaltung/feiertage/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S6] Entitlements & German leave rules — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/hilfe/urlaubsverwaltung/ueberstunden/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S7] Requests, approvals & team calendar — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/kalenderintegration/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S8] Requests, approvals & team calendar — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/hilfe/urlaubsverwaltung/kalender/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S9] Sick leave, eAU & continued pay — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/hilfe/urlaubsverwaltung/krankmeldungen/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S10] Payroll handover, time tracking & API — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/zeiterfassung/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S11] Payroll handover, time tracking & API — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/hilfe/zeiterfassung/berichte/ (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S12] Health data, access & works council — found from sitemap: https://urlaubsverwaltung.cloud/datenschutz/ (checked 2026-10-13)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Urlaubsverwaltung — Absence Management", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-21. https://whats-best.ai/software/absence-management/urlaubsverwaltung

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/536?target=page