Learn how to create an internal app to handle employee vacation requests and approvals.
Welcome to the “Build a Vacation Request App” course. In this lesson, you will learn how to create a complete internal business application using Convertigo NoCode Studio. The goal is to build a tool that allows employees to request vacations, and managers to review and approve or reject them, all through a clean and simple interface and all without writing any code.
The first step in building your application is to define the data model that will store vacation requests. To do this, go to your Baserow workspace and create a new table called “Vacations”. This table should include the following fields: employee name (text), start date (date), end date (date), reason (long text), status (single select: Pending, Approved, Rejected), and manager comment (optional long text). This will form the core database your app will connect to.
Once your table is created, return to Convertigo NoCode Studio and connect this Baserow table as a data source. This will allow you to create forms and views that can read and write data directly into this table.
Now that your data structure is ready, create a new page in your app interface where employees can fill out their vacation requests. On this page, drag a Form Block component onto the canvas. Inside the form, add a text input for the employee’s name, two date pickers for the start and end dates, and a text area for the reason behind the request. At the bottom of the form, include a Submit button labeled “Send Request”.
When the user submits the form, configure it to create a new record in the Vacations table. Make sure the “status” field is automatically set to “Pending” when the request is created. You can then show a short confirmation message or redirect the user to a thank-you screen, depending on the design you prefer.
Managers need to be able to view all pending vacation requests and respond to them. For this, create a new page in your app titled “Manage Requests”. On this page, add a Table component and link it to the same “Vacations” data source. Configure the table to display key fields such as employee name, start date, end date, reason, and status.
Next, add a filter so that only requests with the status “Pending” are displayed in this table. This ensures that managers only see the requests that require their attention. For each row in the table, add two buttons: one for approving the request, and one for rejecting it. When clicked, these buttons should update the corresponding record in the database, setting the status to either “Approved” or “Rejected”. Optionally, you can prompt the manager to add a short comment when making a decision.
To enhance your app, you can now add business logic to validate and automate some steps. For example, use a logic rule to ensure that the end date is not earlier than the start date. You can also calculate the total number of vacation days if needed.
If your project requires it, you can also send an automated email to the employee when the manager responds. Convertigo allows you to do this using built-in actions like Send Email, which can be triggered when the status is updated.
At this point, you now have a fully functional internal application. Employees can submit vacation requests easily through a form. Managers have their own interface to review and respond to requests. The application handles data flow smoothly, updates records, and provides a structured process for both parties.
To take the application further, you could add authentication to separate employee and manager views, ensuring that each user only sees what’s relevant to them. You could also add a dashboard showing overall statistics, such as the number of pending or approved requests, the average duration of vacations, or upcoming time-off periods. Filters by employee or by month could also improve visibility.
Congratulations, you’ve just created a complete vacation request app using Convertigo NoCode Studio. You’ve combined form design, data connectivity, business logic, and user workflows to produce a tool that solves a real business need — and you did it all without writing code. You’re now ready to build even more powerful and specialized apps for your company.