A balance period establishes the time span over which Workday calculates the financial and quantitative activity associated with a time off plan. The same balance period applies to accrual amounts that increase the plan balance, approved time off that reduces the balance, and the resulting time off plan balance. Typical examples include a calendar-year period or an anniversary period based on the worker's hire date.
The balance period must not be confused with the period schedule. The period schedule divides activity into processing intervals, such as weekly, biweekly, or monthly periods, and ordinarily determines accrual frequency. The balance period instead defines the broader measurement window within which those processing periods operate. Workday also uses it when determining carryover, resetting year-to-date values, and calculating balance totals.
Approval routing is controlled by the relevant business process definition, while security groups and domains determine access. Neither function is performed by the balance period. Therefore, the date range used to calculate and aggregate accrual, time off, and plan balances is the technically accurate answer.
Reference: Workday Education-Time Off Plans and Components, Balance Period