15 Best HRIS Software for Small Business in 2024

With talent shortage tripling in the past 10 years, today’s HR is no longer a back-office function, but a strategic partner in keeping the company competitive. After all, employees are a company’s most valuable asset. It is no coincidence that the most competitive companies also have the most talented skills.

This is why scouting for the best HRIS software for small business is important. Beyond helping you manage timesheets, payroll, benefits, workforce analytics, and performance analytics, it helps you to hire and onboard the most fitting candidates.

In this guide, we’ve listed the best HR software that can scale HRIS functions either by itself or in integration with other HR-oriented apps. Different companies may have different HR process priorities, so your choice of software will depend on which process you give the most weight to, be it payroll processing, time tracking, training, or any other HR goal.

HRIS consolidates in one place HR processes like talent sourcing, payroll, benefits planning, clerical tasks, and reporting. As opposed to HR software, HRIS provides an end-to-end solution with the following features:

• a centralized database integrating other HR modules for a single source of truth of employee information
• a module that features applicant tracking, talent management, or recruitment management to help you attract, hire, and retain talents
• an employee onboarding tool that automates the process for new hires, thus freeing up HR from the mundane tasks of administrative work
• a performance evaluation feature that standardizes consistent, measurable employee appraisals useful for career and compensation planning
• an employee self-service (ESS) that staff can access to view and manage their profiles and file clerical tasks such as time-offs, payroll data, and benefits
• employee timesheets that integrate attendance with a payroll system.
• nice-to-have features that include workforce analytics, an LMS-based training module, a payroll system

Below are some of the best HRIS software for small businesses providing several, if not all, of the features above.

15 Best HRIS Software for Small Business

1. BambooHR

BambooHR is a comprehensive HRIS for small and medium businesses with tools to help them transform HR into a strategic business partner.

A centralized secure database makes it easy to consolidate collected data throughout the employee life cycle, from hiring to onboarding to talent management. You can access key employee data such as personal, performance, and payment details at any time and from any device.

The employee database also helps you implement a single source of truth, avoiding double-entry errors or multiple updates.

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Likewise, BambooHR is known for its people data analytics, which helps you generate reports for strategic decisions on workplace planning, employee turnover, approval tracking, and other HR concerns.

You can also customize approval workflows and other HR processes down to a few clicks. In this way, you get more time to focus on more pressing issues like employee engagement, career development, and strategic planning.

Meanwhile, applicant tracking tools help you organize the candidates’ data in one place throughout the hiring stages. With greater data visibility, you can compare their qualifications and select the best-fitting ones for specific job roles.

BambooHR also features such as e-signatures, offboarding tools, time-tracking, and payroll.

For busy HR managers, native Android and iOS apps ensure a seamless mobile experience. The apps help you approve time-off requests, monitor employee performance, and do more HR tasks remotely or on the go.

Pricing is by quote.

2. Paycor

Next on our list is Paycor, a human capital management or HCM platform designed to provide SMBs with comprehensive HR technology. This software solution brings all the essential tools, such as standard automation capabilities, to simplify various administrative HR tasks. Among its features are an applicant tracking system, onboarding, time and attendance, scheduling, benefits administration, payroll processing, and learning management.

Beyond its features, Paycor is easy to use and can be configured specifically to your business needs and industry requirements. Furthermore, you can extend its functionality by integrating it with a wide range of third-party platforms, such as CloudPay, HIRETech, and Nationwide Retirement Plans, among others.

Pricing for Paycor starts at $99 per month.

3. Justworks

Justworks simplifies HR, payroll, benefits, and compliance for entrepreneurs and growing businesses with their full HR IT platform. Justworks centralizes all critical HR services under one roof with a user-friendly interface, letting business owners focus on growth and core operations.

At its core, Justworks simplifies payroll processes. The platform handles off-cycle payments, vendor and contractor payments, and salaried or hourly employee payments seamlessly. It also handles payroll tax, W-2 & 1099, and unemployment insurance forms, decreasing corporate administrative strain.

Beyond payroll, Justworks provides employment practices liability insurance, HR consultation, harassment prevention, and inclusion training to assist firms stay compliant.

Benefits administration is another platform strength. The Plus Plan helps companies attract and keep top people by providing medical, dental, and vision benefits. The software also offers online onboarding, PTO management, and other HR services.

After acquiring Boomr, Justworks developed Justworks Hours, a time-and-attendance product that expanded its HR offerings, in 2021. This new tool simplifies time and attendance management and integrates with the main platform.

Pricing for Justworks includes $59/month for Basic Plan ($49/month for 50+ employees) and $99/month for Plus Plan ($89/month for 50+ employees).

4. Monday.com

monday.com is known for its highly visible and versatile task-oriented pipeline that adapts to various business processes, including HR. You can configure it as an employee management system that covers a range of HR processes such as recruitment, onboarding, learning development, and day-to-day employee performance.

The software features multiple visual options like calendar and map. It also lets you automate clerical tasks and get a big picture of your HR metrics.

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As an applicant tracking solution, you can follow up on top candidates conveniently by setting automatic reminders on their status. monday.com also provides your HR team with a centralized workspace where they can collaborate and manage employee recruiting workflows.

As an employee wellness platform, the software lets you create graphic charts to help you visualize each employee’s well-being activities. In this way, you can assess with visual clarity your wellness program’s adoption.

The software can also manage time off more efficiently. Employees can fill in leave forms and managers can approve or deny the request within the pipeline visible to the concerned parties.

Likewise, you can create a pipeline for performance reviews with columns for key metrics like employee status, start date, position, and manager.

monday.com can also be used to track employee feedback, attendance, and vacation. Furthermore, it integrates with key business systems like CRM, ERP, productivity apps, and accounting software.

monday.com pricing starts at $8 per user/month.

5. TalentHR

TalentHR represents a paradigm shift in HR management, introducing an advanced HRIS that streamlines record-keeping with top-notch encryption. The platform effortlessly populates profiles, allowing for customization and granting specific permissions to ensure secure access to sensitive information.

TalentHR

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The automated review cycles and goal-setting functionalities empower teams, fostering enhanced performance and prolonged employee tenure. With its seamless management of onboarding, equipment issuance, and communication, TalentHR functions as a highly efficient organizational hub. The user-friendly one-click leave management system accommodates diverse time zones, promoting hassle-free coordination.

Furthermore, TalentHR provides valuable insights into organizational metrics, facilitating data-driven decision-making for HR professionals seeking efficiency and precision.

6. Sage HR

Sage HR is a comprehensive HR management software that helps you streamline and optimize your HR workflows. These include onboarding, leave management, shift scheduling, work-life programs, and expense management.

Its leave management feature allows you to manage approvals and requests online and track time off in shared calendars. You can also set your leave policies, while employees can file requests via mobile or web.

Similarly, Sage HR timesheets have an intuitive interface that can be customized to your approval process and can be set with automatic updates. As for shift scheduling, the software provides a shared space where you can create and edit shifts, and notify employees fast. The shift scheduler can be organized by groups or areas and assigned to specific managers.

Further, Sage HR helps you draw insights on HR metrics like productivity, attendance, and headcount, using analytics and dashboards. You can also customize reports and schedule the frequency of generating them.

Other key Sage HR features include a self-service portal, e-signature, and native mobile apps.

Sage HR integrates with G Suite, Slack, and, for more third-party integrations, Zapier.

Pricing starts at $5.5 per employee/month.

7. Freshteam

Freshteam is ideal for a growing business. It gives you a single location to manage recruiting, onboarding, leaves, and employee details.

With Freshteam, you can digitize and optimize your HR processes, for instance, shorten the time-to-hire cycle, go paperless throughout the hiring process, or back HR goals and KPIs with data.

Likewise, you store and consolidate employee data in a centralized database that managers and employees can access easily. Employees can log into a self-service portal to manage their profiles, leaves, and other requests, or view the organizational chart.

The software also features a modern applicant tracking app that lets you create, manage and post job ads from the system. On the other hand, a time-off management tool helps you personalize leave policies and holiday calendars. It can handle different time-off types and track leave balances and accruals.

For new employees, you can assign, set reminders, and track tasks to ensure smooth onboarding. Multiple checklists for the required steps are also possible.

Other important Freshteam features include a collaborative workspace, reporting, e-signatures, and Android/iOS apps.

Freshteam has a free plan for up to 50 employees. Plans start at $1.20 per employee/month.

8. When I Work

When I Work is an employee scheduling and time tracking software with desktop and mobile apps for easy access. You can create work schedules in minutes and share and monitor them with ease.

With this software, you can manage teams more easily, including onboarding new hires, approving leaves, tracking shift schedules, and filling in shifts during emergencies. Team members can also use When I Work’s group chat to alert each other of abrupt shift changes.

Likewise, employees are empowered by managing their work hours, submitting time-off requests, and collaborating on shift schedules with their colleagues, all from right inside the When I Work interface.

When I Work

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You can also use the software for labor forecasting, labor costing, and streamlining payroll. Alerts for overtime costs can be set, while limits for clock-ins and locations can be controlled to help you reduce unnecessary work expenses.

When integrated with an HCM platform and payroll system, When I Work helps you cover the critical HR processes in one place.

Pricing starts from $4 per user/month.

9. Reviewsnap

Reviewsnap helps you streamline the performance management workflow, reinforcing any HRIS with a solid infrastructure for 360-degree employee feedback. It helps build trust and transparency between management and employees.

As an HR appraisal tool, it provides your employees with insights into their work. Feedback can come from other parties, too, such as supervisors, line managers, subordinates, and peers for a more holistic evaluation.

Utilizing auto-alerts, e-signatures, templates, and a centralized database, the software can automate the performance review process with consistency and ease. In this way, employees are kept in the loop of their progress, which results in a more engaged workforce.

Reviewsnap

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Tracking employee progress and storing relevant records are made simple with Reviewsnap’s performance notes, which add more context and details to the review profile. You can also set performance goals in collaboration with employees to help align their efforts with business goals.

Further, Reviewsnap’s reporting feature displays key metrics such as the rater’s bias, performance history, and rating distribution for a more accurate staff appraisal.

Subscriptions are by price quotations.

10. WorkBright

WorkBright is a mobile-first HR software with a focus on the employee documentation process. It makes remote onboarding possible and can handle complex forms like Form I-9, which helps you review, approve, and fulfill Section 2 from a mobile device. The software walks employees through the completion process with a wizard tool.

Likewise, employees can upload from their smartphone photos of certificates, licenses, and other documents for compliance. Optical scanning of documentation (OCR) can also be added to WorkBright to cut down data entry and manual errors.

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Furthermore, you can automate email notifications to employees for incomplete requirements. The software has a fingertip signature, too, compliant with state and federal laws.

WorkBright utilizes bank-grade encryption to store employee files, which can also be consolidated into custom reports. For expanded functionality, the software integrates with applicant tracking systems, payroll systems, and other HR apps.

Pricing starts at $178 per month for up to 100 employees.

11. Sage People

Sage People is a cloud-hosted HR software ideally suited to companies with a global team. Its comprehensive feature set spans HR processes, from talent acquisition and management to people analytics, attendance and leave management, and performance appraisals.

You can automate the recruitment process and create a white-labeled career portal that reinforces your brand. You also get the big picture of your global workforce such as team profiles and functions, local holidays, and organization-wide policies.

For strategic planning, you can turn to the software’s people analytics that delivers real-time and diagnostic insights on HR performance indicators. The feature helps you make data-driven decisions and furnish management with the latest workforce insights on demand.

Sage People also streamlines performance management. You’re given the flexibility to update goals in real time to align them with shifting business priorities. Likewise, you get to implement a 360-degree feedback mechanism that factors in appraisals from managers, employees, colleagues, and even external parties like clients.

Sage People also features compensation management.

Pricing is by quote.

12. Insightful

Insightful (formerly Workpuls) has solid workforce analytics that provides you with actionable insights, which can help you further improve employee productivity. It is suited to a wide range of industries, such as call centers, architecture, legal, insurance, and healthcare.

Likewise, any company with a remote work team will find its employee management adaptive. Cloud-hosted and with real-time monitoring, you can monitor teams from anywhere in the world.

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An employee tracking feature gives you a clear picture of how work time is used down to the minute. The tool also tracks the apps and websites your staff is using, while screenshots can be triggered to capture suspicious activities or show proof of work.

Meantime, a time-tracking app helps you calculate employee payroll down to the second. You can also use this feature to forecast project timelines, distribute workload evenly, and manage attendance.

Plans are packaged by core features. For example, employee monitoring starts at $6.40 per employee/month, while the time tracking app is $8.00 per employee/month.

13. Zoho People

Zoho People is a cloud-based, end-to-end HR management system that helps streamline your HR processes. With an intuitive interface bolstered by simple-click, drag-and-drop tools, you optimize HR workflows. Likewise, the software helps make your HR management agile and adaptive to hiring trends.

A centralized database keeps employee records across departments in one location, easily accessible to authorized parties, including non-HR personnel. For performance appraisals, Zoho People features a 360-degree feedback system that can be customized to a variety of evaluation methods.

Meanwhile, timesheets and an attendance tracker help you monitor daily, weekly, and monthly employee time logs. Calculating payroll or billable hours is simplified and made accurately. Likewise, with a cloud-hosted clock-in/out tool, you can manage remote teams from the convenience of your desktop or mobile device.

The software is also a strategic tool for data-driven insights. It collects and consolidates relevant metrics and generates reports out of them. In the process, you get a big picture of your HR KPIs, helping you to plan out a strategy.

Zoho People also features employee onboarding, a shift scheduler, and an integrated LMS for training. Furthermore, it has native integration with a wide array of Zoho business apps, such as CRM, accounting, and project management.

A free plan is available, which gets you basic employee database management, document management and leave management. Plans start at $1.25 per user/month. For details, you can head to our Zoho People pricing guide.

14. Gusto HR

Gusto HR is an HR software with a strong focus on payroll and benefits management. It automates the pay process, from calculations to deductions and payroll tax filings.

With benefits and time tracking built into the system, salaries are accurate down to the minute. You can also cut down the time to prepare payroll every cutoff with all pay-relevant data like time-offs, holidays, and hourly rates consolidated and synced in one place.

Conversely, wherever they are, employees can track their work hours from their computer or smartphone, greatly reducing the incidence of pay disputes. Beyond payments, the time tracking feature helps you gain insights into your team’s productivity and efficiency.

For benefits management, Gusto helps you manage health and financial compensations in a way that you can prepare the right plan for the right person. Interestingly, an integrated Gusto Wallet app helps employees manage their financials with more visibility.

Other things worth noting include Gusto features for hiring and onboarding and a resource network for HR experts.

Subscriptions start at $39 per month, which gives you full-service payroll, health insurance administration, and key integrations, among others.

15. Workday

Workday is an enterprise management cloud for key business processes, including HR. It helps you put into place an HR structure for career development, diversity, and employee engagement.

You can deploy personalized career tracks to help your employees develop new skills. You can also use its diversity index tool that helps you gauge the workforce diversity composition. The index lets you strike a diversity balance in hiring and promoting.

To keep employees engaged, you utilize the software’s employee experience management module to empower, support, and even inspire your team, so they remain engaged. You can tailor announcements with custom videos, deploy surveys to measure employee sentiment or provide quick access to tasks.

Further, you can build an employee self-service to nurture a culture of a proactive solution-based mindset in your workforce.

Other key features include people analytics, compensation & benefits management, and payroll automation.

Subscriptions are on a by-quote basis.

Getting the Right HRIS for Your Business

When getting the best HRIS software for small business, you can start with a priority function, then scale to an end-to-end solution.  Our list above gives you a wide selection of solutions to start building an HRIS platform. They vary by priority feature. Some focus on time tracking and talent acquisition, while others banner people analytics and reporting. But they all lead to a solid foundation for having an HRIS infrastructure that, ultimately, will help you manage the right people for the right job with their time and productivity optimized.

To get your feet wet on the benefits of an HRIS, you can try the top product on our list, BambooHR. Then compare its features with your other shortlisted systems and see which one is the best fit for your company.

Meanwhile, if you’re planning to integrate HR processes into your other key business systems, then you are thinking of an ERP system. Our guide to the top ERP systems will be of help.

By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.