7 best HRIS software for small businesses in 2023

Zoho People

Zoho People’s HRIS solution simplifies people management processes for small businesses. The system helps with employee record management, onboarding, leave management and other tasks using its automation features. The platform is also customizable so that organizations can design the ideal system for their HRIS needs.

This software product is also helpful for managing productivity. Admins can create business workflows to streamline organizational processes. Workers can even take their information management into their own hands with the employee self-service portals. But don’t worry, the solution has custom access controls to protect sensitive information.

Key features

• Employee database.
• Leave management.
• Analytics.
• Check in and check out.
• Employee self-service.
• Attendance tracking.
• Consolidated storage system.
• Drag-and-drop workflows.

Pros

• To save space, users can store, automate and access their employee records within Zoho People’s consolidated storage system.
• The system provides drag-and-drop workflow customization so businesses can set up optimized workflows.
• Zoho People lets users securely manage their documents with e-signature capabilities.

Cons

• Employee profiles cost extra as an add-on option.

Price

Zoho People provides a free 30-day trial. After this, the HR software is priced based on the number of users.

• Essential HR Plan: $1.25 per month, per user, billed annually.
• Professional Plan: $2 per month, per user, billed annually.
• Premium Plan: $3 per month, per user, billed annually.
• Enterprise Plan: $4.5 per month, per user, billed annually.
• People Plus Plan: $9 per month, per user, billed annually.

BambooHR

BambooHR was designed with small businesses in mind. The HRIS solution enables organizations to gather, store, analyze and access their people’s data and information easily. With the ability to manage HRIS database records, users can organize and streamline their HR procedures for optimized people management.

The scalable solution can also grow with the small businesses that use it. With the BambooHR solution, small business users can allocate their HR resources in the way that works best for their organization’s needs, as the system’s automated features can handle a significant amount of the HR workload.

Key features

• HRMS software for HR information such as personal data, PTO, employee training, job responsibilities, benefits, contact information, hiring checklists and documents.
• Document storage.
• Database record management.
• Employee self-service.
• Manager view.
• Customizations.
• Reports.
• Real-time data access.
• Data analysis.

Pros

• BambooHR provides robust online HRIS database training and customer support, as well as custom training sessions and informative webinars.
• Organizations can customize their human resources information systems to support their unique needs.

Cons

• Users have limited customization capabilities for the solution’s time and attendance tools.
• As a cloud-only solution, BambooHR does not support self-hosted data.

Price

BambooHR is priced on a per-employee, per-month basis for companies with more than 20 employees, and companies with 20 employees or fewer are charged a monthly flat rate.

Shoppers can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the software, request a price quote and explore the BambooHR packages on the BambooHR website.

Namely

Namely is a resource intended for mid-sized businesses but can also benefit small businesses seeking a helpful HR software tool. The solution provides system features for onboarding, recruitment, performance management and HR analytics so that organizations can optimize their HR and people management processes.

Users can get even more HR value out of the software by integrating Namely’s pay and benefits administration solutions to keep track of hours worked and ensure accurate payment processing. Its compliance tools also help organizations avoid people-centric compliance risks so that they can safely support their staff members throughout their entire employee lifecycle.

Key features

• Onboarding tools.
• Self-service capabilities.
• Benefits administration features.
• eSignature.
• Compliance tools.
• Handbook builder.
• State-mandated trainings.
• Recruitment features.
• Performance management.
• HR analytics tools.
• Mobile app.

Pros

• The integrated platform is easy to utilize, and the solution is accessible through the mobile app.
• Organizations can configure their solution to serve their specific needs and scale as their business transforms and grows.
• Users can access a dedicated service pod and Help Community for support with questions
• New users can receive deployment assistance for migrating data onto the platform.

Cons

• Namely does restrict their HR technology and services to organizations that have 25-1,000 employees and are headquartered in the United States.

Price

Those interested in the Namely solution can request a call for more information about the software and pricing by signing up on the Namely website.

Gusto

It is no surprise that Gusto’s HR platform made this list. The popular solution provides resources specifically designed for the needs of HR departments and is helpful for businesses of all sizes looking to streamline their people management.

Gusto users can also gain key talent management insights about their businesses by transforming their HR data into customizable reports. Additionally, employee-centric features like employee feedback and anonymous team surveys can help business leaders make decisions that support the betterment of their organization’s members.

Key features

• Customizable report templates.
• Anonymous employee surveys and survey trend analysis.
• Reporting and analytics.
• Project tracking tools.
• Workforce costing tools.
• Tax credit management.
• Performance evaluations.
• Compliance alerts.

Pros

• Employee-facing features like the employee self-service tools and surveys can help small business leaders empower their workforce teams.
• Survey trend analysis tools allow businesses to track trends and insights from survey results collected over time.
• Businesses can track their fund allocation with the software’s project tracking and workforce costing tools.

Cons

• Some features, like access to the HR Resource Center, are only accessible through the most expensive Premium tier plans.

Price

• Simple plan: Starts at $40 per month, plus $6 per month per employee.
• Plus plan: Starts at $80 per month, plus $12 per month per employee. As a limited-time offer for the first six months of service, the Plus plan is priced at $60 per month plus $9 per month per employee.
• Premium plan: Pricing for this plan is available upon request.

TriNet Zenefits

TriNet Zenefits’ all-in-one HR software platform helps small businesses with their people management and HR tasks. It provides a range of features for the entire employee lifecycle, from onboarding new hires to record-keeping and ensuring compliance when workers leave the organization.

The solution provides many ways for business leaders and employees to manage their information, like company directories, organization charts and even a mobile app. With up-to-date information and business intelligence reporting, Zenefits’ features make it easy for leaders to achieve a deeper understanding of their workforce.

Key features

• Offer letters.
• Background checks.
• Self-onboarding for new hires that includes benefits and payroll management.
• Digital tax documents – W-4s and I-9s.
• Digital signatures.
• Account provisioning.
• Company org chart and employee directory.
• Automated workflows.
• Employee self-service.
• Real-time syncing of data regarding HR, benefits, scheduling and payroll features to support contingent workers.
• PTO policies.
• Time-off request management.
• PTO balance calculator.
• Business intelligence reporting to display data and information regarding compensation summaries, equal opportunity statistics, headcount activities, stock options granted and turnover rates.
• Auto-generated worker documents, including tax documents, payroll documents, offer letters and confidentiality agreements.
• Company documents, including privacy policies, company handbooks, non-competes and custom documents.

Pros

• The system helps businesses save time by automating workflows to carry out tasks for employee events like promotions, terminations and internal transfers.
• Organizations can store, update and organize their HR documents within the system and even create customized documents to fit their needs.
• Automating compliance actions can eliminate the risk of human error.

Cons

• All plans require a minimum of five employees, so the solution may not be suitable for extremely small teams.

Price

• Essentials plan: $10 per month per employee.
• Growth plan: $20 per month per employee.
• Zen plan: $27 per month per employee.
• Enterprise pricing information for larger organizations is available upon request from the Zenefits sales team.
• Payroll, Recruiting, Benefits Admin Using Own Broker and Advisory Services can be purchased as add-ons to the base plans and incur additional costs.

Rippling Unity

The Rippling Unity workforce platform provides small businesses with the tools they need to manage their workforce operations. And by selecting add-on options from Rippling’s HR Cloud, users can take their software to the next level as a unified HRIS system.

The HR Cloud offers a selection of options for users to gain additional features to help streamline processes like payroll, timekeeping, benefits administration, applicant tracking, learning management, reporting and compliance. This way, businesses can choose the people operations they wish to manage and automate through their solution.

Key features

• Unified workforce directory.
• Workflow automator.
• Unified analytics.
• Unified policies.
• Onboarding/offboarding automation.
• Permissions and approvals.
• Advanced admin and field privileges.
• Document and e-signature management.
• Positions management.
• Rippling training course catalog.
• Full-service payroll available in 50 U.S. states and internationally.
• Time and attendance tracking tools.
• Benefits administration management tools.
• Online employee self-service capabilities.
• New hire onboarding support.
• HR help desk.

Pros

• Rippling Pulse is a tool that helps leaders send and analyze employee surveys, to uncover trends and take meaningful action. Users can even trigger actions based on survey responses to begin improving their organizations automatically.
• The product provides robust applicant tracking tools, as well as job board integrations, messaging templates and custom hiring reports.
• Businesses can simplify and speed up employee training through the system’s intelligent course assignment, which automatically assigns courses to workers based on the organization’s enrollment rules. Rippling will also track workers’ progress and record certifications in the system for compliance purposes.

Cons

• The HR add-on options may raise the final price of the solution.

Price

Rippling software starts at $8 a month per user. However, final pricing depends on additional services and the number of users. Shoppers can visit the Rippling website to request a free price quote.

ADP

ADP is another popular software option that small business leaders can implement as an HRIS software solution. The platform supports human capital management procedures, including talent management, payroll and benefits administration, to name just a few.

There are many cloud-based HRIS solutions provided by ADP that include features for hiring, onboarding, payroll and managing HR compliance. However, for the sake of this review, we will look at the RUN Powered by ADP, a web-based solution that provides payroll and HR capabilities for teams of 1-49 employees.

Key features

• Payroll and tax filing tools.
• ADP Employee Access self-service tool.
• New hire onboarding.
• Employee discounts.
• ZipRecruiter integration.
• Background checks.
• Employee handbook wizard.
• Salary benchmarks.
• HR information tracking.
• HR forms and documents management.
• HR training and toolkits.
• Enhanced HR helpdesk support.
• Applicant tracking system.
• Enhanced employee handbook support.
• Employer and employee training.
• Marketing tools and consulting services.
• Robust reporting.

Pros

• ADP’s open architecture enables integration with third-party tools like Intuit QuickBooks, Xero, SAP SuccessFactors, Deputy and other popular applications.
• Users can view, access, customize and print payroll and HR reports through the online platform. ADP also allows 24/7 access to HR pages so business administrators can track employee information like advanced reporting.
• Businesses can select add-on features for Time and Attendance Retirement, Workers’ Compensation, Health Insurance, Small Business Marketing and other helpful processes.

Cons

• Not all solutions and packages provided by ADP provide the same features and capabilities. For RUN Powered by ADP, some features mentioned within the review are exclusive to higher-tier plans.

Price

RUN Powered by ADP is provided in four packages, and the cost is based on the number of employees. The Essential Payroll plan starts at $59 per month plus $4 per employee. The Enhanced Payroll, Complete Payroll & HR Plus, and HR Pro Payroll & HR plans do not have pricing information available online, and shoppers can contact ADP to receive pricing information.