Five small business HRMS to put on your selection shortlist

When people think of HRMS and HR automation, the picture is usually corporate and large-scale, with the software crunching thousands of employees worth of data. However, even the leanest operation can benefit from HR technology and in the ‘small business niche’ of the HRMS market there are some effective and popular systems. In purely alphabetical order, here are five of the best-known.

BambooHR

BambooHR is a well-established cloud platform designed with small and medium businesses in mind, especially those transitioning from paper systems to their first HR technology. As well as the employee database, Bamboo offers applicant tracking to help with recruitment, onboarding, performance management and payroll.

Users particularly praise the ease of moving from spreadsheets to Bamboo’s intuitive and easy layout and the convenience of the mobile app. Downsides seem hard to come by (a good sign!) and mostly seem to come from businesses at the larger end of the scale (500+).

Cezanne

Rated by the technology research consultancy, Gartner, Cezanne HR is another well-known name in cloud software circles. Features on offer include learning management, time and attendance, performance management, with optional extras, recruitment and compensation, all scalable to grow with you.

Recommended reading: find HRMS for you small business with our comprehensive HRMS vendor directory

Customers seem to enjoy Cezanne’s comprehensive range of features with the corollary that the system can be inflexible if you find the out-of-the-box version isn’t quite what you need. Another strong plus is the praise reserved for Cezanne’s aftersales help and support.

Rippling

Rippling's all-in-one HRMS automates tasks like onboarding, offboarding, and compliance, making it a popular choice for small businesses looking for efficiency and scalability.

With a user-friendly interface, Rippling provides real-time access to employee data, time tracking, and attendance, supported by self-service features.

This streamlined interface and integrated platform receive high praise; many users highlight its convenience and effective onboarding features, though some raise concerns about customer support response times and occasional payroll issues.

Despite a learning curve, Rippling is often seen as a valuable tool for growing businesses needing unified IT and HR management.

UKG Ready

UKG Ready offers to boost your productivity, reduce your costs, and ensure your legislative compliance. To achieve all this, the platform includes recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation planning, time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, and payroll.

Users praise UKG for managing complex workforces across applications, such as those with many contractors who aren’t always active. Clients also find the system highly customizable for specific business needs. However, some processes aren’t intuitive, so it’s worth spending time learning the system to maximize its benefits.

OrangeHRM

OrangeHRM is probably the longest-running open-source HRMS on the market, with records/information management, time and attendance, leave management, recruitment, performance, and employee self-service; although the company does offer more feature-rich professional and enterprise versions.

Affordability and ease of use score highly with users; as do the attendance management and recruitment functions. The only real negatives to be found are clients who wanted more responsive support services. However, these are balanced by reviews that say the exact opposite! As with any system it pays to carefully decide on what level of aftercare you need and choose/spend accordingly.