10 Best Cloud HR Software Systems for HR Teams in 2023

Deel is an excellent cloud-based HRIS for businesses that need to manage employee data and handle payroll tax compliance. It’s used by companies like Dropbox and Shopify to handle their global workforces. Deel's platform can hire employees or contractors in over 150 countries on your behalf as an employer of record, eliminating the need to set up a new entity or understand foreign payroll requirements. Companies can use Deel to offer international benefits, offer stock options, and track equipment in a streamlined manner.

The platform is easy to use and provides a variety of features that make it a great choice for businesses of all sizes. Deel integrates several functions, including contract management, expense reimbursements, and off-cycle adjustments. Employees can also self-manage their pay and personal data, which reduces admin load.

The platform does not provide tools for screening candidates or tracking applications but integrates with applicant tracking systems like Ashby and Greenhouse. Users can directly import qualified candidate data into Deel to initiate onboarding and use Deel’s built-in Veriff integration to validate users.

The company provides 24/7 client support and live chat. At the time of writing, Deel has over 1,200 reviews on Trustpilot, with an aggregate score of 4.8 score. Any company considering hiring an international worker should evaluate Deel for their workforce.

Deel offers flat pricing upon request, as well as a free demo.

Oyster is a cloud HR platform that helps organizations recruit and hire staff or contractors globally. Their system is used successfully in over 180 countries with built-in tools to manage international payroll, taxes and employment law, plus compliance guardrails for local labor laws to ensure your company receives the legal protection you’ll need when operating in a new territory.

Their digital hiring tools make it easy to hire contractors in any of the 180+ countries they support. A built-in contractor misclassification assessment tool helps determine if you should fill a vacant position with a new employee or a contractor. There’s also a helpful employment cost calculator that can determine the cost of a new employee in any country, including their required taxes and government contributions, plus the Oyster flat-fee, which varies depending on the country you’re hiring in.

Their Oyster Academy is a helpful resource for companies that are new to the international work-from-anywhere scene, including training courses for how to prepare for distributed work, and how to create a company culture in a distributed work environment. An add-on called Oyster Health is also available to secure health insurance coverage for a global workforce under a single company plan.

Pricing for Oyster starts at $499 USD/employee/month. They also have a free Lite plan for up to 2 contractors only - a good option for anyone building a global startup from scratch. You can also request a free demo through their website.

Paycor is a cloud-based HR software to streamline HR processes and improves team collaboration. The system includes a robust suite of tools for managing employee data, tracking time off and absences, and creating and managing employee onboarding processes. Paycor can manage employee records, such as adding or deleting fields, create custom reports, and set permissions for those who can access the system. The system offers a built-in audit trail that tracks all changes to employee records.

Paycor's process automation feature can automatically generate payroll reports, create invoices and performance reviews, and send reminders for upcoming deadlines. This feature can also automate repetitive tasks such as scheduling employee shifts or ordering supplies. Businesses can free up resources to focus on more strategic goals by automating time-consuming tasks.

Its web and mobile HR app allows employees to access their HR information and perform various tasks independently. Employees can update their profiles, access and sign documents, and view and print their payslips. Paycor provides users with a comprehensive knowledge base of HR best practices, including toolkits and manuals.

The software offers templates and tools for creating well-organized, comprehensive reviews, ensuring that all relevant employee information is included and that the review process is as efficient as possible. Additionally, Paycor's software has a built-in rating system that objectively evaluates employee performance, making the review process fairer and more accurate.

Pricing for Paycor starts at $99/month.

Sapling’s cloud-based HCM (human capital management) platform allows HR teams to automate common HR tasks from onboarding to offboarding and everything in between. Their HR tools simplify tasks using auto-assigned workflows, email scheduling, and alerts which can be customized for different locations, departments or employee types to standardize processes. This is a useful feature for companies with distributed teams as it helps HR managers regulate processes across all work locations and departments. Their system also comes with pre-built reports to analyze any type of data that’s stored in the system.

Helpful features to improve your employee experience include colour-coded org charts by location, department or custom groups, an employee directory, and customizable employee profiles to help reflect your company culture and core values. HR teams will appreciate the system’s ability to track job-related data such as promotions, salary adjustments, relocations and other historical changes. The system also supports paid time-off (PTO) tracking, including customizable PTO policies for different groups.

Sapling integrates with 50+ leading HR, IT and productivity systems including JazzHR, Lever, Workday, ADP, Paylocity, 15Five, Kallidus, Lattice, OneLogin, Greenhouse, Okta, Zapier, the Google Suite, Slack, Lessonly, ChartHop, Jira, LinkedIn, and many other platforms.

Zoho People is a cloud-based HR software solution that helps simplify HR operations and the employee experience. Their employee database scales easily and is used in over 45 countries. Their platform streamlines core HR functions such as employee onboarding, time off management, HR file management, and employee database management. Even at their lowest pricing level, users will benefit from module-based reports, workflow management tools, and “Zia” - their AI bot which answers employee questions and can be accessed from any screen within their system.

Technically an HRMS, this is a great choice for businesses with hourly, shift-based, field-based, or remote workforces due to the depth of their attendance tracking, shift-scheduling and mobile check-in features. By enabling Zoho People’s geo-fencing capabilities, companies can mark geographic locations such as client offices or field sites using GPS points. GPS-based attendance improves the accuracy of reported work hours by ensuring mobile staff can only log in when they arrive in the area, and not before.

Their full-feature mobile app is another bonus for mobile workers as they can access company information or connect with their colleagues in just a few clicks. As well, remote workers can check-in and out of their workday using People Kiosk: a digital version of the old punch-clock system that uses facial recognition to identify workers and track in and out times.

Zoho People integrates with Google Workspace and Google Analytics, Office365, Slack, Zendesk, WordPress, Joomla, and payment gateways such as PayPal, WePay, WorldPay and more. In addition, Zoho has a whole suite of their own custom Zoho apps, including Zoho Analytics, Zoho Books, Zoho CRM, Zoho Directory, Zoho Expense, Zoho Invoice, Zoho Mail, Zoho Projects, Zoho Recruit, Zoho Sign, Zoho Vault, and Zoho Writer.

Pricing for Zoho People starts at $1.25/user/month for their Essential HR level. You can also request a free demo or a 30-day free trial through their website.

BrightHR’s cloud HRIS system allows companies to manage employee data, attendance and absences, expenses, shift schedules, and document management all within one system. It’s an excellent choice for business leaders who are constantly on the go thanks to their full-feature mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

BrightHR can also be used in conjunction with other Bright Software modules that address health and safety (BrightSafe) and employee wellness (Bright Wellness & Counselling). On top of that, HR teams will also appreciate BrightHR’s list of resources including templates and guides (through BrightBase) and HR and employment law advice (though BrightAdvice).

One feature that caught my eye is the ability to automate reminders for certain tasks. For example, as you’re onboarding a new employee, you can automatically schedule an email reminder to mark the end of their probationary period. This is really useful since the end of a probationary period typically requires additional paperwork, and it can be hard to stay on top of it manually if you have a large group of employees you’re managing.

The document management capabilities within BrightHR are also very strong. Users have the ability to update and share new documents with team members easily through their web platform or mobile app. To ensure new information is actually read by staff, you can assign a follow-up date, automate email reminders, and track completion through read receipts. These features make their document management area very useful for tracking corporate policies or internal training documents, since you can ensure all your employees are always referring to up-to-date information.

Pricing details for BrightHR are available upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website.

OrangeHRM is a human resource management system (HRMS) available through cloud hosting or on-premise hosting, depending on your needs. The cloud version of their product called OrangeHRM Starter is available for free under an open source license, making it an excellent choice for small businesses or startups.

Key features within their OrangeHRM Starter product include time tracking features like timesheets and clock-in/clock-out abilities, a time off management system, 180-degree employee performance reviews, job postings via an integration with your company website, and an employee database including a corporate directory with employee profiles.

To access additional features, you can scale up to their Advanced package, which includes an organization chart, a document manager, a disciplinary tracker, more advanced recruitment tools, and digital onboarding tools. Their Advanced level also supports performance and career development planning through customizable 360-degree reviews, goal tracking, individual development plans, and a 9-box matrix to monitor employees ready for advancement.

Though specific software integrations are not mentioned on their website, they do have an API that supports them. Their system is also mobile accessible as well.

Their OrangeHRM Starter product is free to use through an open source license. However, pricing for their full feature Advanced system is available upon request. You can also request a free demo or a 30-day free trial through their website.

Say “hi” to Bob, an HRIS system designed to bolster employee engagement and help link employees to your company culture, no matter where they’re logging in from. Their cloud-based HR solution boasts a social media-like user interface that gets employees excited about engaging with other team members. From the main homepage, employees can view key details like work anniversaries, birthdays, and other facts about colleagues to help them make connections that go beyond just work tasks—an important feature for fostering team engagement in today’s hybrid work world.

Bob’s platform includes all the typical HRIS features you’d expect, including employee data management, HR analytics, culture tools, time and attendance tracking, digital onboarding tools, and a document hub with DocuSign built right in. Bob also keeps a log of where staff are (i.e., working remotely, in the office, sick, or on vacation), which is another useful feature for companies with distributed or hybrid workforces.

Bob integrates with 40+ common HR software solutions, including Google Suite, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zapier, and many others. They also have a full-feature mobile app for Android and iOS as well.

Pricing details for Bob are available upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website.

Arcoro’s modular, cloud HR software fully digitizes core HR processes including employee data management, benefits management, time & attendance tracking, compensation, and performance management. If you need it, they also have additional modules including an applicant tracking system (ATS), onboarding tools, and a learning management system (LMS) with 80+ common health and safety courses too.

Due to their deep compliance tracking capabilities, Arcoro is a popular HR software choice for safety-conscious industries like construction, manufacturing, engineering and landscaping. Arcoro supports compliant hiring practices by integrating your hiring standards (including affirmative action programs (AAP), equal employment opportunities (EEO), E-verify, and others) into your job postings and candidate screening processes within their ATS. This is further complemented by their drug & background screening option, which is often a requirement for many safety-sensitive positions too.

Many functions within Arcoro’s system are also available as employee self-service modules through mobile devices, including their benefits management and time & attendance offerings. Employees can easily track their hours using their time tracking app while in the field. It can also be used to manage health & safety compliance requirements, like daily health screening questionnaires, or track GPS locations to prevent dishonest time tracking.

Formerly known as BirdDog HR, Arcoro integrates with popular technology platforms including Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, Quickbooks, US.Jobs, ZipRecrupter, and others.

Pricing details for Arcoro are available upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website, or a free HR Assessment to help you determine which modules you need.

Cloud9HR’s cloud-based software supports a wide range of functions, including digital onboarding, talent management, benefits administration, insurance, and payroll processing. Their system also includes organizational management tools, which allow you to easily transform your company directory into a straightforward organizational chart too.

Cloud9HR’s payroll functionality includes the ability to import hours from other time tracking software, or use their own built-in clocking feature. Their software also incorporates 2-way payroll integrations that allow for seamless data transfer between your favourite accounting software and Cloud9HR, to reduce the possibility of errors.

Pricing details for Cloud9HR are available upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website.