10 Best HRIS For Small Businesses To Manage HR Processes [2023]

Deel is a cloud-based HRIS that enables businesses to manage employee data, payroll, and benefits in one place. The system includes tools for recruiting, performance management, and compliance. Its performance management module allows businesses to set employee goals and objectives and monitor their progress. The platform is user-friendly and easily accessible from mobile devices.

Deel's self-service portal provides a centralized location for storing all of a company's HR documents and files, making it easier to share information between different departments. Employee information can be accessed and updated by both employees and managers, allowing organizations to keep track or data like contact details, qualifications, and work history. The portal also provides various tools to help with HR planning, such as a holiday planner and annual leave tracker. Moreover, the self-service portal allows employees to request changes to their details or submit requests for time off.

Employee training trackers help managers identify which employees need to be trained on which topics and ensure that all employees are up-to-date on their training. Deel's dashboards and reports give users an overview of their project's progress, including deadlines, tasks assigned, and team members' workloads. 

Integrations include Quickbooks, Xero, NetSuite, Bamboo HR, Ashby, Greenhouse, Bob, and more with the Deel API.

Pricing for Deel starts at $599/employee/month and comes with a free demo.

Paycor’s HR platform is designed to help companies eliminate paper-based administrative tasks by automating common workflows. Their unified employee database acts as a single source of information for all employees, and eliminates the need to re-enter data manually.

While it’s technically an HCM (human capital management) platform, Paycor’s Basic service level includes self-service employee onboarding, in-product compliance tracking, document storage, in-house communication options such as a chat feature, company news and mobile push notifications, and a long list of payroll features. Their user-friendly mobile app also gives employees the ability to access their pay statements and tax documents, request time off, view their work schedules, and manage their employee benefits.

This platform is a great option for small businesses because you can start off with the Basic modules, and scale up to add more features when you’re ready, and your budget allows. Paycor embraces this approach and is happy to work with you to tailor their technology to your business needs rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution. With their more advanced service levels, you unlock features for talent management, workforce management, and a multitude of employee experience tools such as pulse surveys, goal tracking, and feedback and recognition tools.

Paycor can integrate with a handful of other HR and payroll tools including MyEnroll360, WorkforceHub, TimeDock, Global Shop Solutions, Glassdoor, GoodHire Background Checks, Hubworks, Workforce.com, Zip Forecasting, TimePilot and others.

Customers who enroll with Paycor receive one month of free payroll services. After that, pricing starts at $99 USD/month plus $5 USD employee/month. There is no free trial version, but a demo and a guided tour can be arranged.

monday.com’s flexible Work OS system makes it easy to organize task-based information on customized boards, with built-in visualization tools. While it’s not a true HRIS system, the flexibility of their software means it can be tailored to support any workflows you want to track, including core HR functions like employee data, leave management requests, performance reviews, recruiting, onboarding, and learning and development, and much more. Once your boards are set up and organized into workspaces for teams, departments or tasks, you can easily visualize the data in many different types of graphs and charts for key stakeholders to review at a glance.

With over 200 HR-related templates to choose from and 30 column types, it’s a fast and low-cost way of organizing employee data and processes, especially for small businesses that are currently running their HR processes out of Excel spreadsheets. By migrating your task-based HR data to Monday.com, you can take advantage of their time-saving features such as customized automation and team collaboration features like the ability to assign co-workers to specific tasks. Their advanced search function and the ability to favourite boards make it quick to navigate information. As well, to keep your workflows uncluttered, you can also easily archive items or retrieve them anytime with zero limitations.

monday.com integrates with a wide range of productivity and communication tools including Dropbox, Excel, Google Drive, LinkedIn, Slack, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Outlook, Zoom, Zapier, and others.

Pricing for monday.com starts at $8 USD/user/month. They also offer a 14-day free trial, as well as a free forever plan with limited features for a maximum of two users.

Rippling is an all-in-one HRIS that simplifies the complicated world of human resources management. Their cloud-based platform provides an easy way to manage onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, time tracking, and onboarding & offboarding, all in one place.

Rippling is an ideal system for companies with limited resources who still want to provide their employees with top-notch service as it saves time by automating many tasks that would otherwise take hours to complete manually. For example, it offers fully automated onboarding and offboarding processes, giving small businesses an easy way to manage these traditionally paper-heavy processes. You can easily customize forms to match your company's brand, store documents securely in the cloud, and automatically sync data across multiple departments, so everyone is updated on new hires automatically.

Rippling’s talent management feature identifies high performers within your organization and builds succession plans accordingly, helping you ensure that there's always someone ready to take on increased responsibilities when needed. When it comes to recruiting new candidates, Rippling allows managers to easily track the hiring progress from sending an offer letter to an employee's first day, ensuring a smooth transition into the company culture.

Rippling’s time-tracking feature enables employees to log their hours accurately and quickly. Their integrated expense management feature simplifies the expense reimbursement process by allowing employees to submit expenses electronically and capture approvals via digital signature. This reduces paperwork and streamlines the review process, making it easier for managers to monitor employee expenses.

Their reporting capabilities allow you to analyze key metrics related to employee performance and satisfaction, such as engagement or turnover rates. These reports can give you valuable insight into what’s working well within your organization, while also uncovering any areas for improvement.

Integrations are available with 1Password, Asana, DocuSign, Dropbox, GitHub, Google Workspace, LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, Netsuite, Sage Intacct, Slack, Typeform, QuickBooks, and many other popular software systems

Due to the modular nature of their HRIS system, pricing details are customized upon request. You can also request a free demo through their website too.

Zoho People is a cloud-based HR software platform 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 (human resources management system), 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 log out when they leave.

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.

In addition to Zoho’s own apps (of which there are many!), further integrations exist for Google Workspace and Google Analytics, Office365, Slack, Zendesk, WordPress, Joomla, and payment gateways such as PayPal, WePay, WorldPay and more.

Zoho People starts at $1.25 USD/user/month for their Essential HR level. A free demo is available, and they offer a 30-day free trial as well.

Gusto is an all-in-one HR solution with scalable pricing and features that work for smaller businesses with simple salary structures all the way up to complex, sophisticated international teams. Their Core level functions primarily as a payroll system with hiring and onboarding tools, and insurance benefit management support included. Their platform really comes alive at the Complete level, which includes team management tools, performance reviews, PTO management, and employee engagement features.

Hiring teams can submit job postings directly to public job boards using the platform, and also send out personalized offer letters to top candidates. The onboarding process is also supported by a centralized onboarding checklist that streamlines the new hire experience, but can be customized with task delegations to other team members for added support.

In today’s work-from-anywhere world, it’s common to have a global workforce, rather than all employees residing in the same place. Gusto has you covered there too, as it supports payments to international contractors in over 80 countries. As well, it also has a built-in device management tracking system that helps with inventory control, network access, and keeping your company data secure.

The list of integrations for Gusto is very comprehensive, with over 135 options to choose from. Commonly used options include Asana, Bonusly, ChartHop, DropBox, GitHub, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Sage Accounting, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, Webex, Zipbooks and Zoom.

For Gusto’s Core package, the pricing starts at $6 USD/month/employee plus a base fee of $39 USD/month. Several other pricing levels are available, as well as an option for contractor-only businesses who don’t have any W-2 employees - another great option for small international teams. If you sign up for a Gusto account, you’ll receive your first month of payroll services for free. A 30-day free trial is also available.

Say “hi” to Bob, an HRIS platform designed to maximize the employee experience and link employees to your company culture. Their platform includes all the core features you’d expect in a robust HR system: employee data management and HR analytics, benefits management (beyond simply healthcare coverage), culture tools, a document hub with DocuSign built right in, streamlined time and attendance tracking features, digitized onboarding, a dynamic people directory with a linked org chart, and customizable workflows and reports. You can also add more advanced features, such as compensation management, a payroll hub, performance management, and people analytics depending on your business needs.

Their user interface is designed with a social media-like feel to get employees excited about engaging with the company. From a central homepage team members can view birthdays, work anniversaries, and interesting stats about other colleagues to help people make connections - an important feature in today’s work-from-home environment. Their Club View further deepens engagement by sorting the staff directory by hobbies, superpowers, gender pronouns, or other custom categories. Bob also supports company announcements, shoutouts, and emoji-based reactions to help teams maintain a positive vibe. As well, the homepage keeps a log of where staff are (i.e., working remotely, in the office, sick, or on vacation), which is a useful feature for companies with remote or hybrid workforces.

Bob has a long list of 40+ integrations with commonly used programs, including many applicant tracking systems, Azure Active Directory, Google Suite, 360Learning, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zapier and others. They also have an iOS and Android mobile app.

Bob does not advertise prices on their website, but you can contact them via their website to request a customized quote. A free demo and a free trial are also available.

Rise’s People Management platform touts itself as the #1 all-in-one option for Canadian businesses, and it’s easy to see why. Their system is easy to customize depending on what you need, and they offer a full suite of core HR modules including people management, payroll, recruiting, onboarding, time-off management, performance management and self-service mobile app access. Add-ons are also available for benefits administration, and scheduling & time-tracking, regardless of which plan you choose.

The thing I like the most about this platform is how functional it is for companies with lean HR teams, or no HR support at all. Platform administrators can easily control which details employees can view and update themselves, eliminating data entry bottlenecks. As well, typical time-draining processes like onboarding and orientation training can be automated using checklists and custom workflows, with self-service functionalities to collect new hires personal information even before their first day.

The simplified workflows continue in their recruitment process, which supports custom pipelines and applicant funnels with drag-and-drop capabilities to move candidates through the process in a snap. Another feature small HR teams will appreciate are the pre-loaded questions in the performance management module, which are proven to generate useful and actionable feedback and support employee growth. Capitalizing on recent performance review trends such as 360 degree reviews, the system also incorporates feedback from peers, direct reports, managers and the employee themselves in the review cycle, with the freedom to customize as you see fit.

One feature I have not seen with many other HRIS platforms is the integration of benefits management within the platform. With Rise, employees can enroll, view their coverage details, and update their personal information without ever leaving the portal. Another exciting bonus is the fact that the benefits management module can be unlocked for free for any Canadian companies using Sun Life as their benefit provider.

Rise integrates with commonly used accounting software including FreshBooks, Xero, Intuit Quickbooks, and Wealthsimple, which allows employees to file their taxes for free using Wealthsimple Tax. As a bonus, for every tax return filed, users will receive a $15 credit to their Wealthsimple Cash account, and Rise will donate a meal to someone in need through Second Harvest.

Rise starts at $6 CAD/employee/month for the basic People Management + Payroll configuration. To unlock additional features, custom pricing plans are available. Also worth noting: new clients can try out their top tier Optimize level for 3 months for free, which is essentially a 90-day free trial of their full-feature model. A free demo is also available.

Collage is a great HRIS choice for Canadian businesses as it comes pre-set to Canadian employment standards. Their platform includes all the typical components you’d expect in an HRIS, including self-service employee modules, a time-off management system, performance management features, a recruiting portal with an applicant tracking system, and robust HR reporting across all employee data. The performance management module includes modern, continuous feedback elements like 360-degree reviews, check-ins and customizable survey tools.

Managers and employees will appreciate the simplicity of the time-off management system, which can be accessed via their mobile-friendly app as well. Collage automatically tracks time off accruals and balances and syncs vacation requests with a company calendar so teams always know when co-workers will be away. Vacation requests can also sync with payroll depending on how you configure your platform.

Payroll functions are not included in their Core HRIS package, but a data sync with other payroll software can be added for an additional $3 CAD/user/month. Customers can also outsource their payroll functions to Collage’s team of CPA-approved payroll managers who provide full payroll management services that are fully compliant with Canadian tax laws. This is a helpful option for small companies that don’t already have payroll expertise in-house. HR professionals will also appreciate the system’s ability to streamline benefits administration by syncing directly with your benefits provider for an additional fee of $2 CAD/user/month.

Software-specific integration details are not included on their website, though their HR platform can integrate with common payroll systems and benefit providers.

For Collage’s Core HRIS features, the price starts at $7 CAD/user/month, but add-ons to sync with benefits or payroll programs are available for an additional fee. They have a 10-user minimum, but volume-based pricing is available for companies with over 100 employees. A free demo is available, and a free trial can be arranged via their website.

Humi is another HR software tool made by Canadians, for Canadians, and it’s available in French too. Their system includes all the classic HRIS functions you’d expect, such as employee profiles and data management, recruiting, onboarding, time-off, performance management and payroll. The features that distinguish them from the rest are how they integrate actual employee benefit plans, as well as corporate insurance support, directly into their system.

The insurance world can be very confusing - especially for startups that don’t have a lot of experienced HR or benefit professionals in-house. Humi’s platform adds a lot of value in this area since they have in-house insurance advisors that can help you find the best coverage for your business needs, including cost-effective plans that are administered directly by Humi themselves. By unifying your benefits with your payroll system, you’ll save a lot of time avoiding typical problems like manually adjusting payroll deductions for healthcare each time your benefit costs change. Humi customers can also gain access to other non-health-related benefit providers via the Humi Marketplace.

Startup companies will also be happy to hear that Humi can help with business insurance as well. Through their in-house team of experienced business insurance advisors, they can help you find insurance solutions for general liability, employment liability, product liability, data liability, and director and officer protection against lawsuits.

In today’s work-from-home world, asset management has become a new concern, as tracking things like computers, monitors and chairs can quickly balloon to a big job without a proper asset tracking system. Humi solves this problem as well, with their Asset Tracker module that links serial numbers to key assets, and tracks their historical migration between users over time.

Humi integrates with Indeed’s job board, as well as the applicant tracking systems (ATS) Workable and Greenhouse. They offer single sign-on (SSO) and their calendar can be synced to integrate with your existing Google, Apple or Outlook calendars.

Humi does not advertise prices on their website as they believe in customizing their software depending on what your company actually needs. You can contact them directly for a free demo or custom quote. They also have an interesting evaluation tool on their website that lets you determine how much money you could save by switching over to their HRIS.