An employee management platform is a suite, and a small employer buying one should ignore most of it. What matters is the record underneath: one record per person with the signed contract, the handbook acknowledgment, the onboarding checklist, the hours, the reviews and the write-ups against it, chased when due, locked at the signature, exportable in one action. The tools on this site print every document free, without an account; this page is what to ignore, what to test, and the prices from the vendors' pages.
What to ignore on the sales page
Engagement surveys, org charts, learning libraries, analytics dashboards. Useful in a company of five hundred; a distraction in one of twelve. A platform is bought for the twelve, and the twelve need their documents kept.
What to test
One hire onboarded with the contract and handbook the tools on this site print: chased, signed, locked. One review run with the template: the next opens from it. One record exported in one action. An afternoon, and the answer is clear.
The hours
Timecards approved against the schedule with overtime shown per workweek on the DOL rule cited below. The PTO and overtime calculator on this site is the arithmetic; a platform that gets it wrong is a platform that pays wrong.
The price basis
From the vendors' own pricing pages, cited below: Homebase lists its Essentials plan at $30 per location per month billed monthly or $24 billed annually, with unlimited employees, and a Basic plan at $0 for one location with up to 10 employees; BambooHR starts at $10 per employee per month for Core and $17 for Pro; Deputy's Core plan is $6.50 per user per month. HeadcountDesk Pro is $24 per month per location. Per location is the same after the next hire; per employee grows.
Questions people ask about employee management platform
Is a platform better than separate tools?
The record in one place is the advantage; the free tools on this site print the documents that go into it.
How long does it take to leave a platform?
As long as the export takes; test it on the trial.
What is free here?
Every document tool, without an account.