Employee management software is a broad name for a narrow thing a small employer needs: one record per employee, with every document that concerns them attached to it and dated. The contract, the handbook acknowledgment, the onboarding checklist, the timesheets, the reviews, the write-ups, the termination letter if it comes to that. The tools on this site print each document free; this page is what the software that keeps them has to do, and what the vendors charge from their own pages.
The record
Name, role, start date, pay basis, manager, location, and the documents. A record that holds the person and not the documents is an address book; the documents are the point, because they are what an audit, a dispute or a tax query asks for.
The documents, in order
Offer and contract, handbook acknowledgment, tax and payroll forms, onboarding checklist with training, timesheets, reviews with dates, write-ups, changes to pay or role, and the exit. The employee contract tool, handbook template, onboarding checklist and review template on this site print the first five.
What it has to do
Ask for each document when it is due, keep the signed version with its date, remind the manager of the review, and export the record when asked. Software that does the scheduling and not the documents leaves the folder where it was.
What it costs
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. The comparison that matters is per location against per employee: a ten-person shop pays very differently under the two.
Questions people ask about employee management software
Do I need this at five employees?
The documents, yes, from the first hire; the software earns its keep when the folder stops being found.
Is this the same as HR software?
It is the small-employer end of it: the record and the documents, without the enterprise modules.
What is free here?
Every document tool, without an account; the record that keeps them is the paid product.