Employee management systems look alike on the sales page and differ in three places a small employer can test. Does the record hold the documents, the signed contract, the handbook acknowledgment, the reviews, or only the fields? Does the system chase a document when it is due, or store it when someone remembers? Is the price per location or per employee? The tools on this site print every document free, without an account; this page is the three tests and the prices from the vendors' pages.
The record
Fields alone are an address book. The documents against the record, signed, dated and locked, are what an audit or a dispute asks for. The contract tool, handbook template, onboarding checklist and review template on this site print the ones every small employer needs.
The chase
The contract before day one, the handbook with it, the review on the date, the handbook re-acknowledged when it changes. Run the trial with one hire and see whether anyone is told what is due. A system that stores and does not chase is the folder with a login.
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. A per-location price is the same after the next hire; a per-employee price is not.
What to do first
Print the documents free from this site, sign them, and keep them in a folder until the first one goes missing; then the system earns its keep. HeadcountDesk Pro is the record that keeps them. The day to start the subscription is the day a document goes missing, and most small employers know that day when it comes.
Questions people ask about employee management systems
Is payroll part of an employee management system?
Sometimes bundled; the record and the documents are the part the payroll product does not do.
How is data moved between systems?
By export; check on the trial that the whole record for one person exports in one action.
What is free here?
Every document tool, without an account.