Onboarding solutions come in two layers and a small employer needs the first before the second. The first is the checklist: the paperwork before day one, the setup on day one, the training and check-ins in the first month, with an owner and a date per line. The second is the software that asks for each line when it is due and keeps the signed documents. The onboarding checklist on this site prints the first layer sized to the role, free and without an account; the onboarding software guide covers the second.
The checklist
Offer, contract, handbook acknowledgment, tax and payroll forms, equipment, accounts, introductions, first task, buddy, training, thirty-day review. Each line with who does it and by when. The checklist on this site sizes the list to the role and prints it.
What software adds
The lines assigned and chased, the documents signed online and held, the training recorded, the review booked. A hire whose contract is signed but whose handbook acknowledgment is missing is the gap software closes.
The documents behind the lines
The employee contract tool and the employee handbook template on this site print the two documents every onboarding depends on; the review template prints the thirty-day review the checklist ends with.
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.
Questions people ask about onboarding solutions
What is the most-missed onboarding item?
The handbook acknowledgment; the contract gets signed because pay depends on it, the handbook does not.
How long should onboarding take?
The paperwork before day one; the productive first month is the goal the checklist is built around.
Is the checklist free?
Yes, without an account.