Personnel database software is the record a small employer has been keeping in a folder, kept properly: one record per person, keyed by the employee ID, with every document that concerns them attached and dated. The contract, the handbook acknowledgment, the tax forms, the onboarding checklist, the timesheets, the reviews, the write-ups, the changes to pay and role, the exit. The tools on this site print the documents free; this page is what the database has to hold, and the vendors' prices from their own pages.
The fields
Employee ID, name, role, start date, pay basis, manager, location, status. Enough to find a person and to run payroll; not the whole life story. The onboarding checklist on this site assigns the ID and captures the fields at hire.
The documents
Every one against the record with its date and, where signed, the signature. The contract tool, handbook template, onboarding checklist and review template on this site print the ones a small employer needs from day one.
The retention
Records kept for the period the law and the business need after the person leaves, and then removed. A database that never removes is a liability; one that removes on a rule is a record. The rule is set once, per document type, and the software applies it on the anniversary rather than when someone remembers.
The price
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 personnel database software
Is a spreadsheet a personnel database?
Until the first document needs to be found: the spreadsheet holds fields, not signed documents.
Who should have access?
The owner and the manager who needs the record; the software should let access be limited per person.
What is free here?
The document tools, without an account; the database that keeps them is the paid product.