Managing human resources effectively is essential for small businesses looking to streamline operations, ensure compliance, and support employee growth. From payroll and benefits administration to hiring and performance management, HR tasks can quickly become overwhelming without the right tools. That’s where HR software comes in—helping small businesses automate processes, reduce administrative burdens, and stay compliant with employment laws.
With so many options available, choosing the best HR software can be challenging. To create our list, we evaluated key factors such as ease of use, affordability, essential features (like payroll, compliance, and employee management), and customer reviews. Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one HR platform or specialised tools for payroll and recruiting, our curated selection will help you find the right fit for your business.
The 7 best HR software providers for small businesses
Sage
Sage HR is a cloud-based HR software designed for growing businesses with up to 250 employees. It streamlines essential HR processes like leave management, employee records, performance tracking, and payroll integration, freeing up time for strategic initiatives.
Sage is modular, allowing you to pay for only the add-ons you need – for example, you may require the expenses but not recruitment. Sage offers a range of HMRC-recognised payroll solutions that you can connect to your HR platform via an additional subscription. Alternatively, if you have fewer than 25 employees, you can choose Payroll as your core product and add-on HR capabilities.
It offers a 30-day free trial, making it easy for you to test its features and compare it to other solutions before committing.
Pricing
| Core HR + Leave management | From £4.60 per employee/month |
| Performance Management | £2.30 per employee/month |
| Timesheets | £2.30 per employee/month |
| Shift Scheduling | £2.30 per employee/month |
| Expenses | £1.15 per employee/month |
| Recruitment | £170 per month |
Key Features
- Core HR & leave management: Centralised employee records and automated leave tracking
- Performance management: Goal setting, feedback collection, and performance reviews
- Timesheets: Track employee hours with ease
- Shift scheduling: Simplifies workforce management and scheduling
- Expense management: Submit and approve expenses seamlessly
- Recruitment module: Streamline hiring with applicant tracking
- Mobile app: Manage HR tasks on the go
- Self-service employee portal: Employees can update personal details, request leave, and track performance
- Custom workflows: Automate repetitive HR processes
- Payroll integration: Available as an additional subscription for combined HR and payroll management
Employment Hero
Employment Hero is an AI-powered all-in-one employment platform that combines HR, payroll, and employee management, benefits and recruitment for businesses of all sizes. With built-in analytics, payroll support, and employee engagement tools, businesses can focus on growth while ensuring compliance and optimising workforce management. Standard features include paperless onboarding, leave management, and an HR document library, while performance management, API access, and staff training are available on more advanced plans.
Employment Hero’s SmartMatch AI simplifies recruitment by connecting your business with the best talent for your needs, while its HR and employment law advisory services provide peace of mind with unlimited professional support.
Pricing
| HR Standard | £40 per month |
| HR Premium | £70 per month |
| HR Platinum | Contact for pricing |
| Employment unlimited | Contact for pricing |
Key Features
- Core HR: Automate employee onboarding, document management, and policy compliance with AI-powered efficiency
- Intelligent payroll: Ensure accurate and compliant payroll with automated checks and expert support
- Hiring talent: AI-powered SmartMatch connects businesses with top candidates and benchmarks salaries
- Time & attendance: Manage shifts, approve timesheets, and automate attendance tracking effortlessly
- Employee engagement: Boost morale with learning tools, performance tracking, and rewards systems
- Insights & analytics: Gain valuable workforce insights through customisable reports and audit trails
- HR & employment law advisory: Access unlimited HR and legal compliance advice from UK professionals
- Payroll partner support: Work with a dedicated payroll expert to ensure compliance and accuracy
- IT & security: Secure your data with encryption, compliance certifications, and role-based access controls
- Seamless integrations: Connect Employment Hero with existing tools for a unified HR and payroll experience
Hibob
Hibob HR, commonly known as Bob, is a modern HR platform designed to enhance productivity, and employee engagement, and retention for small and growing businesses. With an intuitive, social-media-like interface, Bob makes HR processes a more engaging experience for employees and HR teams alike, improving outcomes and efficiency. The platform streamlines core HR functions such as automated workflows, people analytics, document management, absence, and e-signatures.
Bob’s customisable organisation chart and social engagement features foster collaboration and connection among employees, making it a powerful tool for hybrid and remote teams. Bob is trusted by companies worldwide to automate HR tasks and deliver meaningful insights.
Pricing
Contact HiBob for custom pricing.
Key Features
- Core HR: Centralised hub for all HR needs, including employee records and company-wide announcements
- People directory and Org Chart: Easily view and navigate company hierarchy and team structures
- Automated workflows: Reduces admin workload with prebuilt task automation for onboarding, offboarding, and approvals
- eSign: Secure digital signature tool for contracts and legal documents
- Docs management: Cloud-based repository for storing and managing HR documents securely
- People analytics: Provides real-time insights into key HR metrics like employee turnover and growth
- Social engagement features: Includes Kudos, Shoutouts, and interactive social elements for employee recognition
- Hybrid work management: Tracks remote, in-office, and traveling employees for better workforce coordination
- Self-service portal: Employees can update personal information, reducing HR workload
- Integration capabilities: Connects with payroll, communication, and project management tools to streamline operations
Breathe HR
Breathe HR is an intuitive, cloud-based HR software designed to simplify HR processes for businesses with up to 250 employees. With dozens of essential features, it automates leave management, recruitment, performance tracking, and more.
Breathe helps you save time, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure data security, as well as make the most of your talented team. Health and safety features are now built in, allowing you to assess risks, log incidents, and track safety tasks within your HR platform. Its flexible, commitment-free plans (you don’t have to agree to a long-term contract) make it a cost-effective choice for growing companies. The software includes a 14-day free trial, so you can investigate its capabilities and compatibility with your business before parting with your cash.
Pricing
| Core HR software | From £3.30 to £22.84 per organisation per month |
| Rota, time and attendance | £10 per month |
| Recruitment | £21 per month |
| Expenses | £12 per month |
| Learn | £12 per business per month |
Key Features
- Leave management: Automate holiday requests and approvals
- Recruitment tools: Manage job postings, applications, and hiring workflows
- Absence tracking: Monitor sickness trends and absences efficiently
- Performance management: Set goals, track progress, and provide employee feedback
- Shift scheduling: Create and manage rotas effortlessly
- Employee database: Securely store and access employee records
- Self-service portal: Employees can update personal details and manage leave requests
- GDPR compliance: Ensures data security and regulatory compliance
- HR reporting: Generate reports on workforce trends and performance
- Integration marketplace: Connect with third-party apps to expand functionality
- Built-in health and safety: Manage risks, tasks, and records within your HR software
Moorepay
Moorepay HR software brings together payroll, performance, recruitment, expenses, staff training and more in one intuitive platform. It lightens your administrative load by streamlining processes, reducing manual tasks, and surfacing valuable insights about your people.
With integrated payroll functionality, you can manage HR and payroll in one place, reducing errors and increasing efficiency. The mobile app allows employees and HR administrators to manage payslips, leave requests, timesheets, and expenses from anywhere. Moorepay goes that little bit further to make life easy for its customers with its hands-on implementation, which configures the software to your business, runs through tests and checks and ensures you’re compliant, and provides ongoing support.
Pricing
Contact Moorepay for pricing.
Key Features
- Easy automation: Streamline HR processes with automated workflows and reminders
- Payroll integration: Seamless connection between HR and payroll for efficiency
- Mobile app: Employees can access payslips, request leave, and manage expenses on the go
- Employee engagement tools: Gain insights into company trends and improve workplace culture
- Performance management: Conduct 360° performance reviews, set goals, and track KPIs
- Recruitment module: Automate hiring processes and manage candidates effectively
- Expense management: Track and approve employee expenses with full visibility
- Time & attendance tracking: Monitor working hours and ensure compliance
- HR compliance: Stay up to date with legal requirements and regulations
- Reporting & analytics: Generate HR reports for data-driven decision-making
BrightHR
BrightHR is an all-in-one HR, health & safety, and payroll platform designed to simplify HR processes for businesses of all sizes. With unlimited cloud-based storage, employee tracking, payroll integration, and 24/7 employment law advice, BrightHR ensures you can stay compliant while reducing paperwork and administrative tasks.
The platform includes tools for managing leave, scheduling shifts, tracking attendance, and providing mental health support, as well as performance management with employee reviews and goal setting. Additionally, its payroll software and expense management app streamline financial processes.
Pricing
| Core HR software | £3.30-£20.84 per employee per month |
| Enhanced HR support | £6.20-£21.20 per employee per month |
| Full HR, health and safety and EAP | From £8.30-£28.20 per employee per month |
Key Features
- Leave management: Manage annual leave requests with a single click
- Clock-in app: Blip app allows employees to clock in and out easily
- Attendance tracking: Monitor sickness, absences, and staff presence
- Cloud storage: Securely store unlimited HR documents
- Shift planning: Create and manage rotas for any working pattern
- Expense management: PoP app simplifies expense tracking and approvals
- Payroll integration: Export payroll-ready data quickly and efficiently
- HR compliance: Maintain legally compliant HR documents
- Overtime tracking: Track extra hours and update payroll accordingly
- Health & safety management: Conduct risk assessments and roll out training programs
- Performance tracking: Conduct reviews and and set goals for individual employees
Remote
Remote HR is a leading global employment platform designed to help you hire, pay, and manage international teams with ease. Operating in 193 countries, Remote simplifies HR, payroll, and compliance, allowing companies to expand globally while reducing legal complexity.
Remote is another modular platform that you can customise to your needs. HRIS (£10 per employee per month) is its end-to-end HR lifecycle management solution, which is purpose-built for international businesses. It includes onboarding and offboarding, leave management and time-tracking, expense management, roles and permissions and more. Performance management, which offers AI-powered performance insights and goal tracking, costs £8 per employee per month. And the employee feedback function, which you can use to run surveys and analyse sentiments and trends, costs £4 per employee per month.
Pricing
| HRIS | £10 per employee per month |
| Performance management | £8 per employee month |
| Employee surveys | £4 per employee per month |
| On-demand services for global HR | Contact for pricing |
Key Features
- Employer of record: Hire employees internationally without setting up local entities
- Global payroll: Pay employees and contractors accurately and on time across borders
- Compliance and legal support: Stay compliant with local labor laws worldwide
- Contractor management: Streamline contractor payments and agreements
- HRIS (Human Resource Information System): Manage employee data and HR tasks easily
- Time off and expense management: Simplify global team management with built-in tools
- Remote talent hiring: Find and recruit top global candidates effortlessly
- Embedded API and integrations: Connect with 5,000+ HR and payroll tools
- Employee cost calculator: Get accurate insights into total employment costs worldwide
- Global HR library: Access country-specific employment guides and HR resources
FAQs
1. What are the key features to look for in HR software?
When choosing HR software, look for features such as payroll processing, employee onboarding, benefits administration, compliance management, time tracking, and performance management. An all-in-one platform can help streamline HR tasks and improve efficiency.
2. How can HR software help with global hiring and payroll?
HR software with global capabilities allows businesses to hire, onboard, and pay employees in different countries while ensuring compliance with local employment laws. Features like employer of record (EOR) services and multi-currency payroll processing simplify international workforce management.
3. Is HR software cost-effective for small businesses?
Yes, many HR software providers offer flexible pricing plans tailored to small businesses. While costs vary, using HR software can save time and reduce administrative overhead, making it a cost-effective investment in the long run.
4. Can HR software help with compliance and legal requirements?
Absolutely. Many HR platforms include built-in compliance tools that help businesses adhere to labour laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements. This reduces the risk of fines and legal issues related to employment practices.
5. How do I choose the right HR software for my business?
Start by assessing your business needs, including payroll, hiring, compliance, and employee management. Consider factors like ease of use, scalability, customer support, and integration with existing tools. Reading reviews and testing free trials can also help you make an informed decision.
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