It doesn’t matter if your small business has two employees or 200 — you need to keep records. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) record-keeping requirements, employers must maintain a log of their employees’ names, Social Security numbers, addresses, occupations, wage rates and so on. The best way to do this is with a human resource information system (HRIS).
If you’re in the market for a new HRIS, you’re in luck. We vetted the best HRIS systems, narrowing the options to just 10 standout solutions. See which systems made the final lineup and what we find noteworthy about each.
Methodology
To help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) choose the best human resource information system (HRIS), we evaluated 29 solutions and 54 distinct plans using over 1,430 data points to develop a ranked list. We assigned an Editors’ Score to all 29 solutions and then assessed each HRIS vendor’s pricing, features, user reviews, and service and support options to create a ranking. Read our full methodology here.
Show summary
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Zoho People
: Best HRIS for small businesses
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Omni HR
: Best for ease of use
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UZIO
: Best for staffing agencies
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Rippling
: Best for businesses with an international presence
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HiBob
: Best for DEIB efforts
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GoCo
: Best for direct customer support
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TriNet
: Best for full-service HR
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Paycor
: Best for employee engagement
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Paylocity
: Best for small-business partners (accountants, brokers, etc.)
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SAP SuccessFactors
: Best for medium-sized businesses
We receive compensation from our partners for Featured Offer placements, which impacts how and where their offer is displayed.
Featured Offers
SurePayroll
Monthly pricing
From $29.99 plus $5 per employee
Free trial
6 Months
Gusto
Monthly pricing
From $40 plus $6 per employee
Free trial
Not offered
Rippling
Monthly pricing
Base fee (varies) plus $8 per employee
Free trial
Not offered
Paychex
Monthly pricing
From $35 plus $6 per employee
Free trial
30 days
Zoho People
Best HRIS for small businesses
Starting price
$1.50 per user per month
Free trial
30 days
Noteworthy feature
Time-off management
4.9/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
Zoho People is an HRIS that offers everything you need to streamline employee management. There is a free version of Zoho People that supports up to five employees and boasts file storage, e-signatures, an employee database and time-off management. Considering the value of these free features and the popularity of Zoho (the company claims to serve over 30,000 businesses across the globe), we’ve given it the title of best HRIS for small businesses.
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Aside from the free plan, there are five paid plans available: Essential HR, Professional, Premium, Enterprise and People Plus. If you’re specifically looking for typical HRIS features — such as onboarding support, employee database management and employee self-service — you can get away with the lowest tier plan, Essential HR. Fortunately, Essential HR is priced affordably at $1.50 per user per month ($1.25 per user when billed annually).
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Higher tiers of Zoho People include nice-to-have additions like attendance tracking, job scheduling and performance management.
Pros
- Free trial available (30 days)
- Native payroll, analytics and recruiting integrations offered
- Active online support forum for Zoho users
Cons
- Implementation support isn’t free
- Limited automation with free plan
- No chat and limited phone support unless you pay for an upgrade
Who should use it
If you have five or fewer employees, Zoho People’s free plan offers most of the essential HRIS features you need. It does lack onboarding support, so if you have plans to expand your team, you’d likely want to upgrade to the Essential HR plan. Still, Zoho is a prime HRIS option for small businesses on a budget; its per-person cost is low, and you can scale by adding on features — from learning management to employee engagement — as needed.
Omni HR
Best for ease of use
Starting price
$3.45 per employee per month
Free trial
14 days
Noteworthy feature
Expense management (add-on)
4.8/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
Omni HR is an all-in-one HR solution provider headquartered in Singapore. In our research, which considers real-world user reviews, Omni HR scored higher than other HRIS platforms for ease of use (users called it “a breeze to use,” “very intuitive” and “user-friendly and functional”). On top of this, the company has a straightforward help center on its website that walks customers through how to accomplish different tasks in the system. Considering this, we think it’s the easiest HRIS to use on our list.
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Omni HR’s Core platform has features that support the employee lifecycle from end to end. There are two options available: Standard and Enterprise. You pick one of these plans and then customize it with add-ons (payroll, performance management, expense management, etc.) as needed.
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Standard seems to be the way to go for most small businesses, as the features offered with the Enterprise plan are more niche (such as white labeling and security log audits). Pricing for Standard starts at $3.45 per employee per month ($3 per employee per month when billed annually) and includes an employee database, document management, employee self-service and reporting and analytics features. Pricing for Enterprise isn’t shared publicly — you’ll have to talk to Omni HR’s sales team to get that information.
Pros
- Free trial available (14 days)
- Customers get a dedicated account manager
- Can fast-track implementation if necessary
Cons
- No live chat or phone support
- Benefits administration not offered
- Limited integrations
Who should use it
Most of Omni HR’s customers have between 50 and 800 employees. The company’s website states that it helps organizations hire, onboard, manage and pay employees across Asia and beyond, which leads us to believe that medium-sized businesses with a global presence will also find success with Omni HR. And since Omni HR is scored highly by customers for its ease of use, if you’re looking for a system that can be mastered easily and quickly, this tool might be right for you.
UZIO
Best for staffing agencies
Starting price
$4.50 per employee per month
Free trial
Available by request
Noteworthy feature
Free compliance service
4.7/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
UZIO is an HR software provider that makes HRIS, payroll, benefits, compliance and time and attendance solutions. The company’s integrated, all-in-one HR platform helps small businesses streamline every aspect of employee management. On its website, UZIO advertises that it works well for staffing agencies; the tool supports the entire placement process, from initial candidate assessments and background checks to onboarding and billing, which is why we’ve crowned it the best HRIS for staffing agencies.
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You can create your own integrated solution by opting into specific tools offered by UZIO. One of those tools is UZIO’s HRIS, which starts at $4.50 per employee per month and includes digital onboarding and offboarding, document management, compliance, PTO request management and communication tools.
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Employee database management (a core HRIS feature) isn’t outright listed under UZIO’s HRIS plan, but there’s evidence that it’s included. For example, this feature is mentioned in a product update release from 2023, and considering the FLSA record-keeping requirements — which state that employment records must be kept for at least two years — there’s an implication that employee profiles can be created and managed in UZIO.
Pros
- Native payroll, benefits administration and time-tracking integrations offered
- Support email and phone number publicly listed
- Free basic compliance service
Cons
- Employee self-service isn’t included with the HRIS plan
- Limited integrations
- Minimal languages supported
Who should use it
If your business operates in the staffing industry, UZIO might be a good fit for you. Additionally, UZIO serves high-risk industries (specifically, cannabis). The company regularly publishes resources related to the cannabis industry on its blog, leading us to believe businesses in that business area would have a positive experience with the platform.
Rippling
Best for businesses with an international presence
Starting price
$8 per person per month
Free trial
Not available
Noteworthy feature
Employee Graph
4.7/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
Rippling is a business solutions provider, offering finance, human capital management (HCM) and IT solutions. These products can be paired together or bought separately, as long as you have the core Rippling Unity platform. Rippling’s global payroll platform can be used to pay workers in over 185 countries, and the company’s EOR (employer of record) services allow organizations to hire employees and contractors in nearly 150 countries. Both of these services are why we’ve titled Rippling the best HRIS for international presence.
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Rippling Unity has four plans: Core, Pro, Unlimited and Enterprise. At the center of Rippling Unity is something called the Employee Graph, a unified data model that stores and shares workforce data with Rippling’s native apps and third-party integrations. Most small businesses can get by with the Core plan, which comes with the Employee Graph, automated compliance management, document storage, org chart and workforce analytics functionalities. For more HR-related features, you’ll have to add on the HCM platform.
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Rippling’s full-suite HCM platform offers everything you need to manage a workforce including payroll, benefits administration, onboarding and offboarding, performance management, compliance, time and attendance, scheduling and learning management. Pricing begins at $8 per employee per month; you tell Rippling which apps and services you want to use, and the company will prepare a custom quote for you.
Pros
- Over 500 integrations supported
- Partner pricing offered for brokers and accountants
- Global payroll and workforce management supported
Cons
- No support or sales phone numbers listed publicly
- Minimal pricing info
- Have to be logged in to an active account to access the help center
Who should use it
Rippling’s finance and IT solutions make it a great option for small and medium-sized businesses that want to consolidate how they manage their data. Every Rippling application is built in-house and designed to seamlessly integrate with the rest of the platform’s tools and workflows, so if you’ve had challenges with data silos before, Rippling can help. Plus, if you have plans to hire and pay contractors and/or employees in another country, Rippling is your best bet.
HiBob
Best for DEIB efforts
Starting price
Not shared publicly
Free trial
Not available
Noteworthy feature
Inclusive employee profiles
4.7/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
HiBob is an HR software company founded in 2015. Its primary product — simply called Bob — is an integrated HR platform that supports every facet of hiring and managing employees, from recruiting and onboarding to managing compensation and performance. Bob is built with diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) features throughout the platform. For example, Bob provides workers with a range of characteristics to add to their employee profiles including preferred pronouns, gender identity, language, hobbies, ethnicity and neurodiversity. Additions such as this one are why we designated Bob the best HRIS for DEIB efforts.
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Bob’s foundation (the Core HR system) offers all essential features of an HRIS including a people directory and org chart; automated workflows for preboarding, onboarding and offboarding; document management and people analytics. The people analytics feature comes in the form of a KPI (key performance indicator) dashboard with real-time workforce metrics such as headcount, growth rate and employee turnover rate.
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The Core HR system also boasts the capability to create a company homepage with a social media-style feed that displays birthdays, work anniversaries and new hires. You can use this page as a company intranet by sharing announcements, and it also acts as an employee recognition platform through a feature called Shoutouts which can be used to give kudos to teammates.
Pros
- People analytics included with Core HR system
- Fully customizable system that provides the ability to build automated workflows
- Global presence with offices in Tel Aviv, New York and London
Cons
- No public pricing information
- Payroll administration not offered (only payroll reporting)
- No free trial
Who should use it
HiBob’s website features testimonies from its customers; most of the highlighted businesses have a few hundred employees, suggesting that the platform is best suited for medium-sized companies. This is further emphasized by the fact that HiBob has a strategic hiring solution, which small businesses likely aren’t hiring enough talent to need. Additionally, if DEIB is a focus for your organization, HiBob is one of your best HRIS options.
GoCo
Best for direct customer support
Starting price
$5 per employee per month
Free trial
Not available
Noteworthy feature
Company knowledge base
4.6/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
GoCo is an HR solution provider founded in 2015. Its all-in-one HR platform is built to support onboarding, payroll, compliance, performance management, benefits administration and time tracking. Every GoCo customer has an assigned customer success team to help them with implementation and ongoing operations, making GoCo the best HRIS for direct customer support on our list.
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GoCo’s Premium HR plan starts at $5 per employee per month and has all of the essential HRIS features you’d want: employee database, self-service portal, onboarding and offboarding, org charts, document management and company announcements. There’s also PTO tracking, reporting and the ability to manage a knowledge base for your organization. GoCo’s other plan options tack on benefits administration, payroll or both — unfortunately, pricing information for these plans isn’t shared publicly.
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GoCo also offers a few add-on features you can opt in to, including performance management, employee engagement surveys, recruitment and compliance.
Pros
- All customers get a dedicated customer success team
- Payroll and benefits administration available
- Free resources available (including an HR tech ROI calculator)
Cons
- Minimal pricing info
- Compliance not included (only offered as an add-on)
- No free trial
Who should use it
GoCo currently supports over 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the healthcare, tech, professional services, nonprofit, education and construction industries, among others. If your organization falls into one of these categories, GoCo could work for you. And if having easy access to customer support is a top priority, GoCo is a great HRIS option.
TriNet
Best for full-service HR
Starting price
$10 per employee per month
Free trial
Not available
Noteworthy feature
HR advisory services (add-on)
4.6/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
TriNet delivers HR solutions, whether through its HR platform, PEO (professional employer organization) or HR Plus outsourcing services. TriNet was founded in 1988, and the company’s PEO was accredited in 1995. Considering the years of experience TriNet has in the industry and the comprehensive range of services and tech it offers, we’ve given it the title of best HRIS for full-service HR.
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TriNet’s HR platform has three plans: Essentials, Growth and Zen. The Essentials plan is described as a basic HR platform, with automated onboarding, employee management, scheduling, time tracking and analytics features. Essentials pricing starts at $10 per employee per month when billed monthly; unfortunately for smaller teams, there is a five-employee minimum, so even if you only have two or three team members, you’ll be charged as if you have five.
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TriNet offers add-ons for its HR platform, including payroll, benefits administration, recruiting and HR advisory services. Pricing information for each of these add-ons is available on TriNet’s website. It’s also worth noting that payroll is included with the Zen plan of the HR platform.
Pros
- Transparent pricing
- Decent number of integrations supported
- Compliance included beginning with Essentials
Cons
- Plans have a five-employee minimum
- No free trial
- Some reviewers mention hidden charges
Who should use it
TriNet promotes its products and services to businesses in a wide variety of industries and also highlights different business stages, from those just starting out to more established operations. That said, if you need expert guidance on all things HR, TriNet is one of your best options. Even if you don’t opt for the company’s outsourcing or PEO services, you can add advisory services — which give you access to expert guidance on HR and payroll processing challenges — to the HR platform for $8 per employee per month.
Paycor
Best for employee engagement
Starting price
Not shared publicly
Free trial
14 days
Noteworthy feature
COR Leadership Dashboard
4.6/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
Paycor is an HR software company with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Its HCM system is built with modules for payroll, benefits administration, talent acquisition, employee development and compliance. In 2023, Paycor released the COR Leadership Dashboard, a feature that collects real-time feedback from employees through pulse surveys to measure leadership effectiveness. This unique addition is why we’ve designated Paycor the best HRIS for employee engagement.
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Paycor’s HCM has four plans: Basic, Essential, Core and Complete. Pricing information for these plans isn’t available online, and unfortunately, some essential HRIS features (such as onboarding support) aren’t offered with the lowest tier plan (Basic). Basic includes payroll administration and tax filing services, while Essential includes onboarding and compliance support as well as PTO management, recruiting and reporting features. The COR Leadership Dashboard and Paycor Engage (an employee engagement solution) are offered beginning with the Core plan.
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Employee data management isn’t outright mentioned on the plans and pricing page of Paycor’s website, but it’s advertised as a part of the company’s HR software, implying that it’s included with the HCM plans.
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It’s also worth noting that Paycor states its commitment to data security on its website (using encryption and multi-factor authentication to protect employees’ data), although an unauthorized third party took advantage of a vulnerability secure file transfer protocol that Paycor uses in 2023, leading to a data leak. Associated documentation indicates that the breach wasn’t of Paycor itself (or its software offerings).
Pros
- 14-day free trial offered (plus, first month free for new HCM Core customers)
- Customer support available by phone: (855) 565-3285
- Free resources including webinars, white papers and an HR glossary
Cons
- No pricing information
- Multiple user reviews mention subpar customer support
- Recent tangential data leak
Who should use it
Paycor advertises its solutions to a range of business sizes, from those with fewer than 49 employees to those with more than 1,000 employees. It also calls out a handful of industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, restaurants and retail.
We believe that Paycor is best for growing, medium-sized businesses due to its scalability and nice-to-have HR features (such as the COR Leadership Dashboard, Paycor Engage and Paycor Compensation Planning). Further, the inclusion of pulse surveys, a learning management system (LMS) and career management features makes Paycor an excellent option for businesses that want to improve employee engagement.
Paylocity
Best for small-business partners (accountants, brokers, etc.)
Starting price
Not shared publicly
Free trial
Not available
Noteworthy feature
Compliance dashboard and training
4.5/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
Paylocity is an HR solution provider founded in 1997. Its unified HR platform combines several modules to support the entirety of the employee lifecycle. In addition to the HRIS the company offers, it has modules for payroll (global and US), benefits administration, talent management and employee experience. According to Paylocity’s website, the company’s tech supports over 5,500 partners — such as CPAs, brokers and advisors — which is why we’ve crowned it the best HRIS for small-business partners.
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Paylocity doesn’t publish pricing information for its plans, but it does mention that it follows a PEPM (per employee per month) pricing structure. Based on information from its pricing page, Paylocity’s HR software is the right choice if you’re looking for a system that provides basic HRIS functionality. This platform has an employee self-service portal, a compliance dashboard and interactive compliance training content, document management and a customizable org chart. It also includes HR Edge, an HR consulting service that helps minimize your risk of noncompliance.
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If you’re looking for more, you can customize your plan with Paylocity to include any of the company’s other tools that address core HR needs like payroll and benefits management as well as strategic aspects of HR like employee engagement and talent development. Notably, the company’s payroll platform supports over 100 countries and includes more than 30 payroll audits with automatic alerts.
Pros
- Payroll, benefits administration and workforce management tools available
- Hundreds of supported integrations
- Compliance features included with HRIS
Cons
- No pricing information
- No free trial
- Some reviews mention subpar customer support
Who should use it
Paylocity’s customers are businesses of all sizes, from small startups to enterprises. The company claims to serve over 36,000 organizations in the healthcare, manufacturing, professional services, nonprofit and retail industries (along with many more). Paylocity also offers special discounts to small-business partners such as accountants, and it also built a Partner Portal in its system for these kinds of users, so there’s plenty of evidence that consultants, CPAs and financial advisors would benefit from using Paylocity.
SAP SuccessFactors
Best for medium-sized businesses
Starting price
$75.60 per user per year
Free trial
Not available
Noteworthy feature
Data-backed HR insights
4.4/5
Our rating considers features, value for money, customer support and ease of use. Ratings are assigned exclusively by our editorial team.
From participating partners
Why we picked it
SAP is a Germany-based software company that acquired SuccessFactors in 2012. Today, SAP SuccessFactors provides HCM solutions to businesses of all sizes. Outside its HCM suite, SAP offers solutions for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), product lifecycle management, supply chain management and more. With its wide scope of platforms (offering benefits for businesses that use multiple SAP product suites), SAP SuccessFactors earns the title of best HRIS for medium-sized businesses on our list.
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Several SAP SuccessFactors products are mentioned on the company’s website; four are listed under the core HR, payroll and time section. SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central is the primary HRIS offering, built to consolidate HR data management, with employee profiles, a self-service portal and interactive org charts. Employee Central supports compliance in over 100 locales, and the system has global benefits administration and absence management capabilities.
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Pricing for SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central begins at $75.60 per user per year. A monthly price isn’t listed on the company’s website (although it breaks down to $6.30 per month), but there is a note referencing a one-year minimum contract.
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One compelling offering from SAP SuccessFactors provides is its data-backed HR insights — in fact, the company has a dedicated Growth and Insights team that focuses on preparing these types of reports. Most recently, SAP SuccessFactors released a 2024 HR Trends report.
Pros
- Valuable, timely HR insights available
- Implementation training and resources provided
- Global benefits administration included with Employee Central
Cons
- One-year minimum contract duration
- Complex system for contacting customer support
- May be too comprehensive for smaller businesses
Who should use it
Although SAP claims that 80% of its customers are small and medium-sized businesses, we have a hard time believing that this platform is one of the best choices for smaller organizations. On review website G2, the majority of user reviews for SAP SuccessFactors come from enterprise-sized businesses, with the next largest portion coming from mid-market businesses. Further, the HR insights that SAP provides are most useful for growing medium-sized to large businesses, and businesses that can afford and would get the most out of multiple SAP products are likely on the larger end of the spectrum.
We receive compensation from our partners for Featured Offer placements, which impacts how and where their offer is displayed.
Featured Offers
SurePayroll
Monthly pricing
From $29.99 plus $5 per employee
Free trial
6 Months
Gusto
Monthly pricing
From $40 plus $6 per employee
Free trial
Not offered
Rippling
Monthly pricing
Base fee (varies) plus $8 per employee
Free trial
Not offered
Paychex
Monthly pricing
From $35 plus $6 per employee
Free trial
30 days
Compare top HRIS options
| Company | Star rating | Starting price | Free trial | Noteworthy feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Zoho People | 4.9 | $1.50 per user per month | 30 days | Time-off management |
Omni HR | 4.8 | $3.45 per employee per month | 14 days | Expense management (add-on) |
UZIO | 4.7 | $4.50 per employee per month | Available by request | Free compliance service |
Rippling | 4.7 | $8 per person per month | Not available | Employee Graph |
HiBob | 4.7 | Not shared publicly | Not available | Inclusive employee profiles |
GoCo | 4.6 | $5 per employee per month | Not available | Company knowledge base |
TriNet | 4.6 | $10 per employee per month | Not available | HR advisory services (add-on) |
Paycor | 4.6 | Not shared publicly | 14 days | COR Leadership Dashboard |
Paylocity | 4.5 | Not shared publicly | Not available | Compliance dashboard and training |
SAP SuccessFactors | 4.4 | $75.60 per user per year | Not available | Data-backed HR insights |
What is an HRIS?
Human resource information systems (HRIS) are a foundational type of HR software that businesses use to automate core administrative processes such as onboarding, new hire reporting and employee data management.
Benefits of HRIS software
An HRIS is considered a must-have tool for most small businesses. Here are just three of the ways an HRIS can benefit your business:
- Secures employee data: As you’re well aware by now, keeping employee records is a must to operate your business legally. That said, employee data contains sensitive information (like workers’ home addresses and Social Security numbers). The best HRIS systems encrypt employee data to lower the risk of a harmful breach. For example, Zoho People, Omni HR and others are ISO 27001-certified, which means that a company demonstrates a commitment to the protection of sensitive data by implementing appropriate risk assessments, policies and controls.
- Assists with compliance: Accurate employee record-keeping is one aspect of compliance, but there are many more requirements that employers must abide by. For example, businesses in the healthcare industry are subject to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations. HRIS platforms are often built with a compliance notification system that helps organizations stay up to date on changes to federal and state regulations, as well as be aware of any potential breaches they may be overlooking.
- Automates processes: Human resource information systems are designed to automate key administrative HR processes such as onboarding, new hire reporting and time-off request management. This negates the need to manage back-and-forth emails or mail paper forms, saving both HR leaders and employees time.
Essential HRIS features
Every HRIS tool is different, which is why many vendors offer more than one plan to accommodate businesses’ varying needs. That said, here are the features we consider essential in an HRIS.
- Employee profiles and database: A searchable database of employee profiles is key HRIS functionality.
- Organization chart: Most HRIS tools include org charts, which are a visual representation of your business’s internal structure and where roles sit within it.
- Onboarding and offboarding: Automated workflows for onboarding and offboarding employees are usually included in the best HRIS options.
- Employee self-service: Self-service portals are used by employees to access their personal information, pay stubs, tax documents and company announcements.
- Document management: Businesses need a place to store key HR documents such as employee handbooks and remote work policies, which is why document management is often a part of HRIS platforms.
- Compliance: Operating in compliance with federal and state laws is a concern for every business, so many HRIS tools are built to alert employers when regulation changes impact them or they take an action that puts them at risk.
- Workforce analytics and reporting: Because an HRIS is used to manage employee data, such tools often have a reporting and analytics component. Some may be simple — providing basic information on turnover rates and compensation breakdowns — while others may offer more advanced analytics insights such as a forecast of future workforce needs.
Related: HR analytics: Key metrics and tips to get started
How much does HRIS cost?
The cost of HRIS platforms varies depending on how many employees your business has, how comprehensive of a solution you choose and the length of the contract you agree to (vendors often offer discounts on annual subscriptions).
Most systems follow a PEPM (per employee per month) pricing structure. Based on pricing information for the products in this guide, small businesses can expect to pay between $1.50 to $10 per employee per month. OutSail (an HR software broker) reports a wider range — from $7 to $42 per employee per month — based on the pricing of 16 different HRIS systems.
Methodology: How we chose the best HRIS systems
To help you find the best HRIS system for your business’s needs, we researched the top providers in the industry using a specific set of desired data points. After we collected this data, we narrowed our list to 29 solutions based on 33 different metrics. We then weighted each metric based on what matters most in an HRIS platform for small and medium-sized organizations. Once we had the final score for each product, we selected the 10 that rose to the top for this list.
We assigned each product an Editors’ Score encompassing four key areas before converting the final scores to a star rating out of five. This score does not affect our selection methodology or assessment of key data points for ultimate list inclusion.
Here’s how our methodology breaks down:
Core HRIS features (25%)
To determine whether a system offers essential HRIS functionality, we evaluated its core HRIS features. Core HRIS features are administrative functions that support employee data management. The features factored into our scoring include employee databases, employee handbooks, org charts and reporting dashboards.
General HR features (25%)
When choosing an HRIS platform, it’s essential to know whether the system offers the features you need to manage a workforce. General HR features considered in our scoring include employee portals, onboarding, document management, compliance tools and notification systems.
Additional features (22%)
To thoroughly judge the comprehensiveness of each HRIS tool, we considered any additional features, which — in this case — may or may not be directly related to HR processes. For example, we factored in software integrations, e-signatures, automated workflows, workforce analytics and offboarding capabilities, since such functionality is a key part of any robust HRIS.
Service and support (12%)
How responsive and helpful a software vendor’s support team is can have a big impact on a business’s success with its system. To measure this, we factored in the channels available to contact support (including live chat, phone and email), and whether or not the company offers a self-help knowledge base for its customers.
Customer reviews (6%)
We pulled information from three reputable review aggregators (Trustpilot, G2 and Capterra) to see how former and current users rate each system.
Value (5%)
The value of a system is incredibly important for small and medium-sized businesses on a budget. To judge the value of each HRIS system, we considered whether pricing information is publicly available, if a free trial is offered (and the length of the trial) and subscription cost when billed monthly and annually.
Editors’ Score (5%)
Our Editors’ Score for the top HRIS tools for small and medium-sized businesses considered four key factors: value for money, features, popularity and ease of use.
We assigned each product an Editors’ Score on a scale from terrible to excellent; each descriptor is associated with a numerical value. Then, we ranked the top HRIS platforms using each of the categories above. The final score (including the Editors’ Score) was then converted into a star rating, with zero stars as the lowest possible score and five stars as the max.
We receive compensation from our partners for Featured Offer placements, which impacts how and where their offer is displayed.
Featured Offers
SurePayroll
Monthly pricing
From $29.99 plus $5 per employee
Free trial
6 Months
Gusto
Monthly pricing
From $40 plus $6 per employee
Free trial
Not offered
Rippling
Monthly pricing
Base fee (varies) plus $8 per employee
Free trial
Not offered
Paychex
Monthly pricing
From $35 plus $6 per employee
Free trial
30 days
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Based on our research, the best HRIS system is Zoho People followed by Omni HR and UZIO.
Most HRIS vendors provide implementation support. If this service isn’t free, we suggest paying for it to ensure a smooth and accurate migration of your employee data over.
HRIS and HRMS (human resource management system) are used interchangeably. Both terms refer to a type of HR software that automates administrative processes and supports employee data management.
HCM (human capital management) systems differ from HRIS in their scope. HCM solutions have a broader scope; they generally offer the features of an HRIS along with additional functionalities that assist with workforce and talent management.
The best HRIS systems will include employee profiles and a searchable employee database. They’ll also have org charts, HR document management, automated onboarding workflows, self-service portals, and time- and attendance-tracking capabilities.
