Even small businesses can outgrow Excel spreadsheets to manage employee information. At a certain point, the paperwork for tracking payroll, benefits, and performance information becomes too unwieldy. Enter an HR management system.
Despite the fancy acronyms, HRMS (Human Resource Management Systems) and HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) software packages aren't necessarily enterprise applications with a confusing array of features. An HR system organizes recruitment, payroll, performance evaluations and benefits administration into a centralized system, but these applications can be simplified for small-business needs.
Before investing in a system, each business has to decide between two paths: a hosted solution or an in-house one. Hosted software frees you from investing in hardware and from regular maintenance and upgrade work. It means getting up and running faster, makes it easier to get new features and upgrades, and requires less downtime to fix problems.
2R Solution HR: One of the least-expensive products around, 2RS HR stores salary history, benefits, performance reviews, training schedules, vacation dates and incident reports, in addition to basic personnel information. Priced at $399, 2RS HR can integrate withIntuit's (INTU) popular QuickBooks accounting software. A Windows product, it runs on a single PC. A multi-user version, for two to five computers, is also available for $695. The single-user version is limited to storing data for 50 employees or fewer.
2RS HR allows documents such as letters (offer, welcome, termination), evaluations, and surveys to be attached to employee records. The software also creates benefit forms defining each employee's benefit plan, eligibility dates, premiums, and beneficiaries. The "safety" module is a unique feature, allowing employers to enter work-related incidents and accidents for each employee. It can also track workers' compensation claims.