5 Best BambooHR alternatives for UK small businesses

BambooHR is known for being easy to use and ideal for US-based businesses, but is it the right HR solution for your small business? If you’re here reading this article, you’re considering that it might not be.

In this guide, we’ll share our knowledge and insights to bring you the top BambooHR alternatives for small businesses.

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If you don’t have time to read this right now, jump straight to the top 5 alternatives or download our guide.

What is BambooHR?

BambooHR is a cloud-based all-in-one human resources software solution for HR teams that want to streamline day-to-day admin and people management. With BambooHR you can take care of core HR functions like your employee database and time-off management, along with other HR functions like recruitment, time tracking, and payroll processing.

‍BambooHR is an attractive option for businesses that want to move as many HR and people operations into one platform as possible, but its functionality and the approach to pricing make it a better fit for medium-sized businesses than micro or small businesses.

Why BambooHR might be right for your business

While we are considering BambooHR alternatives here, it’s entirely possible that it ends up being the best match for your specific needs. Here’s a reminder of some of the strengths of this popular HR software tool.

In-depth employee data and reporting

BambooHR is favoured by HR teams that want to build a wealth of HR data for strategic decision-making and reporting. With a secure employee database and the option to send out eNPS surveys, you can use this data to make the right choices when it comes to workforce planning and development.

There are more than 40 report templates built-in, or you can create your own custom reports. Team members can access personalised dynamic dashboards with customisable widgets, allowing them to view the data that’s most relevant to their role.

Option to add payroll management and benefits administration

Many HR software tools focus only on HR functions, but BambooHR takes this a step further and allows you to integrate payroll and benefits administration through a paid add-on.

‍HR teams can manage benefits enrolment, direct deposits, tax filing, and advanced reporting from one place. Note that this is only available for US employees though, so UK-based teams won’t be able to benefit from these features.

Flexible approach to pricing

While we prefer the “everything is included” approach to software plans, we know that isn’t for everyone. If you would instead like to customise your plan with various feature upgrades and modules, BambooHR might be a good choice.

BambooHR’s core plan includes onboarding, time-off management, employee experience management, and HR data and reporting. You can then upgrade to the Pro plan to add performance management and an employee community, or consider investing further in an add-on like payroll, benefits administration, or time tracking.

Reasons not to use BambooHR for your small business

We know from experience that BambooHR isn’t always the best choice for small businesses. Here’s why it’s a good idea to look for an alternative to BambooHR if you’re running a UK small business.

Some features are only available in the US

We’ve talked about how promising the payroll and benefits management features are, but unfortunately they’re only available for US employees. This means that UK-based teams can’t benefit from this extra functionality, and need to look elsewhere for this.

Compliance and support hours are tailored to the US

The US focus continues beyond the functionality, too. Customer support hours and phone numbers are based in the US, which means that you’ll need to time your request for help to match when their support team is available. Other areas of the software, like compliance, holidays, and time and date settings, are also US-focused.

Lack of customisation options

While you can customise the software in some areas, like creating your own reports, users suggest that the system isn’t as flexible as they’d like. Some reviewers say that if your setup isn’t fairly standard you might find the process isn’t as efficient as you’d like, especially when managing payroll and benefits.

When to look for an alternative to BambooHR

BambooHR is a great fit for US-based businesses that want access to high-level data capture and reporting, but it’s not ideal for small businesses here in the UK. Let’s explore some of the reasons why it’s worth considering an alternative:

You want HR software for UK small businesses
You want a quick and easy setup and onboarding process
You don’t need built-in payroll and benefits administration
You want clear, transparent pricing
You want a tool where performance management isn’t a paid add-on
You’re happy to handle time tracking via an integration
You want more flexibility and customisation
You want to be able to speak to customer support in a UK timezone

BambooHR is a great fit for US-based businesses that want access to high-level data capture and reporting, but it’s not ideal for small businesses here in the UK. Let’s explore some of the reasons why it’s worth considering an alternative:

How we’ve put together this guide

Our product managers have assembled this guide to help you find the ideal match for your small business. We’re hoping that’s Charlie, but if it’s not, we still want you to find the right BambooHR alternative.

Our team has spent a lot of time talking to customers, reading reviews, and gathering insights on BambooHR and the competitors on this list. We’ve asked customers:

Why they picked Charlie as their software
Why they left us (if they did)
Who they chose to leave us for
What they think of the competitors they used before switching to us

This is a really important part of our process to help us build a better product for small businesses, and it’s helped inform this comparison guide too. By knowing more about BambooHR and other alternatives, we can build the best possible list of other HR software tools to consider.

The 5 best alternatives to BambooHR for small businesses

Ready to discover an even better alternative? Here are the top five BambooHr competitors that you should be considering for your shortlist.

#1

CharlieHR

Best all-in-one platform for small businesses and startups

Charlie was built with small businesses like you in mind. It has everything you need to simplify HR tasks and support your team, free from unnecessary distractions and features that you just don’t need.

After speaking to small business owners, we’ve designed Charlie to align with your goals like:

Simplified HR and employee management: Charlie is easy to set up and even easier to use
Automated core HR admin: Time-off management, onboarding, and data storage are all included
Easy UK compliance: Build efficient and compliant processes the smart way
No HR professional required: Take care of core HR admin confidently, without hiring another person

Key features

Charlie comes with all the features you need to tackle HR admin, like:

Core HR for every step of the employee lifecycle: Time-off management, onboarding, data storage, performance reviews, and engagement surveys

Affordable and budget-friendly: all HR features included in one transparent plan, with no setup fee

No more messy spreadsheets: all your employee records are securely stored in one place, and employee self-service means your team members can access and update their own records

Simple, personalised onboarding: new hires are taken through a customisable onboarding process

Unsecure email threads removed: your team members can directly request their time off in the software, which you can review with one click

World-class perks, without the price tag: 30,000+ perks are available for your employees from brands like Apple and Hello Fresh at no extra cost

Business growth and hiring all in one place: add Charlie Recruit, our applicant tracking system (ATS) add-on, to combine HR management with a seamless hiring process

Pricing

Starting at just £5 per month
Inclusive all of our features
No set up fee
Cancel anytime

Notable customers

What people say

I've got a number to go by in Charlie — it's always there and I know I can trust it. I feel that enables me to look after the team in a way that’s much more tangible.

— James, GoSquared

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#2

CharlieHR

Best for culture-crafting elements and gamification

HiBob (also known as Bob) stands out as one of the main human resources management tools that focuses on culture building and employee engagement, which means that much of their development focus is on features that help you create the right environment for your team.

This software tool is best for established companies that want to refine their company culture or enhance it with progressive policies and processes.