Choose if: You're looking for a simple tool to handle all the HR admin at your small business.
Best Personio alternatives for UK small businesses
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Choose if: Your priority is not an advanced HR software, but getting 1-1 support from a consultant.
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Choose if: You have very basic HR needs and a tight budget.
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Choose if: Most of your team work irregular hours or in shifts.
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Written by:
Joe Hodges
Is Personio the right HR software solution for you?
Have you missed any alternatives that would actually work better for your business?
With this blogpost, I’m going to help you answer those exact questions — so that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
A note about the author
My name is Joe and I work on the Product team at CharlieHR, an HR software platform for small businesses and startups.
As part of my job, I do lots of research on other HR tools like Personio: it helps me understand how we can continuously improve Charlie to be the best solution for small businesses looking to automate their HR admin.
This article is me putting down on paper some of those learnings, so that you can use them to pick the right tool for you — whether that’s Personio or something else.
(Of course, it is also a chance for me to talk to you about CharlieHR, and why you should consider it as your next HR software 😇).
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4 best Personio alternatives for small businesses
#1
CharlieHR
CharlieHR is an HR software platform that helps small companies automate time-consuming HR tasks.
With Charlie, you can let the system handle all the admin — and get the time and headspace back to be able to grow your business.
Why choose Charlie over Personio?
Charlie meets the needs of companies with <100 teams members better than Personio:
Charlie’s features were built with small businesses in mind. They cover all core HR processes, making your workflows much simpler and streamlined. On the other hand, Personio’s functionalities can be too advanced and complex for a small business to make the most of.
Charlie offers better value for money to small companies with a limited budget. Starting from as little as £5 per month you can access all of Charlie’s features. On the other hand, Personio’s Essentials package can be too limited (it doesn’t include onboarding); and their more expensive plans can outprice smaller businesses with limited cash to spend. Find out more about Charlie vs Personio.
CharlieHR’s Features
Automated time off
An annual leave process that runs itself - say goodbye to spreadsheets and calculators
One-click onboarding
Cut down your workload with a self-service onboarding platform that automates all the admin
Team database
All your employee data, safely stored in one place
Performance reviews
Give people the high-impact reviews they need, without drowning in admin
Engagement surveys
Keep your finger on the pulse with custom or ready-made survey templates
Integrations
No more copy-pasting across your tools: Charlie integrates with major ATS, payroll and project management systems
Perks
Thousands of offers and benefits for your team to choose from, at no extra cost
Company handbook
Build and host your employee handbook in Charlie
Reports
All the data you need to make important HR decisions
Pricing
- Starting from as little as £5 per month
- Inclusive of all features
- No setup fee
- Pay monthly, cancel anytime
Notable customers
What people say
Using Charlie has saved me so much time and energy. No one wins when I am spending hours on admin tasks every week... Now, I have more time to focus on my most important work.
— James Gill, GoSquared
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#2
CharlieHR
CitrusHR is an HR solution used by small businesses to streamline their operations and HR tasks, such as reports, expenses and timesheets.
CitrusHR’s interface looks a bit clunky and outdated compared to Personio’s. However, businesses used to using spreadsheets may prefer CitrusHR’s more traditional and corporate look.
CitrusHR also offers an HR advisory service at an added cost.
Why Choose CitrusHR over Personio?
CitrusHR is cheaper than Personio:
CitrusHR only costs £2.50/employee per month (With a minimum £20 charge per month). If you have less than 8 team members, CitrusHR is a bargain compared to Personio.
Personio doesn’t offer an HR support service like CitrusHR’s.
CitrusHR’s Features
Employee onboarding
Create new hire checklists and get all the paperwork in one place
Time off and absence tracking
Track actual hours worked and absences
Training automation
Record CPD points and manage all your training activities
Performance management
Create online performance review forms and automated alerts
Expenses
Log expenses from the mobile app
Recruiting software
One applicant tracking system to manage your hiring pipeline
Pricing
- £2.50/employee per month (with a minimum £20 charge per month)
- £8 per employee per month (plus £50 flat fee) for the HR support service
Notable customers
- Redstone
- Lishmans LLP
- Carpenter Box
What people say
Easy to use. Easy to train others on how to use the software. Covers a lot of the functions we used to use with paper records.
— Sarah on Capterra
#3
CharlieHR
MyHRToolkit HRIS specialises in automating basic HR processes for UK companies under 250 employees.
Like Personio, MyHRToolkit’s pricing is split in brackets depending on the number of team members you have.
Why Choose MyHRToolkit over Personio?
MyHRToolkit is a simpler tool than Personio:
While Personio can be a bit overwhelming for small businesses... MyHRToolkit is basic enough for a small team to be able to use it every day, no training required.
MyHRtoolkit’s Features
Time off management
Manage holiday requests and pro-rata annual leave
Performance management
Monitor your employee’s performance
Pay and benefits
Record your team’s pay and benefits
Document management
All of your HR policies, in one place
Reporting
Get all the data you need to make important decisions
Pricing
- 0 - 5 employees: £17.25 per month
- 6 - 10 employees: £29 per month
- 11 - 20 employees: £58 per month
- 21 - 50 employees: £110 per month
Notable customers
- SOHO theatre
- The children’s hospital charity
- E.L.M. Legal Services
The best HR software for small companies
Simple, efficient and affordable — Charlie was build to help small businesses bring clarity to their HR chaos.
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#4
CharlieHR
Zoho is a great HR management software alternative to Personio if you are an SME with a large part of your staff working in shifts.
Zoho also offers a mobile app, employee database and core HR admin management. Pricing varies for different plans.
Why Choose Zoho People over Personio?
Zoho People is a good alternative for companies working in shifts:
If you’re only looking for a tool to manage your staff shifts... Zoho People may be a good alternative. You will be able to save quite a lot compared to Personio, especially if you’re interested in their basic plan.
Features available
Employee onboarding
Plan your new hire’s first day to every detail
Data storage
Keep your employee data safe and up to date
Time off management
Track time off and automate approvals
Shift scheduling
Assign people to the right shifts and make last-minute changes
Time tracking
Track actual hours worked for every team member
Pricing
- £1.5 per user per month for the basic package (inclusive of shift scheduling)
- £2.5 per user per month to add performance reviews
- £4 per user per month to add Training
- £7 per user per month to add recruitment, payroll management (India only), expenses and password management
Notable customers
- Innocode
- Galactic Fed
- Daikin
Understanding Personio’s shortcomings
Personio is an advanced tool, covering most of the HR and Operations needs a medium sized company (100+ employees) may have.
However, Personio can be overwhelming for small businesses and startups – its many complex features may not be as helpful as they hoped when they signed up.
Small businesses are primarily interested in simplifying processes and saving time on admin. The risk with Personio is to over-complicate your day-to-day with a tool that is ‘too much, too soon’ for your business.
Plus, those premium features come at a higher price than most of the alternatives we listed on this page.
That’s why small businesses with less than 100 team members tend to prefer simpler and more affordable options that they’ll be able to afford in the long run.
Have you considered Charlie?
If you work at an SME and are looking to take HR admin off your plate, Charlie may be just the right fit for you.
Want to see how to save hours on HR tasks each week? Take Charlie out for a spin with our 7-day free trial.
Pick the best alternative with Charlie
With Charlie, you have everything you need to manage your team and automate your workflows – no HR experience required.
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