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Top 5 SageHR alternatives – is Sage really worth it?
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Written by:
Joe Hodges
Maybe you’re wondering what this page can offer, compared to the many others available out there. Here’s what you’ll find in this article when it comes to SageHR alternatives:
- A guide written by a real human being, and not AI-generated
- Expert insights on what HR software can do for your business depending on your needs
- An opinionated view on which SageHR alternative may be the best for you
If that’s something you’re looking for, carry on and I’ll give you a tour. My name is Joe by the way, and I’m a Product Manager at CharlieHR – a software built for UK small businesses and startups.
But if you don’t have time to read all of this now, simply hit the link to download our comparison guide.
SageHR alternatives – research methodology
My job as a Product Manager at CharlieHR enables me to conduct interviews to understand the needs of our customers (small businesses and startups in the UK). Many of them are switching from another HR software to come to us, and others are also leaving us – which makes it a great opportunity for me to understand the reasons behind these decisions.
When the focus came to be on SageHR, I wanted to understand what people found to be the best alternatives to Sage before abandoning it completely. This was done by asking them questions about the following aspects:
- Which of Sage's features they weren't happy with, that they were looking for in other software
- What their general experience of using Sage was (the pros and cons) and what made them want to leave
- What budget they had to spend on HR software
Once I had that data in hand, all that was left to do was writing this guide about SageHR alternatives.
As a disclaimer, we, at Charlie, also sell HR software, which is why I can’t claim we’re completely impartial – we do see ourselves as the leaders in the market for small businesses and startups in the UK, and I hope that after reading this guide, you’ll be able to see why.
5 Best Alternatives to SageHR
#1
CharlieHR
I’m not going to shy away from it, and instead, I’m going to present you with what we do at CharlieHR to make our HR software the best for small businesses and startups in the UK.
With Charlie, you can set up your software in no time and with no assistance, whilst ensuring you automate the core HR tasks of your business:
Cut back on onboarding admin: let new hires upload their documents, get to know the team and fill in their information through employee self-service
Remove spreadsheets from your day-to-day: store all your records in one place and let employees update name, address and any other information without asking you for help
No more email chains: team members send time off requests (sick leave, holidays and any customisable type you need) that you approve or deny in a few seconds
Stop being the bottleneck for answers: your company handbook and important HR documents and policies are stored in the software; all the answers in one place
Get progression off the backburner: automate your performance reviews and use ready-made templates to get your conversations up and running
Don’t spend more than you need to: our fee is the same for all customers regardless of your headcount – starting at only £5 per month with no set up fee and no extra charge to use our Perks platform
Set it up in seconds: software is up and running in a few clicks. Simply sign up and use it straight away
Why is Charlie a good alternative to SageHR?
The customers I’ve interviewed, who switched from SageHR to Charlie, admitted that Sage can have a few downsides.
Here’s why Charlie is a better alternative compared to SageHR (in our and our customers’ opinion):
- Pricing is clear and straightforward – Sage has got many features, but the price goes up as you add them on (time off management is not even included in the Core package). It’s also not very clear whether the pricing is flat or goes up depending on your headcount, as there’s no real information about it on their website apart from a calculator. With Charlie, it starts at as little as £5 per month depending on company size.
- Inclusive of all features, with no exception – that also includes our Perks platform which gives you and your team access to more than 30,000 discounts at top-market brands.
- Easy to use – Charlie is intuitive and user-friendly, which makes it easy to use for you and your team, and doesn’t require any training. SageHR requires a lot of training and the interface can be very complicated.
- Integrations – at Charlie, we strive to add new integrations as quickly as possible so you don't have to copy-paste data across all your platforms. We have Pento, Xero, Workable, Pave, Figures and Slack. SageHR only allows you to integrate with Zapier and Slack.
Pricing
- Pricing inclusive of all features: Free for 7 days, then for as little as £5 per month depending on company size.
- No set up fee
What people say
Having Charlie in place as early as possible is going to save you so much time and energy. If you don't, then you're just giving yourself things to worry about. And that's pretty pointless.
— Ally Fekaiki, founder of Juno
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#2
CharlieHR
Personio’s motto is to have “more impact” on what HR means to a myriad of people responsible for it.
Along with core HR features, Personio offers both talent management software as well as a platform for payroll.
It can be a great choice if you’re a company that’s looking to scale after having reached more than 250 employees, with substantial needs to hire more but no ability to get a full recruitment team.
Let’s have a look at what features Personio can offer for your business.
Time-tracking tool: employees record their working hours that are approved by supervisors. There’s also a possibility to schedule breaks in advance
Absence management: get your team to record their absences on the software whichever they are: holidays, sick days, parental leave, etc.
HR helpdesk: get an assistant to answer the most common queries an HR person would get through Slack, Teams and email (comes at an extra cost)
Onboarding and offboarding: set up an onboarding flow for new starters and make sure they tick all the boxes before leaving the company
Talent management: post your ads on more than 600 portals with the ability to target some specific channels depending on the role you’re advertising
Applicant Tracking System: get a smooth candidate experience and track every step of the process whilst providing useful feedback to both the candidate and the hiring team
Payroll: use integrations to create seamless workflows and let team members update their details
Why is Personio a good alternative to SageHR?
There are a few points that stand out when it comes to Personio, in comparison to SageHR:
- Recruitment – Personio’s tools are much more sophisticated when it comes to recruitment. Not only do their cover all the steps of the process, but they also ensure talent sourcing is as effortless as possible with a myriad of platforms to post your job ads on, as well as the possibility to push your ads to specific channels and make sure you get top candidates.
- Practicality – one of the biggest advantages of Personio is how you can automate some of the tasks an HR person would take on. With Personio’s helpdesk, there is no need for someone to answer questions. A concierge is there to help employees solve queries without you having to get involved.
- Pricing – Personio’s pricing is more transparent than SageHR, and can include core functions and more depending on the needs of your growing team.
Pricing
At the moment, Personio offers three packages:
- Essential with core functions
- Professional with advanced reporting as well as core functions
- Entreprise with all the features available for bigger companies
Note that Personio’s packages come with a lot of different options and the price can go up if you add the concierge, electronic signature or the recruiting features. There’s also a limit on how many job positions you can have at the same time – and an extra price.
For example, a company that has 400 employees and gets the recruiting tool with 25 job openings and standard Conversation plan will pay a fixed monthly cost of €2,872.00.
What people say
Personio is mainly very easy to use. Everything is made by logic. I find very useful the report menu which I use the most. Also, absence management is very helpful.
#3
CharlieHR
US-based company BambooHR puts a great focus on the employee experience and how to create a great environment to work in for your team members.
To make this happen, Bamboo built software that’s ideal for companies that have more than 400 employees, mainly because it covers all aspects of HR, including some that smaller businesses may not be able to focus on straight away.
Let’s have a look at the kind of features they offer to understand where they stand.
Everyday tasks: streamline HR processes including employee data, onboarding, and time off management
HR data and reporting: make data-driven decisions for your business by having access to a lot of insights regarding your business and your employees – all automated and available on a mobile app
Hiring: applicant tracking, as well as onboarding and offboarding, give you an all-round experience for your team members
Payroll (US only): deal with payroll directly through the software by tracking hours, recording time off and managing benefits
Benefits administration (US only): a central platform to manage all your benefits in one place and for each employee
Employee experience: get feedback straight from BambooHR with eNPS® scoring that gives you in-depth analytics
Performance management: set goals, drive performance reviews and grow your team’s skills
Employee wellbeing: set up check-in surveys that regularly measure your employee’s happiness at work
Why is BambooHR a good alternative to SageHR?
There are a few points that stand out when it comes to BambooHR, in comparison to SageHR:
- Employee wellbeing and experience – compared to Sage, Bamboo gives you the opportunity to keep track of how your employees are doing and how happy they are at your company. This is a great way, to understand through surveys and data whether you need to take actions to optimise your retention rates and make sure your people want to work at your business.
- Payroll and Benefits – there’s no need to integrate your payroll platform and add another workflow to the mix with Bamboo: all payroll and benefits are handled on one platform, which makes it way easier and removes the need for yet another platform you have to handle and pay for.
Pricing
BambooHR gives you two options when it comes to packages:
-
Essentials – a package that includes the following features: employee records, standard reporting and analytics, time off management, mobile application, self-service and customer service via email support
- Advantage – a more advanced package that includes everything in essentials + onboarding, offboarding, ATS, eSignatures, employee surveys, training tracking, customisable reports, customer service via phone and chat, open API
The prices for these packages are not available on their website, and you will need to contact a sales representative to get a quote – however, their site indicates that companies with fewer than 20 employees pay a flat monthly fee, whereas companies with more than 20 employees pay a per-employee per-month plan.
You can also have add-ons that come at an extra price on top of your existing package:
- Payroll
- Benefits administration
- Performance management
- Time tracking
What people say
I really enjoy how user-friendly BambooHR is, especially on the employee side. It allowed employees to easily be able to update their information, upload documents, and sign documents all in one place.
The best HR software for small companies
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#4
CharlieHR
Hibob stands out from the rest by putting an emphasis on culture and “modern HR” – Hibob is not just about delivering useful features, but also making sure you build the right culture at your business.
This is quite a different stance from what most HR software choose to do, and it’s best fitted for companies that are already established and are looking for further ways to distinguish themselves and attract more candidates.
Onboarding: get new hires started with a positive experience through automated workflows, culture and engagement tools, shoutouts and personalised onboarding depending on the role
Time and attendance: track your team’s hours and approve them in a few clicks whilst keeping an eye on attendance
Compensation: compensation management software integrated in Hibob to deal with salary reviews, bonuses, and equity allocations
Payroll hub: integrate your payroll platform directly on Hibob with a hub where you can keep track of all the data
Anonymous reporting: get a tool that guarantees privacy and allows employees to report any complaints they have including grievances
Surveys: run company-wide surveys to understand where your team stands on different matters
Customisation: customise your platform and the names of each category to make it more professional and attractive
Gamification: give your team access to Hibob Clubs to find out about their common interests and create moments of connection within your team
Why is Hibob a good alternative to SageHR?
Hibob can present itself as a good alternative to SageHR if you’re looking to:
- A culture-centric software – there are a lot of good options for companies that want to make their HR software reflect their culture. That’s something that Sage does not offer to their customers. Amongst shoutouts, Hibob clubs, personalised onboarding, as well as customisable features names and interface, you can really hone into these culture elements with Hibob
- Compensation – if you’re looking for a platform that helps you deal with your benefits, then you should definitely consider going with Hibob as you can do it all from there, as well as customising it according to each employee. Salary reviews are also suggested and confirmed through the platform which makes it much easier in terms of updating payroll. The worksheets and data allow managers to have more understanding of where they should compensate employees as well, making it a fairer process for everyone.
Pricing
Unfortunately, Hibob does not currently offer any information on the kind of packages and pricing they give on their website – you’ll need to fill in a form and get someone to contact you to get custom pricing information.
What people say
A solid platform for our people data. Providing easy access to people analytics. Being a one-stop-shop for everything people and culture related. Engaging user interface that increases the likelihood of our people being active on the platform.
— Lotta P.
#5
CharlieHR
Built for larger companies, CezanneHR offers a range of features that will meet you halfway when you’re looking to automate all of your HR tasks.
If you need a global workforce system, CezanneHR may also be the tool you’re looking for.
Onboarding and employee lifecycle: CezanneHR focuses on onboarding team members through different workflows, but it also allows you to maintain a lifecycle management for your employees, checking in at every moment of their journey
Performance management: regular check ins, goal settings, periodic appraisals as well as reporting and analytics – most of it customisable to your own needs
Career and succession planning: use the data available on your employees and their skills to visualise their career paths and understand where their role is going. This will help you prevent skill gaps if they ever leave the business
Recruitment: get access to a wide talent pool and hire the right people as quickly as possible with a careers page, job posting, ATS and reporting on your hiring
HR Analytics: consult your HR dashboard and have a look at the predictions for your business with insights that get you to understand more about DE&I, recruitment, sales, etc.
Presentation-ready reports: have access to great-looking reports right at your fingertips and without having to put a presentation together
Global system: available in over 170 countries and 11 languages, you get the compliance you need in the UK and EEA
Why is CezanneHR a good alternative to SageHR?
CezanneHR can be a great tool for companies that want the following:
- Software that can support a global workforce – rely on the many languages supported by CezanneHR as well as the compliance it requires to launch in a new country, without having to rethink your entire HR system. It’s also a great way to have the right calendars, define different HR processes depending on the law, have different portals depending on each country, as well as security permissions for each.
- HR analytics – the more you grow, the more data you need, especially if you have to make important business decisions. With CezanneHR, you’re never short of reports and you don’t put as much effort into presentations with ready-made ones that save you plenty of time to focus on the analysis.
Pricing
CezanneHR doesn’t offer any plans, meaning the subscription fee includes all features as well as customer service. However, their pricing is not available on their website so you will need to contact them to make sure you get a quote.
What people say
I would recommend Cezanne to anyone who is looking for a robust system with great customer service and support throughout.
— Yaz
Choosing SageHR over an alternative
SageHR may be the right choice for your business. According to the research I led, I found three top reasons why you should definitely go with SageHR and three reasons why you should pick an alternative.
3 top reasons why you should pick SageHR
It’s a great and efficient product for companies that need timesheets and time-tracking – if you’re in hospitality, retail or if you’re an agency, go for it
You’re a business with many different offices based in Europe and you’re looking for software that will support that stage of your growth
You need software to help you transition from being a small business to over 400 employees
3 top reasons why you should pick an alternative
You want a platform that’s very easy to set up by yourself
You’re looking for an all-inclusive platform, where you won't need to pay extra to get the features you need
You need integrations for your payroll and your other HR tools
Conclusion – SageHR vs alternatives
Hopefully, this guide has helped you understand what’s the best alternative to SageHR could be.
At Charlie, we really want you to think about what kind of software you need, how easy it is to use, set up and how much it costs.
So whether you’re planning to go with SageHR or not, maybe it’s time to shop around and have a look at the alternatives.
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