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Streamline your payroll and get compliance advice tailored to US startups
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Get support on employee issues, contracts and policies from this HR consultancy firm
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Employment lawyers
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Written by:
Alisa Mistry
There are so many performance management software and tools out there. Each with their own features, pros, cons and pricing. It can be very difficult to choose one.
In this guide, I won’t tell you which software to pick – I’ll simply lay out the information I have found by doing hours of research as part of my job. Yes, I work for Charlie and we do performance review software too, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make information available to you, whilst showing you how Charlie can help your business achieve its goals.
The choice is yours to make, but it’s better to hear from someone on the inside rather than pretend we just happened to write this guide. Just for your information, this page was last updated in October 2023.
Shortlisting HR services - our methodology
My name is Alisa, and I work as HR Advisor at CharlieHR, an HR software and advice service for small businesses.
I used my expertise and previous experience working at big HR consulting companies to draft this shortlist; and I also researched other options when it comes to outsourcing HR as a small business.
Of course, I’ve included CharlieHR in the mix — I’m here to promote our offering, but I also genuinely think that small businesses can benefit a lot from our combination of HR software and 1-to-1 HR advice.
What HR services can you outsource?
My nThere are 3 main options for startups looking for HR outsourcing services:
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HR software for small businesses: these are platforms and tools that help you automate time-consuming tasks like calculating holiday allowance, collecting employee records and setting up performance reviews.
- HR consultancy firms: these operate as a sort of call centre where you can get answers to your HR questions. You will talk each time with a different consultant, rather than having a dedicated advisor.
- Employment lawyers or solicitors: when you need one-off support staying compliant
- HR software
Best Feature
- You’ll automate repetitive tasks and calculations — no more manual spreadsheets.
Best Feature
- You’ll still need someone to act as an HR manager and define your policies and processes.
- HR consultancy firms
Best Feature
- You’ll get ‘human’ support with ad-hoc HR projects or if you have any questions.
Best Feature
- You’ll speak to someone different every time you call, with the risk of having to repeat yourself and share the same context over and over again.
- Employment lawyers
Best Feature
- You’ll be safe in the knowledge you are on the right side of the law, especially when it comes to delicate situations such as redundancies.
Best Feature
- This is a costly, one-off service to be used only in emergency situations, not as ongoing HR support.
At Charlie, we combined the best of these HR services into a new solution:
🤖
An HR software platform that saves you hours on HR admin every week
🙋
An HR Advice service, where your dedicated advisor can act as your own HR manager (for a fraction of the cost of hiring someone in-house)
Find out more below 👇
#1
CharlieHR
HR software + expert advice for startups
Charlie gives you all the tools you need to put solid HR foundations in place for your startup, while also reducing your workload.
Automate all your HR tasks with software built specifically for UK startups:
- Collect your employee data in one click, and safely store it in the platform
- Let the system handle your team’s time off requests — no supervision required
- Automate your onboarding process, create helpful HR checklists and save time with each new hire
- Set up efficient and painless performance management cycles in Charlie’s software
- Measure employee engagement by sending automated surveys to your team
- Give your team access to hundreds of perks, at no added cost
Tap into HR expertise by phone, email or live chat (and without making a full-time hire):
- Get a dedicated HR advisor to help you with any HR challenge
- Your advisor will create a bespoke employee handbook for your business
- Access our bank of tried and tested HR templates, contracts and HR policies
- Get the peace of mind of always being compliant with regular compliance checks
Pricing
HR software
- From as little as £5 per month, inclusive of all features
HR Advice
- £299 per month for unlimited HR support for small businesses
💡
You can choose to get only the software or only the Advice service if you’re not interested in both
💡
No setup fee
💡
Cancel anytime
Startups using Charlie
What people say
We were building our HR processes from scratch while also growing our team. Charlie really facilitated managing this complex process — it transformed it into something quite simple.
— Ben, COO at Fiit
Charlie means I can focus on all the other million jobs as a startup founder and don't have to become an HR professional at the same time.
— Mike McDonald, CTO at Ziva Robotics
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#2
CharlieHR
Payroll software + advice for US-based companies
Similarly to Charlie, Zenefits offers an HR advisory service plus an HR platform to streamline your HR basics (with a specific focus on payroll). However, Zenefits is built specifically around the needs of HR departments based in the United States.
Versatile for international teams: available in English, Spanish, Russian, Latvian, Estonian, Czech, Polish and Thai, SageHR is a great software to cater to international companies.
- Manage your employee benefits from one, simple platform (US only)
- Sync onboarding with payroll, with deduction calculated automatically
- Let the system adjust payroll data based on time off taken
- Relax as Zenefits calculates and files payroll taxes for you
Get unlimited access to a team of payroll experts:
- Get advice on complex compliance issues
- Ask any questions about US payroll tax
- Understand overtime regulations
Pricing
HR software
- Three different plans depending what features you need, priced respectively at $8, $16 and $21 per employee per month. Payroll and recruiting are add-ons: they come at an extra price on top of your chosen plan.
HR advice
- $8 per employee per month (only available if you are already a software customer)
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You will have to pay for minimum 5 employees, even if your team is smaller than that.
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You need to be a paying software customer to be able to buy the Advice add-on.
Startups using Zenefits
- Ylab
- Strada
- Alaska Luxury Tours
What people say
I love how the benefits, payroll, and the org-chart is there for me in Zenefits. I love how it's so versatile!
— Jeffrey W., Recruiting Coordinator, review on G2
#3
CharlieHR
HR consultancy service
LighterHR is an HR consulting service offering advice on a wide range of HR topics, not only for startups but also for large, enterprise companies. They don’t offer any HR software solutions.
Get access to HR experts to solve complex issues and to lead on special projects:
- Get advice from a team of experts on how to deal with employee problems (grievances, harassment, etc.)
- Make the most of specialist training on GDPR applied to HR
- Have an expert build and roll our your HR strategy
- Learn how to deal with poor employee performance
Pricing
LighterHR don’t state their exact pricing on their website - you’ll need to get a quote from a sales representative. However, they offer the following types of contract:
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Pay as you go: tell LighterHR what problem you’d like them to solve, and they will charge you by hours worked at the end of the project
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Retained agreement: ongoing support - you choose how many hours you need per month
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Fixed price projects: pick from a list of services that are billed per-project rather than per-hour
Startups using LighterHR
- Grammatik
- Micasa
- Caroline Baker
What people say
Lighter HR has been a great resource for our company. They are professional, prompt and thorough.
— Jessie L, TrustIndex review
Automate your HR, all of it
Charlie helps you banish manual and repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus on what really matters.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
#4
Employment law firms
Solicitors specialised in employment law
If you find yourself in a situation where you think you may be in breach of the law, it is advised to get support from a solicitor.
We will not recommend any specific law firm — as that depends on where you are based — but will list some of the most common HR services employment lawyers can help your startup with.
Get the peace of mind of always complying with the law:
- Get a solicitor to draft your employment contracts
- Negotiate salaries and benefits while staying on the right side of the law
- Follow the latest regulation when it comes to making redundancies or implementing a disciplinary process
Pricing
Pricing will vary depending on the services you need - solicitors usually charge per hour. One thing to be aware of is that this type of support can soon build up to thousands of pounds per month, so it’s best used on one-off occasions, especially if you are a startup with a tight budget.
What people say
The guidance we received never really made sense in the context of a small, fast-moving and fast-growing company like ours. There were times we’d be advised to follow a 12-step action plan – and for a company of 10 people, that felt like overkill.
— Ben Branson-Gateley, CEO at CharlieHR
HR Outsourcing Services for Startups FAQs
Is it cheaper to outsource HR?
Yes, outsourcing HR services is generally cheaper than hiring a full-time HR manager, especially when it comes to HR for startups.
Let’s say you hired a junior HR manager in your HR team with a gross monthly salary of £4,000. That is much more compared to what you would spend for some of these outsourced HR solutions:
- Charlie’s HR software would only cost you from as little as £5 per month — so, for a 30-people team, that would be £170/month. If you also wanted unlimited access to a dedicated HR advisor, that would cost you £299, for a total monthly cost of £469. That’s £3,571 saved compared to hiring a junior HR person.
- If you went for Zenefits (maybe you have a large part of your business based in the US), you’d spend $16/user/month for the most popular package — for 30 employees that is $480 per month. If you wanted to add the advisory service on top, you’d pay a total of $488 per month.
- According to our research, if you chose an HR consulting service for startups like LighterHR on a retainer basis, you’d spend around £3,000 per month. This of course depends on what you need, but you’d still be below what you’d pay for someone working in-house full time.
- In a similar way, solicitor costs depend on how many hours you need them to work for you. We used to use employment lawyers quite a lot in our first years after founding Charlie, and we used to spend around the same as hiring a full-time HR person.
How do I choose an HR service provider for my startup?
We hope this guide has helped you understand some of the options available to you.
In terms of picking the right one for your business, ask yourself these three questions:
-
Does my startup need one-off or ongoing HR support? If you only need someone to answer one compliance question or help you with a specific project, a solicitor or HR consultancy service will do just that. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a long-term solution to build solid HR foundations and continuously improve your processes and policies, then choose HR software and HR Advice packages like the ones we offer at Charlie.
- What is my budget? HR software like Charlie is a very affordable solution to start saving time on HR admin. On the other hand, HR consultancies and solicitors can be less cost-effective.
- In what country is most of my team based? HR best practices and regulations change massively from country to country. Make sure that, whatever HR service you choose, it specialises in solving the problems of the country you’re based in.
Automate your HR, all of it
Charlie helps you banish manual and repetitive HR tasks, so you can focus on what really matters.
Free for 7 days
No credit card needed
Cancel any time
