We replaced 3 HR tools with Charlie - here’s what we learnt
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One of the main reasons people switch to Charlie is to replace several tools at once. You save money, reduce overwhelm, and make your business more efficient with everything in one place.
It’s easy to encourage you to move to Charlie, but what does this look like in reality? What do you gain from consolidating your HR stack, or making the move away from spreadsheets?
See how Charlie stacks up against three popular tools, what you gain from making the switch, and how you can benefit from consolidating your HR operations in one platform.
Which HR tools we replaced and why
We spoke to some of our small business customers to understand which software they replaced with Charlie, and these are the tools and systems that came up most often:
- Timetastic
- Spreadsheets
- Perkbox
It’s easy to see why these are popular choices for small businesses, and they each have their pros and cons when it comes to supporting your HR operations.
1. Timetastic
Timetastic is a staff holiday calendar and absence management tracker that simplifies time-off management. With a simple interface and minimalist user experience (UX), it’s favoured by small businesses that want a quick and easy way to handle holiday requests and sickness.
Managing time off is an early challenge in any small business, so investing in software that makes the process easier is an excellent way to save time and reduce your mental load as a leader.
Why we’re replacing it: You still need to manage time off, but no longer need a standalone system for it — something that exists within a wider HR platform would be more beneficial.
2. Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are familiar and easy to use for simple data management, which is why so many small businesses default to this to manage HR. Whether you’re an Excel or Google Sheets fan, spreadsheets present a simple way to store and navigate employee data.
No matter the size of your business, keeping employee records is essential for compliance and operations. Most businesses begin with a spreadsheet, and it’s a useful temporary home for your data.
Why we’re replacing it: Managing your HR manually is time-consuming and open to human error, so it’s time to switch to a central platform of truth for all your employee data.
3. Perkbox
Perkbox is an employee benefits and rewards platform that makes it easy to roll out perks and benefits to your team, even when you’re just starting out. You can offer discounts, employee rewards, and employee recognition in one place.
Employees want more from their employer than just a steady paycheck. Perks and rewards platforms like Perkbox give you another way to encourage employees to stay, engage, and grow alongside you.
Why we’re replacing it: Perks and benefits enhance your offer, but investing in Perkbox every month can get expensive — we can help you keep employees engaged for less.
Why we chose these tools
Time off management, employee data, and benefits are three key areas for small businesses — especially if you want to grow and thrive:
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Time-off management is essential for smooth operations
- Employee data is a necessity, and managing it well improves efficiency
- Benefits allow you to attract and retain talented individuals
Whether you use these specific tools or not, the way you manage these key HR functions can have a big impact on employee productivity, happiness, and engagement — so it’s worth exploring a better alternative.
How Charlie compares against these tools
When you’re replacing one tool with another, the new software should offer a significant improvement over the other — beyond simply consolidating your tools. We believe Charlie offers you more both individually and overall, and here’s why.
Timetastic vs. Charlie
Timetasic is designed for managing leave and this alone, which makes it a strong contender if that’s the core focus of your attention. But Charlie has a robust time-off management feature that rivals this, along with easy access to the rest of your HR operations.
Timetastic’s strengths:
- Highly visual wall chart style holiday planner
- Replacement for forms and spreadsheets
- Affordable pricing
Charlie’s strengths:
- Customisation — custom holidays, leave policies
- All your HR functionality in one place
- Affordable pricing
Timetastic is a good choice if you want a visual holiday planner, but Charlie integrates time-off management with other HR functions to give you one simple tool to manage everything.
Want to compare further? Explore our detailed
CharlieHR vs. Timetastic comparison guide.
Spreadsheets vs. Charlie
Spreadsheets are often our default when it comes to a quick way to store data and share it with others. Tools like Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel offer everything you need for both basic data recording and more complicated formulas, but they weren’t built with HR in mind.
Spreadsheets’ strengths:
- Free and easy to use
- Simple data storage
- Easy to share with others
Charlie’s strengths:
- Easy to use
- Designed for small business HR
- Built-in data compliance
- Affordable pricing
A spreadsheet might sound like the perfect place to store employee data, but it’s open to plenty of challenges — like duplication of data, compliance risks, and human error. Charlie gives you a secure place to store all your employee data, allowing you to say goodbye to spreadsheets for good.
Need more encouragement to move away from spreadsheets? Explore our detailed guide on
spreadsheets vs. HR software.
Jessica Berrisford, HR Business Partner at AKT
“This is my third company using CharlieHR and I was able to independently set up and integrate everything for a quick launch. The platform is very intuitive to use so employees can set up and use it without too much support which makes everyone’s jobs and time much more efficient.”
Perkbox vs. Charlie
Perkbox opens up access to thousands of employee discounts and perks, as well as employee recognition and rewards features. It’s an attractive way to increase engagement and retention, but we think you can achieve a similar result with Charlie’s Perks.
Perkbox’s strengths:
- Access to a wide range of perks and discounts
- Employee recognition
- Benefits and rewards in one platform
Charlie’s strengths:
- Access to industry-leading perks
- Integrated with your HR platform
- Included for free
Perkbox and Charlie have a different approach to perks, but Charlie allows you to attract and retain employees without paying an extra subscription every month.
Standout features and what their replacement within Charlie offers
Timetastic, Perkbox, and good old spreadsheets are popular for a reason. We recognise that there are some standout features of each that you might miss if you switch to Charlie, but we’re confident that the replacement is even better.
1. Timetastic’s minimalist interface and calendar views
Timetastic’s clean, minimalist dashboard and visual approach to team planning is a highlight. It gives you an easy way to keep track of what’s happening in your business with no clutter in sight.
Some businesses also enjoy Timetastic’s mobile-first views, or a specific calendar style that works for their business.
What Charlie offers:
We know the way a platform looks and feels is important, which is why Charlie has a simple yet sleek user interface. Charlie’s staff holiday planner is highly visual too, with an interactive dashboard that gives you insights into the most relevant data for you. 🏆 Why this is fairer and more objective:
2. Spreadsheets’ free and flexible nature
Spreadsheets are known for their simplicity and simple user experience. You can open up a new spreadsheet and enter data within moments, then customise it to match your needs and visual preferences.
People are also drawn to spreadsheets because they’re free — although as a business you’ll likely need to subscribe to either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 which comes with a monthly cost.
What Charlie offers:
Charlie’s major benefit is in reducing human error and increasing compliance. While you might miss out on being able to customise your spreadsheets with colours and fonts, what you gain in terms of data security and the ability to store everything in one place is more than worth it.
3. Perkbox’s brand-name perks and gamification
Perkbox allows you to bring high-street name discounts to your employees, alongside other benefits and an employee recognition feature.
Some people also enjoy the gamification of Perkbox and the points-based rewards system, while others may find this unnecessary or distracting.
What Charlie offers:
Charlie might not have access to the same range of deals as Perkbox, but our built-in perks platform gives you a simple and affordable way to engage your employees.
Jonathan Lindon, Co-founder at Talent Heroes
“We were struggling to come up with benefits that everyone in our team would truly appreciate. Charlie’s Perks does exactly that and our team is really happy with it.”
3 Reasons to consolidate your HR with Charlie and say goodbye to these extra tools
You don’t want a tech stack that seems to grow taller every few months. Instead of sticking with multiple tools, it’s time to consolidate your HR with Charlie — here’s why.
1. Everything in one place
Navigating between different systems can get exhausting and overwhelming. It’s also an easy way to introduce error and risk. By reducing your 3+ software tools into one platform you’re saving time, reducing risk, and making the entire process easier for you and your team members.
2. More for less
Timetastic, spreadsheets, and Perkbox all have their individual strengths, but Charlie brings you those features and even more — and all for one single monthly cost. Instead of paying out for multiple subscriptions, you can cancel these and move to one system for all things HR.
3. Easy to use
Asking your team members to learn new tools all the time can be challenging. Give your team members better access than ever to their own HR data and decisions, all while simplifying the experience with Charlie’s easy-to-use interface.
Make the switch to Charlie
It’s easy to pick up a collection of tools as you grow, but the route to consolidation is a simple one. All you need to do is book a demo with our team and we’ll walk you through the rest.
Get the chance to explore the platform with an expert on-hand, then take a no-commitment free trial to experience it on your own or with your team. After that, signing up only takes moments, and you’re on your way to a more efficient way to manage HR.
Make the switch today
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Written by:
Jenny Tattum
Jenny is a Senior Product Manager at CharlieHR. She has years of experience with product planning and development, and user research too – she put together this guide by collecting data and information on competitors so we could improve our product and tailor it to small business owners.
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FAQs for replacing other HR tools with Charlie
Explore some of the most popular questions when it comes to replacing other HR tools with Charlie.
Yes! It’s easy to replace other HR tools with Charlie. Simply follow the process above to book a demo and experience the platform. Once you’re happy, you can sign up in moments and then all you’ll need to do is cancel your subscriptions for other software tools.
Charlie’s pricing is on a tier basis, making it affordable for you whether you’re a new business or expanding your team. Pricing starts at just £20 per month.
You don’t need someone’s help to sign up for Charlie — we’ve made the process as easy as possible for anyone, including those new to using HR software. If you’d prefer a managed experience, you can sign up for Charlie Concierge.
Charlie offers more than just time-off management, employee data management, and perks and benefits. You can also use Charlie for performance management, employee engagement, and onboarding.
Charlie is designed to support you right from the start and as you scale and grow. As your needs change, consider investing in extra services like Charlie Recruit (for ATS and recruitment) or using our integrations to extend the functionality with third-party services.
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