Human resources management may be smaller in scale for small businesses, but no less complicated than for even the largest of corporations. While not all companies require the functionality that many HR software suites provide, the core applications that work for big business are just as valuable to smaller companies, whether they employ five, fifty or five hundred employees.



For small business owners, the temptation to choose less than optimal HR software solutions based on affordability is ever present, though most of the more prominent developers of industry leading software have managed to bridge the gap between price and performance. No longer are small businesses relegated to substandard applications that are difficult to integrate with their existing platforms. Still, the opinion that well designed software solutions are out of the range of affordability for many small businesses persists.

Some of the most respected software developers in the industry, such as Sage and SAP, have taken a two tiered approach to making their applications more financially palatable for small business owners. By offering basic versions of their more popular suites, they have managed to keep the core applications which are most valuable to small businesses intact while reducing the cost by excluding some of the more enterprise oriented functionality. Additionally, the introduction of individual modules has revolutionized the way small businesses purchase software. Where once business owners had to choose from software suites offering multiple applications, they now have the option to choose only the modules they need. A few developers only offer modules as an added option after the main suite has been purchased, but most offer them as individual applications.

The core applications that most small business owners require for operations, such as recruiting, training, payroll and benefits administration, are often more effective if they work in unison, which is why comprehensive software suites are used by most HR departments. By integrating multiple applications, less data entry is required and the margin for error is decreased. Still, for a small company with only a handful of employees, singular modules may offer exactly what they need without the additional cost of purchasing other applications they don’t. In order to find the most cost effective software solutions to your small business human resources needs, contact a respected software distributor who can help you decide on the best course of action to take.