A Beginner’s Guide to Free and Open Source HR Software

A Beginner's Guide to

Free and Open Source HR Software

FREE

Introduction: The Business Case for Free and Open Source HR Software

Technology is increasingly vital to maintaining a growing business. Doing things manually such as tracking employee shifts, running payroll, and managing performance is probably doable with one or two employees. Ten employees, though? 50? Forget about it.

You know you need HR software to streamline and automate a lot of these tedious tasks, and looking at the 650+ different HR systems on Capterra, you notice a lot of free and open source options. That sounds great for your budget, but you're hesitant. It almost sounds too good to be true--can you really find a system that meets all your needs for $0?

The answer is yes. Though free and open source HR systems do come with some caveats (which we'll cover here), they can still be legitimate options for small businesses looking to save time and money on manual employee data entry. Researched and implemented properly, free and open source HR systems can actually meet your needs for years.

That "research" bit is important though, which is why we've put together this eBook. Here, we'll cover the difference between free and open source HR software, as well as some of the pros and cons. Then we'll look at the four best free and open source options available according to real user reviews on Capterra. We'll end with some additional resources to help you with your software search.

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Pros and Cons of Free and Open Source HR Software

Is there a catch with a free and open source HR software? Usually. That being said, there are still benefits to free and open source HR software that make it worth the constraints. Here's a summary of the pros and cons:

Pros:

Cons:

? They can be a great value. These aren't one-trick ponies. Some HR systems offer a ton of functionality, such as payroll, time and attendance, recruiting, performance management, and more for free.

? They carry less risk. Worried that new software won't return its investment and you'll have to start over? With free software, there's less financial risk if you make a poor decision.

? Highly customizable. Open source software is yours to customize. Developers can update and add code as needed.

? Limits on users or storage. These limits can be fairly restrictive, meaning unless you're a really small business, you'll need to upgrade to a paid version of the system.

? A lack of support. This is especially true for open source systems. If you run into an issue, chances are it's on you to fix it.

? They're not lookers. A lot of free systems have a dated interface that might not be the most appealing thing for your employees to see every day.

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The 4 Best Free and Open Source HR Software Systems

Let's cut to the chase: What are the best free and open source HR software systems on the market? To find out, we analyzed hundreds of products on Capterra's HR software directory page to determine the free and open source options that had the best reviews from real users*. The four best systems are Bitrix24, OrangeHRM, WebHR, and Zoho People.

Below is a little more detail about each of these systems:

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Bitrix24

An employee directory in Bitrix24 HR. Summary: Bitrix24 is a business management solution designed for businesses of all sizes. It is a software suite that includes business applications for customer relationship management (CRM), contact center management, website management, and human resource management. It's free for up to 12 users. Pros: ? Helpful to manage different departments including HR, sales, and marketing ? Good employee timesheets functionality Cons: ? A Bitrix24 reference appears at the bottom of emails using the system, including those

sent to job applicants Cost to upgrade: $69 per month. Highly rated by: In 2018-2019, 71% of reviewers came from small businesses (less than 200 employees), 13% from midsize businesses (201-1,000 employees), and 17% from large businesses (more than 1,000 employees). Top industries were software technology, IT services, and marketing agencies. Mobile Apps: Android, iOS

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