BambooHR – A Web-Based Approach to Human Resources

Business owners with small to mid-sized companies have their hands full dealing with everyday business matters. Most don’t have time to play the role of human resources manager on top of everything else they’re already doing. BambooHR is a platform that understands the time constraints SMBs are under, offering self-service HR tools to keep employees happy and records up-to-date.

BambooHR can help you track and manage your employee data. Enter some basic information about each employee on your team (like name, home address, phone number, and emergency contacts), and see an overview of everything you’ve added on the dashboard page. The dashboard page is also where you’ll find a list of the files most recently uploaded, upcoming employment anniversaries, and any reports you’ve created. BambooHR offers tools that automate the task of employee management, seamlessly tracking employee vacation requests, paid time off (PTO), and eligibility for health insurance benefits.

Cut down on the time you spend fielding questions from employees about benefits and contracts by utilizing BambooHR’s self-service tools. Employees can log into the platform to find their own answers to virtually any human resources question. You can also set up email alerts to automatically go out when employees become eligible for benefits, celebrate birthdays or anniversaries, or when licensing requirements come due. BambooHR integrates into a number of the most popular business apps, including TRAXpayroll (for payroll) and BeneTrac (for benefit enrollment).

Practical Uses:

• Approve or decline employee vacation requests
• Decrease the time you spend answering questions about health benefits
• Automatically email employees on their work anniversaries each year
• Store health forms and employee handbooks securely in the cloud

Insider Tips:

• Create unique permissions for managers and employees
• BambooHR integrates with TRAXpayroll and BeneTrac
• Advanced users can take advantage of the BambooHR API
• BambooHR offers mobile apps for the iPhone and Android

What we liked:

• Companies can save money by moving their HR departments into the cloud
• BambooHR automatically creates reports based on the data mangers put in
• Managers can access employee documents from any computer, even when they’re working from home
• Employees can use the system to check their eligibility for benefits

What we didn’t like:

• Nothing

Alternatives:

• Octopus HR – http://www.octopus-hr.co.uk
• Sage HRMS – http://na.sage.com/sage-hrms
• StoreHR – http://www.storehr.com

Company Info:

• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Provo, Utah
• Founded by: Ben Peterson and Ryan Sanders
• Web site: http://www.bamboohr.com

Costs:

• Free trial
• Pricing plans range from $49 to $449 per month