BambooHR

What it is

BambooHR is the system of record for the people in your company. Employee records, documents, time off requests and balances, onboarding checklists and an applicant tracking system sit in one place, so the answers to "how many holidays does she have left" and "did he sign the handbook" do not depend on a folder structure and someone's memory.

Higher tiers add performance management and compliance training, from 1 course on Core to more than 300 on Elite, and compensation management on Elite. Payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance and global employment are sold as add-ons rather than included.

Who it's for (and who it isn't)

It fits companies of roughly 20 to 200 people who have passed the point where a spreadsheet and a shared drive can hold HR, but who do not have an HR department to run something complicated. The clearest trigger is a time-off process that has become unmanageable, or an onboarding that goes differently every time.

It is a weaker fit for very small teams. With 25 or fewer employees you pay a flat rate starting at $250 per month, which is a lot for a company where the founder still knows every holiday balance. It is also not a payroll product on its own, since payroll is an add-on, so check that combined price rather than the headline.

Pricing

BambooHR is paid, with no free plan. Core is $10 per employee per month, Pro is $17 and Elite is $25. Companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat monthly rate starting at $250. Payroll, benefits administration, time and attendance and global employment are add-ons, with a 15% discount when bundled.

The per-employee model means the cost grows with hiring, which is the same curve as your payroll, so it stays proportionate. The thing to check is which tier holds the feature you came for: performance management starts at Pro, compensation management only at Elite.

Set it up

Official guide: Create and Send a New Hire Packet

1. Get a BambooHR account on the Core plan ($10 per employee/mo; companies with 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250/mo). There is no free plan. Sign in as an administrator, which is the person who manages the account. Have ready the new hire's name, hire date and email address. You now land in your BambooHR account.
2. Open the New Employee page. Tick the checkbox "Send this new employee a new hire packet" at the top. A new hire packet is an online form with paperwork and tasks for the new person to finish before day one. Fill in the basics, including Hire Date and Email Address, then click "Save & Create New Hire Packet". The person is now in BambooHR.
3. Check that the email address is correct, then choose the template for this person. A template holds the welcome message and first-day details. With only one template, BambooHR picks it for you. You now see the Welcome Message & Video and When, Where, and Other Info sections filled in from the template.
4. Click "Customize New Hire Packet Fields" and tick the personal details the new hire should fill in themselves. You now see which fields they will be asked for.
5. Click "Add Task List(s)", tick the onboarding tasks this person needs, and click "Save Tasks". Only tasks assigned to the employee and due on or before the hire date appear in the packet. The packet now includes those tasks.
6. Click "Continue" to scroll through the packet exactly as the new person will see it. Then check the email address once more and click "Send the New Hire Packet". If the hire date is today or in the future, BambooHR sends it to that address right away. You now see their progress on the employee's Onboarding tab.

When this works, your new hire receives a packet and fills in their details before the first day, and you see their progress on the Onboarding tab. Next, run your next real hire through the same steps and add any task you find missing.

Add-ons: payroll, benefits administration (managing employee benefits such as insurance), time and attendance (tracking hours and time off) and global employment are paid extras, with a 15% bundle discount.

Strengths and limitations

The strength is being a real system of record without needing an administrator. It is designed for companies that do not employ an HR operations specialist, and that shows in how little configuration it demands.

The limitations are the price floor and the add-on structure. A flat rate starting at $250 per month for 25 or fewer employees is steep at the small end, and the pieces most people assume are core, payroll and benefits, cost extra. There is no free plan or advertised trial, so evaluation means a sales conversation. And features are spread across three tiers in a way that makes the real price higher than the entry number suggests.