“He who buys what he does not need steals from himself,” an old Swedish proverb says. While they weren’t likely talking about a small business owner, this is especially great advice for those managing and building a small business.
After all, as a small business owner, investing in anything can feel like a risk. But is the future of your business really a risk? Hiring is one area you really can’t afford to skimp on, especially when looking for the right recruiting software for small businesses.
Don’t worry, though. We’re here to help you avoid “stealing from yourself” (as the Swedish might say) by exploring some of the best recruitment software options for small companies and explaining how you can use them for everything from applicant tracking to job posting to save money long-term.
Best small business recruiting software
Toggl Hire: Best for talent assessments
Manatal: Best for teams looking for an AI-powered recruiting process
Teamtailor: Best for small businesses looking for enterprise features
Pinpoint: Best for attracting top talent despite the size of your company
Workable: Best for small businesses looking for customizable features in their recruitment processes
BambooHR: Best for companies looking for personalized HR systems
Hireology: Best for small businesses wanting to simplify their existing recruitment processes
Jobin.cloud: Best for small businesses wanting AI-powered hiring
Underdog.io: Best for startups
Comeet: Best for small businesses looking for entry-level easy to use software
Remote: Best for small businesses looking to hire remotely
What is recruitment software for small businesses?
Recruitment software for small businesses encompasses a large number of tools that help organize the various aspects of the recruitment process.
The main aim of recruiting software is to automate manual recruitment tasks to make them more efficient, remove bottlenecks, make more data-driven decisions, and help hire better candidates with each job posting.
For small businesses, there are many more advantages to using recruitment software. Top recruitment software helps create a better candidate experience, improves your overall employer branding, and helps you save money for each new hire you make.
And before you start protesting that your business is “too small” or that you don’t need software for hiring an employee or two, let us clarify — just like larger enterprise businesses, small businesses can benefit from using recruiting software throughout their entire recruitment process.
The benefits of hiring software for small businesses
If you’re like most small businesses, you may believe that you can effectively recruit using a combination of Gmail, Google Sheets, and Google Meet. But in reality, effective hiring requires the right tools of the trade that save time and money in the long run.
Here are the most important benefits of using hiring software throughout your entire recruiting process.
1. Streamline your hiring process
In 2023, the average time to hire was a whopping 44 days. To add insult to injury, that’s just the time it takes to hire someone after you put up a job ad, meaning it doesn’t account for all the hard work that happened prior to posting.
If you’ve engaged in any sort of talent acquisition before, you’ll know that there are many processes, tasks, touchpoints, and people involved in a typical hiring process, and that’s what recruitment software for small businesses helps with.
Some of the things it can help you with include:
Automating time-consuming tasks such as writing a job description, creating job ads, and posting them across job boards and hiring platforms
Screening resumes (resume parsing) automatically with an applicant tracking system as opposed to reading them manually, one by one
Centralizing all of your candidate information in a single place
Allowing collaboration between team members by having this information in the cloud
Allowing you to run and schedule interviews from one place
The cost of recruitment software is minute compared to the time and resource savings you’ll be making at every phase of the recruitment process.
2. Attract top talent
Recruitment software tools help hiring managers highlight their employer brand by providing an application process that is simple, smooth, and easy. No lengthy email exchanges or hoops to jump through — just a few clicks on one page and the candidate is finished applying.
You can also make use of customizable job description templates that recruiting software for small business owners provides. These tools (usually) also come with full-blown career pages that make you stand out as a prospective employer to top talent.
Last but not least, most recruiting software for small businesses offer integrations with world-class job boards and social media sharing features. This can help you reach more candidates with a lower budget.
3. Improve candidate experience
A large number of candidates drop out of the hiring process — 39% of them because the process is too long and 37% because it’s too complicated. Recruiting software helps here, too, by improving everything from candidate management capabilities and applicant tracking.
Modern hiring tools such as Toggl Hire, for example, offer automated updates to both employers and candidates as the hiring process progresses. Through automated emails, notifications, and candidate portals, your applicants stay in the loop without you lifting a finger.
This, in turn, helps you showcase your small business as a transparent brand that cares about fair, high-quality recruitment efforts and believes in respecting all job seekers, regardless of whether or not they get the job.
4. Enhance collaboration and communication
It’s not just the candidates that deserve great communication. Anybody involved in the recruitment process can use a recruitment tool to stay up-to-date and collaborate in real-time.
With the right recruiting software for small business HR teams, you can share feedback about candidates, evaluate them in a single location, store and share interview notes, and more. All of this speeds up the hiring process and reduces hiring bias.
Instead of scattered notes and emails, all of your communication takes place in one app, facilitating decision-making and, once again, reducing unconscious bias.
Last but not least, with the right software solutions, your entire team can track the recruitment process as it unfolds in front of their eyes, maximizing transparency and ensuring no good candidate is left behind.
5. Make data-driven decisions
Hiring managers, recruiters, managers, and CEOs — even the best of them are prone to bias. Unfortunately, even in 2024, people hire job seekers because of a pretty cover letter, the school they went to, or their amazing sense of humor in the interview.
While those can be important hiring factors, as a small business, your hiring decisions should be based solely on data. You want the best person for the job because you can’t afford expensive hiring mistakes (which can cost you up to 15%-21% of the employee’s salary, depending on seniority).
Recruiting software makes it easier to analyze every aspect of your hiring down to a digit. The most effective sourcing channel, the best job boards, the countries and areas your best candidates come from — you can unearth all of this data.
Armed with this kind of data, you can eliminate bottlenecks in your recruitment process, optimize it, and make better hiring decisions without bias. While blind hiring may sound like a dream, the right tools and recruiting strategies can make it a reality.
11 best recruiting software for small businesses
Before you set out to choose your recruiting software (one or multiple), first determine what you really need in your tech stack. Do you just want to automate posting to job boards, or do you want a full-blown applicant tracking system that helps with everything from candidate sourcing to resume parsing?
Then, once you’ve narrowed down your options to just a few vying for the spot of your ideal recruitment software, ask as many questions as you need, take a look at reviews, book some demos, and grab some free trials. These apps can get costly, and every penny counts.
With that out of the way, let’s walk you through our top recommendations.
1. Toggl Hire
The best for small businesses looking for great talent assessments and hiring workflows.
Toggl Hire is the number one recruiting software for small businesses looking to assess candidates’ skills. No matter the role you want to fill, Toggl Hire has over 250 tests in our test library to help your hiring team find ideal candidates for your job postings.
Features
Visual candidate pipeline
Skills assessment tests
Database of questions created by experts
Job-specific templates
Video interviews
Candidate scorecards
Hiring funnel analytics
Integrations
Greenhouse
Workable
Zapier
Slack
Public API
Pros
Easy to use
Rich library of pre-made skills assessment tests with hard and soft skills tests
Affordable plans suitable for small businesses looking for a great candidate assessment tool
Cons
For tests with open-ended questions, you might have to spend more time assessing candidate responses to get a good number of qualified candidates
Pricing
You can create a free account and enjoy unlimited users, jobs, and tests if you need to hire up to three candidates. Paid plans start at $25/month when billed annually. View more about Toggl Hire pricing to explore other plans.
2. Manatal
The best recruiting software for small businesses looking for AI-powered recruitment software.
Like Trello for hiring, Manatal helps simplify recruitment processes. Create visualizations of your hiring funnels, share your job postings on 2,500+ job boards, and get AI recommendations for the best candidates, all in one place.
Features
Multiple candidate sourcing channels (job boards, LinkedIn, social channels, your own career page)
Recruitment CRM to keep your recruitment process and candidate information all in one place
AI recommendations for the best applicants for the job
Detailed reports and analytics
A full-scale applicant tracking system
Integrations
LinkedIn
Indeed
Monster
Talent
Glassdoor
Pros
Extremely easy to use
Good customer service
Cons
Can be expensive for some small businesses
Some users face issues with job postings on different platforms and job sites
Pricing
Starts at $15 per user per month after a 14-day free trial. Visit the Manatal website for more product information.
3. Teamtailor
The best recruitment software for small businesses looking for comprehensive hiring software solutions.
Teamtailor makes it easy to create branded career sites and run your entire recruitment process. The ease of use and a vast array of applicant tracking features ensure both applicants and hiring managers love this hiring tool.
Features
Fully customizable applicant tracking system according to the needs of your recruitment process
AI assistant for helping you post job ads, summarize resumes, get interview questions, and more
Create a full hiring pipeline with employee referrals and more built-in from-scratch
Integrations
BambooHR
LinkedIn
CareerBuilder
Deel
Pros
Easy to set up
Unlimited job postings and unlimited users
Over 250 features (and growing)
A huge number of available integrations with job boards and other recruitment software
Cons
Some users comment that it’s somewhat slow
Some integrations don’t work as intended
Pricing is not transparent and gets pretty high, pretty fast, depending on your needs
Pricing
There is no publicly available pricing, so you’ll have to visit the Teamtailor website for more product information.
4. Pinpoint
The top recruiting software for small businesses looking for help attracting top talent.
If you’re looking for recruitment software that offers more than just the ability to post jobs or view candidate profiles, Pinpoint is great. Eliminate the busy work in your recruitment process and simplify your job postings with an applicant tracking system you can customize according to your needs.
Features
On-brand career sites with job postings that are super easy to apply for
Simplify the recruitment process by posting on multiple job sites at once
Employee referrals and a recruitment agency portal
Integrations
BreatherHR
Cintra
Gusto
Iris Cascade
Pros
Easy to use
Solid customer service
Cons
Some integrations don’t work the best
Pricing
Visit the Pinpoint website for more product information. You have to get in touch with their sales team to get a quote.
5. Workable
The best recruitment software for small businesses looking for small business-specific features.
Workable includes all the tools small businesses need to build their recruitment process from the ground up. From sourcing passive candidates to posting on multiple job boards and providing help with federal contract compliance programs, Workable is the go-to for global hiring teams.
Features
Build careers pages and add job postings across different platforms and job boards — even in different languages
Evaluate candidates within the app and collaborate with your team on moving them through the pipeline
Hiring planning, electronic document signing, and the ability to eliminate manual tasks
Onboarding features that include help with common compliance issues
Integrations
Indeed
BambooHR
Bob
Checkr
Deel
Pros
Very easy to use
Tons of integrations
An all-in-one solution for everything from posting job openings and resume management to analyzing and commenting on candidate profiles
Cons
One of the slower recruiting software solutions
While the software is super comprehensive, it is expensive for most smaller businesses
Pricing
Starts at $149 per month for up to 50 employees. Visit the Workable website for more product information.
6. BambooHR
The top recruiting software for small businesses looking for personalized HR systems.
BambooHR offers all the features your human resources department wished it had — even if you don’t have an HR team yet. What makes this one of the best recruitment software options for small businesses is the ability to enjoy an advanced set of fully customizable recruiting features in an easy-to-use package.
Features
Employee records, workflows, and approvals
Detailed reporting and analytics
Applicant tracking with a mobile hiring app
New hire onboarding and offboarding
Electronic signatures and documentation
Integrations
Slack
Indeed
Lattice
Deel
JazzHR
Over 120 more
Pros
Great product onboarding, even for small businesses with no experience in talent relationship management
User friendly
Great hiring tool for hiring new applicants but also works great for managing your existing workforce
Cons
Initial setup can be time-consuming
Many integrations, but not all of them work as intended
Pricing
You have to attend a demo first to get pricing info. Visit the BambooHR website for more product information.
7. Hireology
The best recruitment software for small businesses looking to simplify the hiring process.
Whether you want to get more applicants, improve the quality of candidates, engage your hiring team, or fix up your hiring metrics, this is the one-stop shop to do it.
Features
Job postings across multiple job boards
Employee referrals
Applicant tracking
Detailed insights and analytics
Integrations
Indeed
UKG
CDK
Proliant
Pros
Rich feature set in a recruiting software built for the entire hiring process
Easy to use, even for new HR teams and small businesses
Top-notch customer service
Cons
Issues with job postings across different platforms
Can be slow when posting jobs (and for most other tasks)
Clunky user interface
Pricing
Starts at $249 per month for unlimited jobs. Visit the Hireology website for more product information.
8. Jobin.cloud
The top recruiting software for small businesses looking for AI-powered talent acquisition.
Don’t have a lot of time or resources to manage candidate sourcing or other tasks? Jobin uses AI to automate outreach, ATS and CRM operations, multichannel messaging, and more. Use AI throughout your recruitment process to save time and money.
Features
Kanban-style CRM
Visual hiring pipeline builder for your recruitment process
Integrations
LinkedIn
Pros
Great LinkedIn integration
A budget-friendly option for smaller teams hiring only a few people
Cons
No API access
Limited number of job postings
Very few integrations, which can be limiting for most small businesses
Pricing
Starts at $8.99 per month, but there is a free plan available too. Visit the Jobin.cloud website for more product information.
9. Underdog.io
The best recruitment software for startups.
As a startup, you need access to unique talent — the kind of people with the niche experience and dedication needed to thrive in a fast-paced work environment. Underdog offers you access to their handpicked talent marketplace service, where you can source some of the most in-demand applicants for your job postings.
Features
A handpicked selection of the best applicants from the Underdog talent marketplace
Customized list of applicants based on your selection and criteria
A wide range of roles to choose from
Integrations
Greenhouse
Lever
Workable
Slack
Ashby
Pros
Good candidate quality
Cons
Outdated user experience
Pricing
You need to schedule a demo first to get detailed pricing info. Visit the Underdog.io website for more product information.
10. Comeet
The best recruiting software for small businesses looking for easy-to-use software.
This applicant tracking system for remote teams aims to simplify their recruitment process and offer more visibility into their hiring pipeline.
Features
Built-in candidate pipeline
Sourcing and screening within the product
Video interviews, e-signatures, branded job boards, and more to improve your employer branding
Integrations
LinkedIn
ZipRecruiter
GlassDoor
Indeed
Pros
Extremely easy to use for most candidates
Plenty of integrations out of the box
Designed specifically for global, remote teams
Cons
Design and UX could use some improvements
The wealth of features can be overwhelming for new users who may just want to post job openings and schedule interviews
Pricing
You need to get in touch to get a custom quote. Visit the Comeet website for more product information.
11. Remote
The best recruiting software for small businesses hiring remote talent.
Remote hiring comes with its own set of challenges, but Remote can help you manage most of them. Employer of record features, contractor manager, global payroll, HRIS, and many other features are included to help you hire the best people worldwide.
Features
Advanced EOR features, including payroll management, global benefits, time and attendance tracking, compensation explorer, and others
Contractor invoicing and management
Global payroll management across countries and jurisdictions
Remote job board with inclusive hiring features
Integrations
Greenhouse
Bob
Gusto
BambooHR
Pros
Great interface and recruitment software that’s easy to use
A comprehensive set of tools in one place, replacing an applicant tracking system entirely
Cons
Can be very slow at times
Can be expensive for some small businesses
Customer service isn’t the greatest
Pricing
Starts at $29 per contractor per month, but there is a free plan available for smaller teams. Visit the Remote website for more product information.
Recruitment software trends for small business in 2024
So, why did we handpick these tools for your consideration? Well, we took a look at some of the most important trends in recruitment software in 2024 and polled our internal hiring experts to figure out what features are most helpful to have when hiring in today’s job market.
Automation
As budgets get tighter across industries, doing more with less is the name of the game. With the right recruitment software, you can automate the bulk of your recruitment process. While they can’t effectively replace an HR team, good recruiting software can shave off hours of work every week.
Fair hiring
Inclusivity and fair hiring aren’t just items to tick off on your list when you post jobs. Modern recruiting software solutions help you actually achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. This not only ensures your recruitment processes abide by the law but helps you attract and hire the absolute best-qualified candidates out there.
Employer branding
The reputation your company has as an employer is one of your most valuable assets, especially as a small business looking to scale into a much bigger one. Using the best recruitment software in the market helps you stand out in the tough competitor landscape, making it easier to prioritize the candidate experience above everything else.
Skills-based hiring
Resumes and cover letters don’t just deserve to stay in 2023 where they belong — they probably belong in 1983. Top recruiting software helps you hire based on candidates’ skills, not how well they can write an application letter. In a small business, every dollar counts, and you want to hire based on someone’s ability to do the job well.
Try Toggl Hire as your software solution
When recruiting for your small business, you want to ensure you hire the best person for the job — not the person who writes the best resume or performs the best in interviews. To do that, you need to test each candidate’s skills at the beginning of the interview process.
And, what a coincidence…Toggl Hire helps you do just that! We offer a free plan suitable for small businesses looking to implement skills-based hiring in an effort to attract top talent, improve the candidate experience, decrease hiring costs, and improve quality of hire.
Sign up today and try Toggl Hire for free!
Mile is a B2B content marketer specializing in HR, martech and data analytics. Ask him about thoughts on reducing hiring bias, the role of AI in modern recruitment, or how to immediately spot red flags in a job ad.
