An Objective Look at Sage HR Software—Features, Pricing, and User Reviews

As an all-in-one HR solution for small and medium businesses, Sage HR offers features that handle everything from hiring to PTO and leave management. 

What makes Sage HR stand out is its modular design—the six modules you can use to create an HR solution that aligns with your company’s needs.

Source: Sage HR

The question is: Does the Sage HR software make good on its promise of a web-based ATS solution for recruitment and other HR processes? We’ll find out in our objective, in-depth review. We’ll also mention an alternative ATS for SMBs that might better suit your company’s hiring needs.

Sage HR—Key Features

Sage HR is a convenient platform with valuable options covering various aspects of HR, from expenses to shift scheduling and onboarding.

It can be accessed via a browser or a mobile app, and each user gets an individual account, depending on their team role and permissions.

For instance, an employee might use Sage HR to see exactly how many vacation days they have accrued. In contrast, a manager could use it to view attendance statuses and create shift schedules for their employees.

Sage HR offers six modules you can combine as you please to create a platform that matches your needs to the letter:

1. Recruitment
2. Core HR and Leave Management (the two feature sets are grouped together in one module)
3. Expenses
4. Timesheets
5. Shift Scheduling
6. Performance

In this review, we’ll mainly focus on the first two feature sets, Sage HR Recruitment and Core HR, that make up the crux of the platform.

Recruitment

The Sage HR system helps you organize and automate your hiring funnel with its visual pipeline tool. It has a simple, drag-and-drop UI to divide your recruitment process into distinct stages—undoubtedly easier to manage than a mess of emails, Excel sheets, and handwritten notes.

Sage HR’s pipelines look like Kanban boards. Each stage has its column, so you can quickly move candidates through the funnel and get an overview of your processes. Customize stages depending on your preferences and the company’s line of work, and maintain complete control over your hiring workflows.

With Sage HR, you get a landing page designer to create functional and attractive landing pages where you’ll promote job openings. Tailor a landing page that will stand out and represent your company in the best light to appeal to quality candidates.

When you’re ready to invite a candidate to an interview, use Sage HR’s automatic interview scheduling. All you need to do is move the candidate to a particular stage, and the platform will create an appointment and jot it down in Outlook, iCal Calendars, or Google (depending on the app Sage HR is integrated with).

Use custom scorecards to rate your candidates’ suitability for a role. Design relevant multiple-choice questions, have your candidates answer them, and determine who’s the best fit for your company. Allow your colleagues to participate in candidate ratings to minimize bias and get everyone’s opinion.

Pinpoint bottlenecks and improve your hiring processes with Sage HR’s reporting options—explore the hiring velocity, time-to-fill, and activity to make better decisions and improve productivity.

Core HR

Once you’ve hired your perfect candidates, Sage HR has many features that help you manage them as employees, and they’re included in the Core HR module.

Your new (and current) employees need to know your company’s structure to understand who approves their PTO requests, who reads their reports, and whom they’re working with. The Core HR module lets you set up a custom organizational chart containing this valuable info for maximum transparency.

With Core HR, you can make document management a breeze thanks to the eSignature feature. Signing documents online is a major benefit that supports remote teams and ensures their constant efficiency.

The module features an Announcement board, which you can update with important company-wide news and info. Like eSignature, it was primarily designed to support remote offices.

The platform also provides a neat workflow builder with automations called “recipes.” It works in a simple IF/THEN form. For example, a manager can create an automatic email that employees receive on their birthdays.

Use the Core HR module to build employee databases and store all kinds of company-specific data. Customize permissions to allow employees to access and edit this info as needed.

Sage HR Reviews

Sage HR gives the impression of a well-made, comprehensive digital platform for HR departments and employees alike. Let’s see if user reviews confirm this or tell a different story.

Many Sage HR reviews mention stellar customer service as something they liked best about the platform. The staff is reportedly more than willing to respond via email and even jump on video calls. The customer support team isn’t pushy and won’t try to upsell modules that don’t make sense for your company, which is another advantage. Whether you need help with training or want to explore the platform’s many functionalities, Sage HR’s customer support is ready to help.

Another advantage is user-friendliness. The platform is intuitive for both administrators and users, and the implementation process is a breeze.

Some user reviews point out potential flaws. For example, several reviewers mentioned frequent login issues—the platform sometimes requires them to log in again, thus disrupting the workflow.

Other users pointed out that there’s a lot to learn—the platform offers various features, and it can take some time to master them.

A higher price is also something to consider. Some users stated that they loved the platform and that the only flaw was its cost.

Sage HR Integrations

The list of Sage HR integrations isn’t long. Here are some of the apps it can integrate with:

• Outlook
• iCal
• Microsoft365
• Google Workspace (G Suite)
• Slack
• Zapier

The platform also provides Sage HR API and custom integration features in the form of data imports from systems that aren’t natively supported.

Sage HR Pricing

The price structure of Sage HR is a bit different compared to most of its competitors. Instead of choosing a subscription package, you select the specific software modules you need. You can choose from the following:

1. Core HR and Leave Management: £4/month per employee
2. Shift Scheduling: £2/month per employee
3. Performance: £2/month per employee
4. Expenses: £1/month per employee
5. Timesheets: £2/month per employee
6. Recruitment: £150/month

Only the first module is mandatory—you can take or leave the rest, and the price will change accordingly. If you choose all available modules, you’ll pay $260 per month for 10 employees. If you only pick the basic module, you’ll pay $40 per month for the same number of people.

You can take advantage of a free trial to see whether Sage HR is a good fit. When you subscribe, you get the first three months for free.

Sage HR Alternatives

Sage HR is an excellent workforce management platform—but there are plenty of alternatives. We’ve reviewed the most popular ones to help you make an informed choice:

Workello—A Fantastic Sage HR Alternative

Sage HR packs a powerful punch but lacks advanced recruitment features that let you hire the top candidates in the blink of an eye.

If affordable and easy-to-use recruitment options are your priority, check out Workello. It’s the perfect combo of an ATS and a pre-hire testing platform, ideal for high-volume recruiting.

Source: Workello

Workello’s key selling point are its pre-hiring assessments. You can use them to test your candidates’ practical skills before the interview and filter out unqualified applicants with embellished resumes. According to research, around 50% of candidates inflate their resumes to leave a better impression. Therefore, tests are a more valid selection method that saves money in the long run.

Workello has all the automation options your company needs to streamline recruitment. All you need to do is move candidates from one hiring phase to the next—the software automatically sends them pre-written emails and links.

Unlike Sage HR, Workello has a clean and simple pricing model. You have four options, and each comes with the same features—the only difference is the number of available assessments and the billing period. These are the plans and their prices:

1. Free Forever
2. Start: $99/month (billed quarterly)
3. Grow: $49/month (billed annually)
4. Scale: $124/month (billed annually)

Sage HR vs. Workello—Overview

Take a look at a comparison between Sage HR’s and Workello’s features and prices:

Workello—Your Ally in Recruitment

Sage HR is an excellent HR platform if you want to manage all your employees from a single digital environment.

However, if you’re a growth-oriented company primarily interested in streamlined recruitment—Workello provides more features for a far lower price and helps you hire the top 1% without breaking a sweat.