What’s left in onboarding? Will send the new employees a few emails, set up a call with their manager on the day of joining, set up their payroll, and we are done!
Right? Wrong!
Employee onboarding is far beyond just doing the bare minimum. It is about making the employee comfortable, helping them understand the processes and systems, and showing empathy so they are not overwhelmed on their first day.
As an HR or new founder, you must help employees settle in without spending significant time in back-and-forth emails.
The best idea is to automate your employee onboarding and empower the employees with a self-serve portal so they can take their time learning the systems. For that, you need a human resource onboarding software.
Here’s a list of the best onboarding software for startups and SMEs.
Exhausting your budget in hiring talents only to see them quit within a few days of onboarding. Scary, right? Paychex surveyed 1000+ new employees and found that 80% felt under-trained due to poor onboarding experience and plan to quit soon.
To prevent new hires from churning, find an onboarding tool that guarantees a smooth onboarding experience. Here are the features you must look for to satisfy HR professionals and new hires
Features for HR and Finance Professionals
Customisable workflows to tailor the onboarding processes according to business needs
Automation for task assignment and tracking, sending onboarding emails and offer letters, assigning laptops, software, etc.
Centralised document management to securely store, access, and share candidate documents and company policies
Tracking the new hires’ progress through the onboarding process
Integrations with existing HR tools like communication platforms, applicant tracking systems, background check software, etc.
Reporting and analytics to gain insights into open and close onboarding requests, top request initiators, average time to close requests, request trend reports, etc.
Seamless integration with other processes like payroll, leaves and attendance management.
Features for Employees
Self-service portal to upload documents, onboarding forms, and certificates
Learning modules or knowledge repositories to learn about the company policies, culture, and specific job roles
Mobile app or mobile-responsive browser to access onboarding processes from mobile devices
Built-in messaging system to connect with managers and team members
Craze
BambooHR
Freshteam
Document360
FactoHR
Qandle
HR mantra
Hr365
PocketHRMS
ZingHR
Here is a quick sneak peek into our top three best onboarding software, their pros, cons, use cases and starting prices. More insights into the tools are in the next section.
Tool name
Craze
Pros: Startup-proof pricing, 24/7 empathic support and no feature lock-ins
Cons: Mobile application not available, but web application does the job
Ideal for: Startups and SMEs with less than 100 employees looking for advanced onboarding features
Starting price: Core at ₹40/month/person
BambooHR
Pros: Centralised candidate information storage and automated task assignment
Cons: Limited customisation in digital signatures and templates and limited integration with communication tools
Ideal for: Medium to large enterprises looking for onboarding automation and customisation
Starting price: Undisclosed
Freshservice
Pros: Easy to use and has many customisation options
Cons: Portal customisation is complex, and the mobile app has limited features
Ideal for: Mid-sized and large businesses with 50+ employees looking for onboarding customisation
Starting price: $10/user/ month
It's time to learn more about the HR onboarding software available in India. Our analysis is based on personal observations and user feedback from platforms like G2 and Capterra.
Craze
The first name on our list of best onboarding software is Craze. Though a new player, Craze won us over with its start-up-friendly employee onboarding features like document management, ready-made templates, and an all-in-one people operations system to manage employee database, payroll, leave and attendance management.
With Craze, you can easily invite new team members (employees, interns, or independent contractors) from the dashboard, add relevant employment details, assign departments and teams, and assign leave and attendance policies based on their eligibility.
You can create and send onboarding documents like offer letters and use the sign and countersign workflows to complete onboarding activities faster and with less friction.
Once onboarded, you can store important documents like PAN and Aadhar on the admin dashboard for faster accessibility.
Craze best features
A central hub that works as a single source of truth to store all information related to employees, people, and directors. HR professionals use these databases to store all relevant details about employees during onboarding for quick access
An extensive, self-served document management system to document all relevant details like onboarding letters, relieving letters of previous jobs, payslips, tax documents, and investment declarations to ease employees into the onboarding process
A template library that comes in handy for HRs, and they don’t have to send an offer letter or an email from scratch. Craze’s template library includes templates of all employee onboarding documents and agreements. With the built-in letter-sharing workflows, signing and countersigning happen within a heartbeat. Simply download and store them in the employee database, and you are good to go
Pros
A simple, user-friendly, self-served portal where both employees and HRs feel empowered with access to the right tools and templates at the right time
A super-responsive support team that genuinely cares about startups and their challenges and takes action to resolve them
Onboarding software integrates perfectly with payroll, attendance and leave management apps to process error-free payroll from the very beginning
Start-up friendly per-user/per-month pricing with no feature gating
Cons
Craze doesn’t have a mobile application, but the web application makes up for it
Ideal for: Startups and SMEs with less than 100 employees looking for advanced onboarding features and workflows at a reasonable cost
Pricing
Core: ₹40/month/person for all advanced HR features, including employee onboarding, centralised database, organised document storage and advanced reporting structure
Custom: Appropriate for large teams of 100+ team members. Both features and pricing are available on request, custom-made and depend on your unique use cases
BambooHR
BambooHR’s online employee onboarding software builds custom onboarding processes with automated workflows. It facilitates paperless onboarding, freeing new hires for hassle-free and meaningful introductions.
BambooHR best features
Automate sending onboarding tasks to new hires so they can complete them in their own time
New Hire Packet templates to customise onboarding experience for different jobs, roles, locations, etc.
In-built electronic signatures to free new hires from signing several paper forms
Pros
Streamlines onboarding process by collecting and documenting new hires' information in a single place
Set onboarding tasks/checklists and automatically send them to the new hires
Cons
Limited customisation options in the signature documents and performance review templates
Limited integration with communication platforms and no chat support
Ideal for: Medium to large enterprises looking for onboarding automation
Pricing
Undisclosed
Freshservice (formerly Freshteam)
Freshservice is one of the best onboarding software in India. Its employee onboarding module sets up a streamlined and centralised onboarding process. It automatically routes onboarding tasks to teams and provides role-specific onboarding kits to get your hires up and running.
Freshservice best features
Raise onboarding requests and send onboarding forms simultaneously from the self-service portal
Onboard employees in bulk by creating and sending onboarding request forms automatically
Track the progress of onboarding requests and send reminder emails for faster processing
Pros
Well-designed tool; easy to use
Allows automation for many tasks
Cons
Portal customisation is complex for non-developer users
The mobile app has limited functionalities compared to the web-based version
Ideal for: Mid-sized and large businesses with 50+ employees looking for onboarding customisation
Pricing
Starter: ₹2099/agent/month with no access to employee onboarding
Growth: ₹4299/agent/month, including onboarding, approval workflows, and customisation features
Pro: ₹8599/agent/month with feature lock-ins
Enterprise: ₹10799/agent/month with access to all service management solutions
Document360
Document360 is a documentation platform offering features to create a centralised knowledge repository during onboarding. It reduces employee training time through quick knowledge transfer with comprehensive internal documentation.
Docment360 best features
Collect and store company information in a knowledge repository for easy access
Share company policies and general information with new hires using the employee handbook
Streamlined knowledge transfer to new hires using standard operating procedures
Pros
Intuitive interface
Easy to create and manage knowledge base. The search feature finds out what the user searches for regardless of the content volume
Cons
The analytics feature needs improvement
Limited integrations
Ideal for: Enterprises with large volumes of company data looking to create knowledge bases for faster onboarding
Pricing
Free: $0, includes two users and one workspace
Standard: $199 per project/ month, consists of three users and one workspace
Professional: $299 per project/month (annual billing only), consists of five users and one workspace
Business: $399 per project/month (annual billing only), consists of five users and one workspace
Enterprise: $599 per project/month (annual billing only), consists of ten users and one workspace
FactoHR
FactoHR is the following tool in our list of best human resource onboarding software. The tool automates onboarding, offers configurable employee information fields, and allows new hires to input their details.
FactoHR best features
Email customised offer letters using templates automatically from the HR software
Send candidates pre-onboarding invitation links to let them self-upload documents and certificates
Import candidate details to the employee database, enabling smooth onboarding
Pros
Easy-to-use onboarding features
It has a mobile app for convenient access
Cons
The UI is too basic. It requires improvement
The software’s functionality can be complex for beginners
Ideal for: SMEs looking for basic employee onboarding features
Pricing
Not disclosed on the website. Free trials are available on the pricing plans.
Qandle
Qandle’s hiring and onboarding solution facilitates paperless onboarding and allows workflow customisation based on business needs. It offers pre- and post-joining orientation to keep the new hires engaged and ready from day one.
Qandle best features
AI chatbot to speed up onboarding tasks, document submission, assessment, etc.
Use a letters database to create and store letters like announcement letters, offer letters, etc.
Task management to assign tasks to new hires
Pros
Attractive and easy-to-use UI
The onboarding process supports different customisations
Cons
Some modules crash down, affecting user experience
Sometimes, the software slows down and stops responding
Ideal for: Mid-sized businesses and enterprises with 50+ employees looking for custom onboarding tools with basic features
Pricing
Foundation: ₹2950/month for up to 50 employees and ₹59/month per extra employee with no access to onboarding & exit features
Regular: ₹4950/month for up to 50 employees and ₹99/month per extra employee with no access to onboarding and other strategic HR features
Plus: ₹6200/month for up to 50 employees and ₹124/month per extra employee with feature lock-ins
Premium: ₹8000/month for up to 50 employees and ₹160/month per extra employee with access to all features except the remote toolkit
Enterprise: Custom pricing plan best enterprises with 1000+ employees
HRMantra
HRMantra is an end-to-end HR solution with features to automate and streamline onboarding. It offers workflows to assign tasks and approve offer letters before sending them to new hires.
HRMantra best features
Assign new hires desks, laptops, and access to the software from the system
Create and manage documentation on company policies for new hires
Conduct online tests to check employee suitability for a position and update scores automatically
Pros
The UI is self-explanatory
Ready-to-use templates for appointments, offer letters, etc.
Cons
The app lags during high usage
Limited customisation options
Ideal for: SMEs looking for essential onboarding tools with limited customisation
Pricing
Not available on the website
HR365
HR365 is an HR solution with automated workflows and checklists to streamline processes. It offers an employee self-service portal and templates to speed up onboarding.
HR365 best features
Built-in electronic signing feature for paperless onboarding
Collect digital candidate documents and store them in a secure database
Employee portal to view their entire onboarding journey online
Pros
Easy to set up
Feature customisations based on business needs
Cons
Complicated employee directory due to many features and options
Sometimes, there are display issues
Ideal for: Medium to large enterprises looking for basic employee onboarding features
Pricing
Booster: ₹399 per month for up to 10 employees with core HR and employee self-service features
Standon: ₹1799 per month for up to 50 employees with features like loan management, document management, etc.
Note: Employee onboarding is an add-on service, and you should contact the team for more details.
PocketHRMS
PocketHRMS is a recruitment management system that offers candidate onboarding features. Managers can use the tool to onboard employees and automatically send emails with login credentials for the employee self-service portal.
PocketHRMS best features
Forms, dashboard, and candidate portal customisation
Ample storage options to store candidates’ documents during and after onboarding
Pros
Mobile-friendly UI
Responsive support team****
Cons
Limited customisation options
There are no advanced onboarding features
Ideal for: Enterprises looking for ****basic onboarding features without many customisation options
Pricing
Standard: ₹2495/month for up to 50 employees and an extra ₹40/employee/month from the 51st employee with no access to recruitment and onboarding features
Professional: ₹3995/month for up to 50 employees and an extra ₹80/employee/month from the 51st employee onwards ****with feature lock-ins
Premium: Custom pricing**.** Only this plan provides access to offer management and digital self-onboarding features
ZingHR
ZingHR is a digital employee onboarding platform that creates a structured and personalised hiring and onboarding process. The tool automates recruitment/onboarding interviews and streamlines tasks like sending offer letters and collecting employee documents.
ZingHR best features
Digital onboarding with AI-enabled interviews and interactions
Quick decision-making with AI screening
Custom dashboards to view recruitment and onboarding progress
Pros
Easy-to-use software
Monitor employee recruitment and onboarding progress, contact details, attendance, etc., in one platform
Cons
Sometimes, the dashboards load very slow
The features don’t work well in the mobile app
Ideal for: Enterprises looking for AI-powered recruitment and onboarding systems
Pricing
Not available on the website
Features aren't enough to make your first impression on new hires count. Your onboarding software must also include a few other must-haves. Check for these before purchasing.
How scalable is the software? Make sure the software can handle your growing number of new hires and databases
Is the customer support responsive? Do they genuinely care about your problems and take active initiatives to address them?
How customisable is the platform? Check if you can send new hires customised offer letters, checklists and tasks, personalise learning modules and welcome emails, etc.
Is the tool user-friendly for admins and new hires? Make sure the software is easy to set up and navigate, and users can operate it without technical knowledge
Is the pricing structure transparent and cost-effective? Look for hidden charges and ensure that the software doesn’t have feature lock-ins in the listed starting price
Decision-time! You now know all the human resource onboarding software, its key features, pros, cons and prices. Now, it's up to you to make a call.
We don’t want to influence your decision in any way, but hear us out for just one second:
If you are a startup, out of all these tools on the list, we recommend using Craze. This might sound like a biased opinion, but we have reasons to prove otherwise.
Craze would be an ideal fit for if:
You are searching for a people operating system that handles HR, finance, and IT all in one place
You prefer transparent, reasonable pricing over hidden charges and feature-gating
You want solutions to your very relevant queries fast and interact with an empathetic team that cares
Want to know more?
What is the cost of human resource onboarding software in India?
The cost of onboarding software in India varies widely, ranging from ₹30 per month per person to ₹10,799 per agent per month, depending on features and company size.
Why should I implement onboarding software?
Implementing onboarding software streamlines the process, ensures a smooth experience for new hires, reduces manual work for HR, and helps prevent early employee turnover due to poor onboarding.
What are the key things to look for in the best HR onboarding software?
Look for scalability, responsive customer support, customisation options, user-friendliness, multilingual support if needed, and transparent, cost-effective pricing without hidden charges or feature lock-ins.
What features should I look for in the best onboarding software?
Search for customisable workflows, automation, centralised document management, progress tracking, integrations with existing HR tools, reporting and analytics, self-service portals, and mobile accessibility for new employees.
Does an onboarding software offer payroll and core HR as built-in features?
Yes, onboarding software like Craze has a strong core HR and built-in payroll software that syncs deeply in real time.
What are the different pricing models in onboarding software?
It is per-user-based. Some companies have feature gating and minimum users. Craze doesn't have restrictions and has transparent pricing.
