Errors in managing employee data, delays in filling open positions and forgotten time-off requests can all be a thing of the past with the right HRMS software.

If your business is just starting out and looking to save money without compromising quality or seeking more flexibility free from vendor lock-in, opting for a free HRMS solution is the ticket. Let’s jump in!

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Article Roadmap

• Best Free HRMS Software
  • OrangeHRM
  • Sentrifugo
  • IceHrm
  • Odoo HR
  • Grove HR
• Benefits
• Key Features
• Tips for Comparing HRMS Software
• Next Steps

Overview

Product	Business Size	User Sentiment	Pricing	Support	Mobile Support
OrangeHRM	S M L	82%	Starter: Open-source and free Advanced: Quote-based plan	Email, call and ticket-based support. It also has a help portal with FAQs.	Android and iOS.
Sentrifugo	S M L	86%	Free open-source software	Support requests through tickets. Training support: documents, live online training and in-person.	No mobile application currently, but it offers responsive web design for a consistent experience across devices.
IceHrm	S M	N/A	IceHrm Free: Free (up to five users) IceHrm Basic: $ 11/ month (up to 70 users) IceHrm Unlimited: $99/month (unlimited users) IceHrm Pro: Starts from $499 and is self-hosted	Online request form available. Training support: tutorials and user guides. Pro Support Plans are available with IceHRM Pro Purchase	Android and iOS.
Odoo HR	S M L	N/A	Your first app is free, and payment is required for additional applications. Standard Plan: $19.90 for all apps (per user/per month) Custom Plan: $29.90 for all apps (per user/per month)	Submit support tickets and use chat feature on website. Unlimited 24-hour support with online subscription, M – F. Training support: Documents online with select tutorials.	Android and iOS.
Grove HR	S M	88%	Free Plan: teams with less than 50 employees. Essentials Plan: $3 per employee per month Perform Plan: $4 per employee per month. Engage Plan: $6 per employee per month.	24/7 live online support, chat and email available. Also FAQ section is available. Training Support: Videos and documents online.	Android and iOS.

Best Free HRMS Software

Ready to streamline your daily HR operations and take your business to the next level? Dive into our recommendations for the best free HRMS software picks!

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OrangeHRM

OrangeHRM is an HR management solution that promotes flexibility and communication through the mobile app and automated emails. Employee monitoring tools improve visibility, accountability and workplace efficiency by keeping track of employee behavior and productivity.

Tailor application forms for a better talent pool, streamline interviews with the Interview Assistant feature and simplify planning onboarding events. Integrate with third-party applications like Nitso, MC Systems, Definitiv or Intercorp Solutions for payroll processing.

What Users Love About OrangeHRM

• Positive Customer Service Experiences
• Easy to Use
• In-Depth Onboarding

Top Benefits

• Simplify HR Tasks: Free up HR administrators and employees from routine activities like uploading personal information and managing corporate directories, letting them concentrate on critical tasks like analysis and decision-making instead.
• Enhance Accessibility: Implement an automated reminder email system triggered by specific actions. Send various notifications, including attendance sheet approvals and rejections, as well as notifications related to candidate assignments to vacancies.
• Centralize Information: Provide employees with a centralized dashboard for easy access to PTO accruals, company news and time tracking. Managers can view reporting charts, track employee availability and manage to-do lists.
• Custom Reports: Create customized reports tailored to your specific needs.
• Boost Inclusivity: OrangeHRM offers language packs in users’ local languages, providing support in various languages such as English, French, Brazilian-Portuguese, German, Dutch, Indonesian and Azerbaijani.
• Integrations: OrangeHRM integrates with various software categories like payroll and employee screening. OrangeHRM is also compatible with recruiting platforms like Workable and GoodHire.

Primary Features

• Recruitment Management: Streamline job postings from various boards, facilitating custom workflows and comprehensive vacancy tracking. Create hiring templates, assess candidate responses and integrate job posting pages seamlessly with company websites.
• Performance Management: Enable flexible performance reviews, including yearly, semi-yearly, quarterly or as needed. The platform offers 360° employee reviews, incorporating peer-to-peer and manager-to-peer feedback for holistic assessment.
• Leave Management: Set up leave policies, utilize advanced configuration tools for different leave types and facilitate easy leave requests. Supervisors or admins can efficiently approve requests and nominate employees to cover responsibilities during leave periods.
• Offboarding: Automate the steps involved in offboarding, like restricting access to system information, ensuring smooth employee departures and minimizing ongoing workflow disruptions.
• Time Tracking: Provide employees the flexibility to clock in or out using either the software, the mobile app or designated hardware. The platform includes a timesheet feature providing clear visibility into employees’ clock-ins and clock-outs, while supervisors can easily configure it to track time spent on various projects.
• Employee Management: Create new employee profiles, allowing for the inclusion of custom fields, like t-shirt size for company swag. Integrate info, including bulk updates, job history and salary details and get a consolidated view of employee data. The corporate directory feature enables easy access to everyone’s contact details, including address, phone number, email address and job title.

Limitations

• No feedback surveys
• No inbuilt geofencing for the attendance module

Features Not Included With Free Version

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Sentrifugo

Sentrifugo is a cloud-based HR management solution for streamlining human resources processes with customizable features. Generate, upload and organize policy documents into user-friendly categories.

Employees can track their time, update personal information and schedule meetings based on availability to boost productivity and reduce tedious administrative paperwork. It also helps managers plan around employee time off via a centralized summary to view leave information.

What Users Love About Sentrifugo

• Easy to Navigate
• Efficient Employee Background Verification
• Range of Features

Top Benefits

• Enable User-Friendly Dashboards: Access essential information effortlessly with Sentrifugo’s intuitive dashboard. Personalize the dashboard by configuring widgets to display preferred elements. Visualize key data, including employee status, leave status and attrition rates, through pie charts, line graphs and bar graphs.
• Manage Assets: Track organizational assets, like laptops and phones. Assign assets to employees by recording details like invoice numbers, vendor information, warranty status and pictures, then centralizing information for easy access. Enable employees to request replacements or repairs for malfunctioning assets.
• Simplify Leave Management: Define leave management options for departments or entire business units, including weekends, working hours and leave transfer permissions. Streamline leave requests, allowing employees to submit and managers can approve, reject, or cancel requests. Keep employees and reporting managers informed on leave-related actions with email notifications.
• Conduct Background Checks: Utilize the background check module to facilitate pre and post-employment screening. Select screening types and assign agencies to conduct background checks and track progress directly through the system. Enable external agency users to log in and provide details or feedback about employees or candidates.
• Manage Offboarding: The exit module supports a smooth exit process by tailoring it to your specific organization’s needs via customizable types, notice periods and approvers. Empower employees to initiate exit requests and provide feedback through exit interview questions.
• Access Payslips: Easily view and download payslips in PDF format for convenient record-keeping.

Primary Features

• Recruitment Management: Initiate requisitions, manage candidate CVs, facilitate interviews and shortlist or select candidates. Enable interviewers to provide feedback about candidates for a more collaborative hiring process. Send automated email notifications to interviewers and applicants, keeping all parties up to date on the hiring process.
• Appraisal Management: Sentrifugo’s performance appraisal feature evaluates employee performance. Empower supervisors to conduct appraisals based on parameters, questions and ratings. Enable eligible employees to submit self-appraisals and enable manager comments and ratings for each question.
• Time Management: Sentrifugo’s timesheet management tool configures project details, assigns employees to projects and simplifies project tracking. View employee timesheets and provide managers with a comprehensive overview of reported hours. Enable manual time entries and generate time reports.
• Expenses Management: Manage expenses, trip budgets, advances and receipts. Create and submit expenses for approval to reporting managers, ensuring a transparent and efficient process. Pre-allocate employee advances for trip expenses or projects and easily categorize expenses into categories like travel and food for later.
• Incident Management: Empower employers to raise disciplinary incidents against employees (defaulters) within the organization. Provide employees with an opportunity to appeal by submitting statements, ensuring a fair and transparent resolution process.

Limitations

• No mobile application
• Doesn’t support multi-languages

Features Not Included With Free Version

• N/A

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IceHrm

IceHrm offers a cloud-based HR platform for streamlining employee management. Consolidate confidential employee data and establish access permissions for authorized personnel, ensuring employee information security.

IceHrm’s recruitment module facilitates suitable candidate identification for vacant positions. It features an internal job portal and tools for interview management. The time-sheets module empowers employees to update their own timesheets, while the attendance module efficiently monitors employee clock-in and clock-out times.

With IceHrm Pro Support plans you can get additional support like payroll configuration, implementing leave policy, employee training and data management.

What Users Love About IceHRM

• User-Friendly
• Open-Source Version Enables Creating Custom Modules
• Useful Data Management

Top Benefits

• Boost Accountability: Utilize AI-based face recognition feature for attendance tracking.
• Ensure Financial Transparency: Expense management provides a centralized platform for submitting, approving and integrating expenses into payroll, enhancing financial transparency to make informed budgetary decisions.
• Simplify Compliance: Generate customized payroll reports for third-party processing or compliance with specific rules for regulatory compliance. Reduces the risk of payroll errors and legal issues and improves overall financial management.
• Manage Documents: Manage company and individual employee documents and set document visibility based on roles.
• Get Multi-language Support: Empower users to switch their preferred language in the platform. It supports multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic and Russian.

Primary Features

• Time Management: Accurately record employee punch-in and punch-out times, ensuring precise time tracking. Enable employees to update their timesheets independently and submit them for approval. Automate leave calculations for employee time off.
• Expense Management: Simplify expense claims, boost visibility and streamline the approval process with up to four levels of approval and approve expenses that integrate into payroll for salary adjustments.
• Payroll Management: Create payroll reports for third-party processing or the implementation of custom payroll rules. It accommodates multiple pay periods and groups.
• Recruitment: The internal job portal helps identify ideal candidates and streamline the interview process.
• Performance Management: Tailor the appraisal process, including customized questions for employee and peer feedback. Get a comprehensive view of an individual’s skills and workplace behaviors with 360-degree feedback.

Limitations

• Slow portal
• Doesn’t provide a sophisticated compensation management module

Features Not Included With Free Version

• Audit Trail

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Odoo HR

Odoo HR is a comprehensive human resource management solution. It incorporates restricted access settings to safeguard employees’ confidential information. Manage PTO requests through integrated tracking features and generate reports for monitoring attendance.

Upload contracts, request signatures and store all key documents in a centralized and safe location. Streamline the onboarding process by allowing the assignment of activities for new hires. Utilize org charts to put things in visual perspective, like team hierarchy with each employee’s profile for effective workflows.

What Users Love About Odoo HR

• Flexibility
• Effective Recruitment Features
• Integration with social media networks

Top Benefits

• Enhance Recruiting: Generate offer letters for candidates and allow them to review the offer, upload their personal information and remotely sign the offer.
• Support Employee Development: The courses management feature assigns eLearning courses to employees and provides a course smart button for tracking and updating course progress.
• Boost Organization: Create a repository for document management with applicants’ resumes and employee contracts for secure, easy access instantly.
• Manage Salaries and Benefits: The salary configurator lets employees build their benefits package, including gross salary, time off and meal vouchers.
• Improve Communication: Feedback surveys help employers understand the hiring process from the perspective of new hires to detect opportunities for improvement.
• Simplify Employee Referrals: Employees can refer candidates for job openings, earning points that are redeemable for customized rewards. The system provides a comprehensive dashboard for tracking total referrals, ongoing hiring processes, successful hires and earned points. Employees can conveniently share specific job openings via email with a tracking link directly to their referrals.

Primary Features

• Employee Management: Sort departments and teams into easy-to-view org charts. Show employees where they land on the company hierarchy, including their manager and coworkers. Add employees’ resumes to their profiles and customize skill types and updates to track employee development over time.
• Recruitment: View job vacancies and applicants, customize employment types, job positions and hiring workflows. Link job posts to other employment sites. Track the application process within Kanban views, enable communication with applicants, schedule meetings and calls send emails directly from the application card and create tests or questionnaires for valuable insights.
• Time-off Management: Employees can request time off directly from their employee profile or record. Managers can view the number of days off an employee has left.
• Timesheet & Schedule Management: View previous timesheet entries and empower users to add new entries to get a detailed view of time and attendance. Specify working hours and schedules for every employee in various time zones.
• Appraisal Management: Enable employees and managers to request a performance review through the appraisal application directly from an employee record.

Limitations

• Doesn’t allow creating employee feedback surveys in the HR module.

Features Not Included With Free Version

• N/A

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Grove HR

Grove HR is a cloud-based HR management software solution for onboarding, performance management, time and attendance tracking and payroll processing. Customize workplace policies and save time with automation tools. The centralized platform holds employee data, reducing paperwork.

Data-driven insights help managers ensure effective team performance and make informed decisions. Streamline the hiring process with a branded career page and pre-built templates. Distribute payslips and encourage peer engagement and recognition through the mobile app.

What Users Love About Grove HR

• Cost Effective
• Easy to Use Recruiting Module
• User-Friendly Interface

Top Benefits

• Streamline Onboarding: Use self-onboarding to add personal details and upload required documents. Create personalized onboarding lists for each new hire, fostering a tailored experience.
• Simplify Document Management: Centralize key documents, like employee handbooks, code of conduct and health insurance forms. Enables access for the entire company or specific groups. Create, modify and remove folders or files within the documents module.
• Boost Transparency: Get a quick overview of the latest news, upcoming birthdays and work anniversaries, fostering engagement and transparency. View pending HR tasks, request time off, check statuses and balance.
• Get Key Insights: View interactive charts, HR metrics and trends covering employee data, recruitment pipelines and turnover rates for a better breakdown of data.
• Improve Organization: View time-off requests and specific team member availability. Get visibility into both pending and approved time-offs directly within Google Calendar. Additionally, employees can easily subscribe to their colleagues’ Google Calendars, promoting efficient sharing of time-off information and schedules among team members.
• Customize Reporting: Generate different types of reports, from attendance to time off and hiring and offboarding reports.

Primary Features

• Recruiting: Publish job openings and automate receiving applicants into the hiring pipeline. The candidate evaluation feature marks those prospects with skills to help make fast hiring decisions. Once you find the right new hire, automate offers and onboarding.
• Time and Attendance: Utilize QR code technology to clock in and out. Create attendance policies like overtime rules. Geofencing tracks employee attendance based on their location. Generate timesheets and filter employee attendance by period, time, status, location and records.
• Employee Management: The centralized database stores, manages and enables access to employee information. Keep personnel files, contracts and job histories secure with an employee directory.
• Leave Management: Handle PTO requests remotely. Tailor settings for entitlements, accrual, carryover, seniority leave and booking rules for different employee groups. The platform allows direct employee submission of time-off requests and provides instant approval by managers. It offers a comprehensive overview of employee leave data, including entitlements, request history, and balances.
• Payroll Management: Automate payroll input preparation and integrate time tracking for accurate working hours calculation. The platform enables easy configuration of pay components like allowances and bonuses, automatically calculates gross pay, and offers a pre-distribution review, including color-coded highlights for recent changes.

Limitations

• No succession planning

Features Not Included With Free Version

• Automation Workflow
• Performance Management
• Goal Management
• Employee Engagement

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Primary Benefits

HRMS software plays a crucial role in managing various HR functions. Below are the top benefits of using a free HRMS solution:

Save Money

One of the biggest benefits of free HRMS software (and perhaps the most apparent) is — it’s free! Free software is typically available without any licensing fees or vendor lock-in, which is great for your budget and provides more independence.

So, what’s the catch? The good news is, free HR management software still provide core capabilities so you’re getting what you need without worrying about costs. This financial flexibility empowers you to allocate resources more efficiently and reduces potential financial burdens.

Free software is particularly beneficial for smaller HR teams or start-ups that have a lot on their plate and need added support everyday tasks from recruiting to employee management.

Avoid Vendor Lock-In

Using free software helps you avoid vendor lock-in, so your business isn’t solely dependent on a specific vendor for updates, fixes or modifications. Avoiding vendor lock-in can also help reduce your total cost of ownership (TCO) by saving money on licensing fees and long-term costs associated with support and maintenance.

Additionally, your business needs will likely change over time, demanding different tools and technology to keep up. Free HRMS solutions are a good starting point without sinking a bunch of money into a solution that you may need to switch away from down the road.

Save Time

Free HRMS software typically automates routine HR processes like payroll, attendance tracking and performance evaluations. This automation reduces the time spent on manual administrative tasks and cuts down on human error, allowing HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives and employee engagement.

AI tools are another time-saver. According to Gartner, 81% of HR professionals have considered or already implemented AI solutions to enhance efficiency. For example, after studying how 900 midsize and big companies used Workato’s platform from February 2021 to January 2022, they found that HR bots are streamlining tasks like PTO requests and dominating employee experience automation, comprising 39% of the total.

Access Scalability

Would you make it on Shark Tank? Business.com, a platform for business news, asks this question, explaining that “the Sharks look for revenue growth, customer acquisition costs and scalability above all else when evaluating companies.” Achieving scalability empowers you to establish a lucrative business with robust prospects for growth.

Most HRMS solutions are often scalable, allowing your business to start with basic features and expand as your needs grow. Scalability ensures the software adapts to changes in business size and requirements of the organization without significant additional costs.

Enhance Flexibility and Communication

Cloud-based HRMS solutions provide easy access to HR data from anywhere with an internet connection, helping enhance collaboration and communication among team members, especially in remote work environments.

Employee self-service features let your staff access and update their personal information, apply for leave, and view pay stubs without HR intervention. Reduce administrative overhead and empower employees to manage some of their HR-related tasks independently.

Also, most free HRMS software adheres to general standards, making switching between different software solutions easier without running into compatibility issues.

Ensure Security Measures

Enhanced data security is a pivotal aspect, especially when dealing with employee information and sensitive HR data. HRMS software can incorporate advanced features like encryption, access controls and secure authentication methods to enhance data security.

Audit trails also play a crucial role by providing a detailed record of activities and changes made within the system. Tracking user activities helps identify suspicious behavior or unauthorized access, reducing security breaches.

Depending on where you live, there are various regulatory compliance requirements like GDPR, and audit trails help HRMS software comply with these regulations by providing a detailed history of data-related activities. Serious violations of the GDPR may lead to fines of up to 20 million euros or 4% of total global turnover from the previous year.

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Key Components

Key features of HRMS:

Employee Information Management

Employee databases store and manage essential information, like personal details, contact information, job history, skills and qualifications. It serves as a centralized repository for HR professionals to access and update employee records.

Document Management

Manage important documents, like resumes, contracts, certifications and performance appraisals. Document management helps ensure that HR records are accurate, organized and easily accessible.

Attendance and Leave Management

Time and Attendance Tracking allows organizations to record and monitor employee attendance and working hours. It may include features like clock-in/clock-out functionality, timesheet submission and overtime tracking.

HRMS software typically includes tools for managing employee leave requests, approvals and tracking available leave balances. This helps HR professionals and employees keep track of vacation time, sick leave and other types of leave.

Recruitment and Onboarding

Free HRMS software offers basic recruitment tools, allowing organizations to post job openings and track applicants throughout the hiring process.

Some HRMS solutions include features to create onboarding checklists, ensuring new hires go through a structured orientation process. This includes paperwork completion, training sessions and introductions to team members.

Performance Management

Goal setting and monitoring establish and track employee performance goals. It helps align individual objectives with organizational goals and provides a performance evaluation framework.

Streamline the performance review process and facilitate communication between employees and managers with tools for conducting employee performance appraisals and providing feedback.

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Tips for Comparing HRMS Software

Comparing free HRMS software isn’t easy, especially when products offer similar features and benefits. Here are some tips to help you effectively compare options:

Define Your Requirements: Outline your organization’s HR needs, considering aspects like employee information management, attendance tracking, leave management, payroll processing, performance management and recruitment. Understanding your specific requirements will help guide your evaluation of each HRMS solution’s features.

Check out our free requirements template for further guidance on selecting your must-have features and narrowing down your choices.

Determine Ease of Use: Assess the user interface and each HRMS software’s general usability. An intuitive and user-friendly interface is essential for effective adoption by your HR team, whether it’s managers or employees. Look for software with a minimal learning curve that’s easy to navigate.

Ensure Scalability: Consider each HRMS software’s scalability. Ensure that your chosen solution can grow with your organization and accommodate more users and data. Scalability is crucial for long-term viability and adaptability to changes in business size and structure.

Evaluate Customization Options: Evaluate the customization levels offered by each HRMS solution. A system that allows you to tailor fields, workflows and reports to match your organization’s unique requirements is valuable. Customization ensures that the software aligns closely with your specific HR processes.

Check Integration Capabilities: Check the integration capabilities of the free HRMS software. Compatibility with other systems, like accounting software, email or third-party applications, enhances overall efficiency. Integration reduces manual data entry and ensures seamless communication between different business systems.

Prioritize Compliance and Data Security: Prioritize data security and compliance features. Look for HRMS solutions that adhere to industry standards for data protection. Ensure that the software complies with relevant data privacy regulations, especially if your organization operates in regions with specific legal requirements.

Look For Mobile Accessibility: Ensure the HRMS software has a mobile-friendly interface or dedicated mobile apps. This allows users to access HR-related information and perform tasks on the go, promoting flexibility and responsiveness.

Research Feedback and Reviews: Research user reviews and gather organizational feedback from groups using the free HRMS software. Online forums, review sites and social media platforms provide insights into other users’ experiences. This external feedback offers valuable perspectives on the software’s strengths and weaknesses.

Consider Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): While the initial software may be free, consider the total ownership costs over time. Assess any potential costs associated with additional features, support, training or future upgrades. Understanding the complete cost structure helps make better-informed decisions.

Check out our Lean Selection Methodology for a step-by-step guide on how to evaluate and compare your options.

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Next Steps

Manually conducting HR tasks isn’t just time-consuming. It increases your risk of costly errors and inaccuracies. Performance management ensures productivity and effective recruitment, preventing organizational gaps and keeping your HR compliance in check — and free HRMS software handles it all.

Still unsure which HRMS product is the best fit? To streamline your search, start with our free comparison report breaking down how each leading system stacks up, with feature scores and product ratings to boot.

Which free HRMS solution caught your eye? Which core HR features are on your must-have list? Let us know in the comments!