Sage HR Review – Everything to Know in 2024

What is Sage HR?

Founded in 1981, Sage has earned its place among the most venerable names in software. Now a global SaaS brand, its suite of products simplifies back-office management for small and mid-sized organizations.

One of its products is Sage HR, a cloud-based human resources solution that helps employers track, manage, and pay employees with ease. It handles core functions like shift scheduling, timesheets, and managing holidays with a modular design that’s easy to customize.

In our Sage HR review, we’ll take a deep dive into the platform’s features, functions, benefits, and potential drawbacks. We’ll also see how it stacks up against top competitors.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. What is Sage HR?
2. Sage HR Plans & Pricing
3. Sage HR Review Overview
4. Features of Sage HR
5. Sage HR Integration
6. Sage HR Customer Reviews
7. Sage HR vs. Top Competitors
8. Verdict – is Sage HR Worth it?
9. How We Test HR Software
10. How to Choose the Best HR Software
11. Sage HR Review FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. What is Sage HR?
2. Sage HR Plans & Pricing
3. Sage HR Review Overview
Show Full Guide
4. Features of Sage HR
5. Sage HR Integration
6. Sage HR Customer Reviews
7. Sage HR vs. Top Competitors
8. Verdict – is Sage HR Worth it?
9. How We Test HR Software
10. How to Choose the Best HR Software
11. Sage HR Review FAQs

Sage HR Plans & Pricing

Instead of offering a tiered pricing structure, Sage HR charges based on two aspects:

• The functional modules you select
• The number of active employees you have

Basic pricing for the Core HR and Leave Management module is £4 per employee per month. Adding the Timesheets module tacks on another £2 per employee per month, and so on. Other modules include Performance Management, Expenses, Shift Scheduling, and Recruitment.

What does that mean for how much Sage HR could cost? As an example, for the Core HR and Leave Management module:

• A business with three employees will cost £12 per month
• A business with four employees will cost £16 per month

However, once you include the Expenses module (£1 per employee per month) plus the above monthly fee:

• A business with three employees will cost £15 per month
• A business with four employees will cost £20 per month

Despite these add-ons, we did like the fact that you can try the core module for free for 30 days, with no credit card required. We’ll look at each module in detail in the next section of our Sage HR review.

Sage HR Pricing by Module

Core HR and Leave Management Module

As the name suggests, we found that this included all the basics. You can make use of:

• Employee scheduling with shared team calendar
• Easy onboarding for new joiners
• E-signing for key HR documents
• Centralized employee records
• Integration with other applications like Slack.

Through a mobile app, employees can also view company policies and access payslips. Managers can instantly approve leave requests, track schedules, see who’s away, and view who’s on sick leave. All in all, it covers basic HR processes pretty well.

Timesheets Module

Employees can log in easily and complete timesheets from any location using the Sage HR platform. Time-off data can be pre-filled automatically. You can also merge completed timesheets with payroll for enhanced reporting.

Performance Management Module

Gather 360-degree feedback from colleagues ahead of performance reviews, share individual objectives, and track progress. We found this fairly basic, but it has everything you need.

Expenses Module

Submit receipts quickly from a mobile app and have them automatically converted into expense entries. For only £1 extra per employee per month, this is quite a fair exchange for this handy, precise, and reliable service.

Shift Scheduling Module

Create and edit shifts for regular and flexible working hours. Employees can see their schedules online or via the Sage HR mobile app. This isn’t particularly useful for digital companies working to sprints, but certainly for brick-and-mortar businesses.

Recruitment Module

In Sage HR’s most expensive add-on, you can screen applicants by role and criteria, schedule interviews, and generate reports like time to fill and hiring speed. Depending on your business requirements, you might be able to eliminate the need for external recruitment teams with this module.

Sage HR Review Overview

Features of Sage HR

As we noted, all of Sage HR’s key features are bundled together in what it calls ‘modules.’ The use of modules gives small businesses the flexibility to add capabilities as activity levels rise or fall while keeping software costs in line with headcount.

Another feature we loved is the highly customizable interface. Arranged in easy-to-scan boxes, you can arrange the dashboard layout and see everything important to you ‘above the fold’ as soon as you log in.

In our Sage HR review process, we also came across key functional features that made the platform stand out among competitors.

Easy Onboarding

Employers can share essential HR documents with new employees, like contracts and offer letters, and have them signed and returned electronically.

Centralized Database

Sage HR gives employers a single, secure repository for all employee information. It’s one of the best HRIS software databases on the market.

Leave Management

Using the employee side of the platform, we found it very simple to submit annual leave requests. Employers can approve or reject them with one click, saving time and effort.

Alerts and Announcements

We liked how employers can set up automatic reminders around key tasks or events, as well as share company announcements. In this way, it offers a slightly social aspect that can help your team feel more together.

Scalability

For an additional monthly fee, you can add modules for recruitment, timesheets, expenses, and scheduling. We thought this was a fair way of arranging the pricing plan – as your company grows in size and profits, so would your HR needs.

Sage HR Integration

If there’s one area where Sage HR could raise its game, it’s the capability of third-party integrations. While competitors like BambooHR promise more than 125 integrations with other HR and office workflow apps, Sage HR only offers four integrations:

1. Google Workspace
2. Google Single Sign-On
3. Slack
4. Outlook Calendar

While these are important (and arguably enough) for a small business, mid-sized organizations might also need integration with payroll systems, learning management platforms, or benefits portals.

Sage HR Customer Reviews

We found it had top marks for user experience, where people thought it felt easy to start using Sage HR with little or no training required. This is mainly thanks to its:

• Simplicity
• Speed of setup
• Intuitive interface

There weren’t many recurring negative themes in the third-party reviews, but as we expected, there were some comments around the limitations of app integration.

Sage HR vs. Top Competitors

Sage HR vs. BambooHR

BambooHR is undoubtedly a more complete HR solution than Sage HR. It offers similar features like scheduling, timesheets, and recruitment but also wraps in payroll management, candidate tracking, and functions that help build team culture.

While Sage HR and BambooHR are both easy to use and visually appealing, Sage can’t compete with BambooHR when it comes to the breadth of HR management capabilities. Read our BambooHR review to learn more.

Sage HR vs. TriNet Zenefits

Our reviewers rate both Sage HR and TriNet Zenefits highly for simplicity and ease of use. Zenefits, however, offers much more robust HR functionality.

It includes full-featured payroll and benefits administration, something that Sage HR lacks completely. For larger organizations that need a comprehensive platform for simplifying HR, payroll, and benefits, Zenefits is a clear winner.

Sage HR vs. ADP Workforce Now

Sage HR and ADP Workforce Now focus on different ends of the size spectrum. Sage HR is best for smaller growing businesses that need to reduce the administrative burden that comes with employing more people.

ADP Workforce Now is a more complex software package aimed at large and complex organizations with hundreds of employees. While both have strong offerings, they should remain firmly in their own business-size domains.

Verdict – is Sage HR Worth it?

We think it’s well worth trying the 30-day free trial to experience the interface and functionality, especially if you’re looking for software to grow a small business.

While our Sage HR review praised its simple design and interface in terms of ease of use, simplicity can also be a drawback. Sage HR totally lacks a payroll module, and its shortlist of third-party integrations cannot compete with what other HR software brands offer – even those targeting the same SMB space.

That said, we believe Sage is a solid choice for organizations of up to 50 employees who need to automate repetitive HR tasks. For businesses of this size, Sage HR’s modular pricing structure is a huge plus, and it will have more than enough features to keep your business running smoothly.

How We Test HR Software

Our independent reviews of HR applications, SaaS platforms, and online services are designed to help human resources professionals make informed buying decisions.

When we review an HR software product like Sage HR, we weigh up its benefits and drawbacks in six key categories:

• Pricing – We check for different plans and add-ons at all tiers, making sure it works for all different business sizes.
• Features – Finding out the core features and checking what’s available at different price levels.
• Integrations – We look at how easily a product can be integrated into existing HR and accounting workflow.
• Automation – How many repetitive, time-consuming tasks can the HR product handle?
• Ease of use – We look at the interface, range of menu options, implementation, and how much training you might need before use.
• Third-party reviews – What are other users saying about the product on respected platforms like Trustpilot or G2?

How to Choose the Best HR Software

Choosing the right HR software can have a huge impact on productivity, employee satisfaction, and your ability to recruit and retain the right people. If you’re thinking of trying a new HR solution or investing in one for the first time, here are some of the things that should inform your decision:

• Type of HR software – Is the HR software suited to your organization’s size and complexity?
• Essential HR features – Does the solution combine both payroll and essential people management tools like scheduling, time tracking, and performance management?
• Pricing – Is there a plan for my budget that offers all the capabilities I need? How easy is it to scale up or down if business needs change?
• Ease of use – How easy is it to set up, implement, and use the product?
• Integrations – Will the HR software integrate with my existing office productivity tools?
• Customer support – What level of support does the platform offer, and does it differ by price plan?

Sage HR Review FAQs