Investing in a reliable Applicant Tracking System is the first step towards scaling your recruitment business.
An ATS enhances your productivity to a great extent by automating tasks like resume parsing, candidate screening, interview scheduling and more.
Add to that the fact that the global ATS market is predicted to scale to a massive 3.2 billion in the next two years. So, the question is not if you need an ATS, but which Applicant Tracking System is the best fit for your startup.
Considering limited resources and a lack of ability to conduct trial and errors, as a startup, you must do a thorough analysis of the best ATS for small business present out there and come to a conclusion. It's similar to choosing any other effective HR tools like an effective resume parser, a sourcring platform or a interview tool.
Helping you in this discovery, we have here the best ATS for small recruitment agencies that you can choose from in 2024.
How to Choose the Best ATS for Small Business
Not every recruitment agency is the same and neither are their demands, it’s pointless to invest in a startup ATS just for its face value.
In other words, spending your money on a comprehensive ATS software for small business with a ton of features is unnecessary when you realise that most of them aren’t even related to your business needs.
Here are some tips you can use to narrow down your search for the best ATS systems for small businesses.
1. Budgeting
Budget for an ATS system, especially if you are starting out, and stick to it.
There are several options and you don’t need to go with the most traditional ones just because everyone is using it.
2. Features
Budget and features go hand in hand.
Take a careful look at the pricing plans of each ATS that you think will fit your business demands.
Compare features within the pricing plan of the ATS and from other ATS tools in your list.
Remember, if you think you are going to need a few features in future, you can always upgrade your plan.
3. Try Before Deciding
As you will see in the list, there are ATS systems that offer free plans.
Take advantage of these plans to explore the best ATS for startups in depth.
Shift some of your tasks to this candidate tracking system and see if it fits into your workflow. Check if your productivity increases, decreases or remains the same when working with the tool.
These checks can become the foundation for you and your recruitment team in choosing a tool that scales your business.
4. AI in Recruitment
Believe it or not, the future of recruitment is with AI at the core.
We are already witnessing this revolution with several AI-powered ATSs and AI recruiting tools coming to the resume of recruiters. When choosing the best ATS for startups, don’t forget about the AI factor.
If ATS alone can enhance your recruitment productivity, AI with ATS can do a lot more in alot less.
Benefits of Using an ATS for Startups
70% of large businesses and 20% of small and medium businesses use ATS.
Plus, if we have not been clear already, the right ATS for startups can save time, discover top-tier candidates for a given job requisite, help make strategic hiring decisions and push your small business towards growth.
If we had to pinpoint, here are the most fundamental benefits of using the best ATS for startups.
1. Efficient sourcing
Got a job requisite, soon the job description is ready, now comes sourcing.
Tens of candidate sourcing sites, puzzling job posting algorithms, let’s not deny, it takes forever to put your job on all the job boards.
It gets to a point where either you are thoroughly frustrated to post another job or just leave out a few of the sourcing sites. But, it’s not over yet. Now comes the time to wait for responses.
Reading these sequence of events is tiring enough, forget about doing it. The best ATS for startups that’s also powered by AI makes candidate sourcing an absolute breeze.
Where on one hand, the ATS systems can point you towards the best sites to post your jobs for a particular job, they also work as a single platform to disseminate the job description to those job boards, cutting sourcing time significantly.
There are also tools like SKIMA AI that use your existing database to unearth the most relevant candidates.
Reducing your reliance on job boards and slashing time to shortlist perfect candidates.
2. Quality of hire increases, cost to hire decreases
The manual burden of studying piles of resumes is relinquished as the best ATS for small businesses takes over.
Manual errors are reduced significantly and recruiters have more clarity to match candidates with the right jobs.
As opposed to scattered and uncategorised data in the CVs, the ATS tools can visualise candidate data in a more efficient manner making it easier for recruiters to point at candidates who they want to move further in the hiring process.
Hence, the quality of hire increases. Plus, when these decisions are made faster, jobs are closed quicker which results in a reduced cost to hire.
3. Admin tasks are automated
Between getting the job requisite from the client to sharing shortlisted candidate profiles with them, there are a number of administrative tasks that a hiring manager or recruiter goes through.
These tasks can range anywhere from creating job descriptions, collecting and assorting resumes from various job boards to developing payroll data and maintaining employee information.
A small recruitment business has a tiny team of a handful of people which means how each member spends their time accounts for the overall growth of the company.
Subtracting these labour-intensive and time-consuming tasks from your recruitment team's workflow can greatly reduce the time between resume scanning and delivery.
The best ATS for startups streamlines everything from payroll accounting to candidate matching, interview scheduling, onboarding and more.
10 Best ATS for Small Recruitment Agencies
1. BambooHR
BambooHR is a comprehensive Human Resource Management System that encapsulates several features for HR managers and recruiters.
It features everything from candidate data management, payroll accounting to employee onboarding, candidate insights, reporting tools and more.
Considering its wide array of features and all-in-one-place approach for HR, it can easily be one of the best ATS for startups.
BambooHR Pricing
- Essential Plan (contact sales for pricing)
- Advantage Plan (contact sales for pricing)
2. Skima AI
Skima AI is an enhanced HR tool that streamlines a variety of recruiting tasks, including candidate sourcing, free-to-start resume parsing, and candidate matching.
It’s built on unbiased artificial learning and machine learning models that enables recruiters to use their candidate pool to pinpoint top talents best for any given job role.
Although not the best ATS for startups it’s certainly the best AI recruitment tool for small businesses that integrates with any ATS is just a few clicks.
Skima AI Pricing:
- Free Forever Plan
- Growth Plan ($299 monthly & $2691 yearly)
- Enterprise Plan (contact sales for pricing)
3. Freshteam
Freshteam ATS is driven towards solving modern recruiting challenges by streamlining key aspects like financing, employee engagement and other HR functions.
The company delivers a clear and intuitive platform with features like SLA management, incident management and AI service management, among others.
Recruiters can use the platform to collaborate with HR managers, post jobs on multiple job boards from a single channel, schedule interviews, prepare and manage payrolls and use AI to initiate conversations and interact with candidates in the hiring journey.
Freshteam Pricing:
- Free Forever Plan
- Growth Plan ($1 + $59.99 monthly)
- Pro Plan ($2 + $99 monthly)
- Enterprise Plan ($4 + $169.99 monthly)
4. JazzHR
JazzHR is an efficient ATS for startups and small businesses, catering to diverse needs for HR professionals.
It boasts a user-friendly interface and excels in candidate data management, streamlined payroll processes, and seamless employee onboarding.
Its complete toolkit includes insightful reporting tools, candidate insights, and collaborative features for HR teams.
With a focus on simplicity and functionality, JazzHR is a top-tier Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for businesses of all sizes.
JazzHR Pricing:
- Hero: $75 monthly
- Plus: $269 monthly
- Pro: $420 monthly
5. Lever
Lever is another ATS offering a blend of professionalism and user-friendliness for HR managers and recruiters, covering everything from smooth candidate data management to hassle-free employee onboarding.
With features like visual insights tool, candidate nurture, and advanced automation, Lever makes team coordination and recruiting a breeze.
Tailored for small businesses, Lever stands out as one of the best ATS for startups.
Lever Pricing:
Contact sales for pricing
6. Bullhorn ATS
Bullhorn ATS is designed to seamlessly manage candidate data, simplify payroll tasks, and facilitate smooth employee onboarding.
With its robust toolkit encompassing reporting tools, candidate insights, and collaborative features, Bullhorn ATS emerges as a top-tier Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for not only startups but businesses of all sizes.
It’s a trusted ATS with a clientele of over 10,000 companies from across the globe employing its services for day-to-day recruitment needs.
Bullhorn ATS pricing:
- Team (contact sales for pricing)
- Corporate (contact sales for pricing)
- Enterprise (contact sales for pricing)
- Enterprise Plus (contact sales for pricing)
7. Workable
Workable delivers as a single platform for recruiters to do everything from sourcing candidates to onboarding them.
Its collaboration features, automated tools and insightful reports gives a tough competition to other best ATS for startups.
Workable pricing is another reason why startups would consider putting their money on the platform.
Workable Pricing:
- Starter Plan: $149 monthly
- Standard Plan: $360 monthly
- Premier Plan: $599 monthly (billed annually)
8. Snaphunt
Snaphunt excels in streamlining candidate data management and simplifying intricate payroll processes.
The platform stands out with its unique features dedicated to both talent managers and job seekers.
It facilitates global hiring with reporting tools, collaborative functionalities and AI-driven hiring solutions.
Snaphunt Pricing:
- Pay As You Go Plan: Starting at $0
- Subscription: From $412 monthly
- Flexpert: (contact sales for pricing)
- Snaphyre: (contact sales for pricing)
9. Ceipal ATS
Ceipal is an AI enabled applicant tracking system that has quickly become a favourite among recruiters hiring in varied industries.
The platform offers some key features like real-time search on job boards, passive candidate discovery using AI, candidate matching and reporting.
Cepial is the best ATS for startups with services in the United States, the United Kingdom and India.
Ceipal ATS Pricing:
- Contact sales for pricing
10. Greenhouse
From candidate discovery to vetting, tracking and onboarding only the best fit candidates for a job, Greenhouse makes the recruitment process a breeze.
The company is also praised for it’s integrated support and global hiring facilities.
Features like talent sourcing and diversity and inclusion in hiring and simple onboarding practices makes Greenhouse one of the best ATS for small businesses.
Greenhouse Pricing:
- Contact sales for pricing
You have already taken the first, most difficult step of successfully starting a startup, now take the next and pick the best ATS for startup and small business. Get started today!
