SMB vs. Shiftbase Comparison Chart

Breathe (also known as Breathe HR/BreatheHR) is a UK HR platform, founded in 2012, for small and medium-sized businesses. It brings people records, leave, documents, performance, reporting and compliance into one place, replacing scattered spreadsheets and disconnected tools. What's included Core HR: secure central employee records and documents, holiday and leave requests, sickness and absence tracking, self-service, e-signatures, performance management (goals, feedback, one-to-ones, reviews), reporting and analytics. Optional modules: - e-Learning: training management, UK-specific courses, completion tracking - Health and Safety: risk assessments, incident reports, certifications, compliance evidence - Recruitment: hiring workflows, job ads, candidate tracking - Expenses: claims, receipts, manager approval, spend tracking - Rota, Time and Attendance: shifts, availability, hours, attendance In development: an AI Assistant answering HR and policy questions from company information. Payroll planned for late 2026. Problems solved - Scattered data → one accurate central record - Chasing approvals → self-service, e-signatures, shared workflows - Lean HR teams → start with Core HR, add modules as needs grow Result: less duplicate entry and chasing, clearer visibility, more manager and employee involvement. Who it's for Best fit: UK SMEs with up to 200 employees moving HR off spreadsheets, e.g. start-ups, charities, healthcare, retail, education and professional services, especially with lean or shared HR roles. Evaluate carefully: 200+ employees, or needs for multinational payroll, complex global compliance, extensive custom workflows or enterprise workforce planning. Not a global enterprise HCM suite. Why Breathe - 17,000+ businesses; 1,000+ UK HR consultancies - From £24/month per organisation, no long-term contracts or hidden fees - Free 14-day trial, no obligation - UK-based support from setup onwards - ISO 27001 and ISO 42001 accredited; GDPR-conscious; UK data centres, encryption, access controls Bottom line: a flexible, self-service way for UK SMEs to organise HR and cut admin, with room to grow into recruitment, learning, safety, expenses, rotas and payroll (late 2026).

Folks is a Canadian-owned HR platform built for SMBs, combining three seamlessly integrated products to help you hire, manage, and pay your team — all in one place. Trusted by 1,200+ Canadian organizations managing over 125,000 employee records. With Folks HRIS, centralize employee records, onboarding, time tracking, absence management, and compliance — configured for Canadian employment standards across all provinces. Folks ATS streamlines recruitment with AI-powered candidate matching, job board integrations (Indeed, LinkedIn, Jobillico, Talent.com), and applicant tracking — built on the Glow Talents acquisition (2024). Folks Payroll handles CRA remittances, T4/RL-1 generation, ROE filing, CPP/QPP/CPP2, EI, multi-province tax calculations, WSIB/WCB, and direct deposit — no third-party payroll provider needed. SOC 2 Type 2 certified. All data hosted in Canada. Fully bilingual (English/French). Plans start at $6/employee/month.

Connecteam is an award-winning all-in-one employee management solution for daily operations, communications, and human resource management. With Connecteam you can manage every aspect of your business on the go, no workstation needed. Easily engage and manage non-desk employees with Connecteam’s mobile-first platform that helps improve communication, enhance daily processes and increase productivity with custom checklists, forms, and reports. Schedule shifts and track accurate work hours with Connecteam’s automated GPS time clock and easily export approved timesheets to payroll. Connecteam helps you keep your employees sharp thanks to knowledge base centers and advanced training courses. Raise morale with employee recognition rewards and keep the entire company updated through the main news feed. Simplify employee communication, enhance professional skills, manage daily tasks and so much more, all in one app and for an affordable price.

Hubstaff is a time tracking software that helps teams log hours, monitor productivity, and automate payments — whether remote, hybrid, in-office, or field-based. Available on desktop, web, and mobile, Hubstaff enables employees to track time against specific tasks and projects from anywhere. Managers get built-in visibility through app and URL usage data, activity rates, and optional screenshots — all configurable by user role. Designed for global, growing and distributed teams, Hubstaff includes built-in productivity monitoring and workforce analytics to help businesses analyze how time is spent, identify inefficiencies, and improve performance — without micromanagement.

RemotePeople is a global Employer of Record (EOR) and workforce management platform. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in New York, it helps companies recruit, hire, pay and manage employees in 150+ countries without setting up local entities. RemotePeople serves 3,000+ companies with account managers and local HR support. EMPLOYER OF RECORD RemotePeople manages employment contracts, onboarding, payroll, tax administration, statutory benefits and local employment compliance. Clients direct employees' daily work. EOR Global starts at $499 per employee/month; your rate is confirmed in your quote. EOR Select starts at $199 per employee/month for selected countries and qualifying employee salary ranges. Country and salary conditions apply. EOR Switch supports provider transitions. Salaries, statutory employer contributions and other employment costs are additional; country-specific terms apply. RECRUITMENT In-house recruiters source and assess international talent. Services include Global Recruitment, Executive Search, recruitment process outsourcing, embedded recruiters, temporary staffing and talent mapping. Recruitment + EOR combines candidate sourcing with local employment. Its recruitment fee is 2% of the candidate's annual salary each month, plus the EOR fee. PAYROLL, CONTRACTORS AND US PEO Global Payroll and US Payroll support employees hired through clients' own entities. Contractor Management covers onboarding, agreements, invoices and payments. Contractor of Record adds classification support and contractual protections. US PEO provides co-employment, payroll, benefits and HR support. BENEFITS, MOBILITY AND EXPANSION Services include Global Benefits, Global Equity, visas and immigration, company incorporation, entity management and EOR-to-entity transfers. Employment and workplace add-ons include custom contracts, legal assistance, compliance audits, background checks, IT equipment, offices and fleet, stipends, expenses, severance and offboarding. AI COMMAND CENTER AI Command Center supports onboarding, payroll, leave, expenses and contract changes through natural-language requests, with expert review of high-impact changes and action records. The web platform includes employee self-service, documents, payroll reporting and approval workflows. RemotePeople supports startups, growing businesses and enterprises. Service availability and employing arrangements are confirmed by country. Request a demo or quote.

HR Partner is a simple, all-inclusive online HR Management system for businesses with 20 to 500+ employees. It gives you everything you need to manage your HR processes and reduce the time spent on HR administration tasks. HR Partner includes: - Employee Records Management One secure place to store contact data, files, reviews, assets, and more - Leave Requests, Accruals & Approvals A simple, transparent process for employees and admin users - Onboarding & Training Checklists Assign a set of tasks for employees to check off, read, sign, upload or watch - Recruitment and Applicant Tracking Publish jobs and manage applicants with a visual tracking system - Employee Portal Empower team members the information and tools they need - Electronic Signatures Let employees or job applicants sign HR documents electronically -Plus a Lot More 100's more features including timesheets, library, organizational chart, and more. Start a free trial or request a demo!

Unlock your team's full potential with OrangeHRM, a premier HRMS experience built for the "HR Hero." Our HR software gives you the tools to automate complex processes and master the entire employee lifecycle with confidence. Trusted by thousands of organizations globally, OrangeHRM is the partner you need to make your HR department shine. Whether you are scaling a fast-growing startup or leading a multinational enterprise, our software adapts to your needs with powerful, comprehensive features: -HR Administration -Employee Management -Reporting & Analytics -Mobile App -Recruitment -Onboarding -Request Desk -Leave Management -Time and Attendance -Roster -Performance Management -Career Development -Training -Surveys -Employee Voice -Discipline Offering both cloud-based and on-premise hosting, we ensure that automating your HR operations is always simple, secure, and incredibly efficient. Ready to see these features in action? Try out our free trial today!

DeskTime is a high-performance, automated time tracking and workforce management solution for teams and freelancers. It runs silently in the background, logging computer activity from the moment of boot-up to ensure 100% accurate data without the need for manual timers. ⏱️ Key Features for Efficient Teams: ✅ Auto-Tracking: Log arrival, departure, and total work hours automatically. ⚡ ✅ Productivity Insights: Categorize URLs and apps to calculate real-time efficiency scores. 📈 ✅ Project Tracking: Assign time to specific tasks for precise client billing and project costing. 💸 ✅ Workforce Tools: Integrated shift scheduling and an absence calendar for streamlined HR. 📅 ✅ Secure & Integrated: GDPR/ISO 27001 compliant. Connects with Jira, Asana, Trello, and more. ⚙️ Eliminate manual timesheets and boost team productivity by up to 30% with DeskTime 🚀

ADSelfService Plus is an on-premises access management solution that caters to businesses across various industries, such as IT, banking, engineering, education, aviation, and telecommunications. Key features include: 1. Self-service password resets and account unlocks: Users can reset their passwords in AD and unlock their domain accounts from a web browser. 2. MFA: Machine logins, VPN and OWA logins, and cloud app logins can be secured using MFA. 3. Password synchronizer and SSO: Users can log in to multiple apps using one unified identity via SSO and real-time password synchronization. 4. Password policy enforcer: Admins can configure custom password policies to enforce strong password creation. 5. Password expiration notifier: Admins can send end users password expiration notifications via SMS or email. 6. Directory self-update: Users can update their AD attribute information through the directory self-update feature.

ActiveBatch by Redwood makes setting up and launching automation easy with no custom scripting required. With a low-code Super REST API adapter, over 100 pre-built job steps and a user-friendly drag-and-drop workflow designer, you can integrate across any system, application and data source, on-prem, in the cloud or in hybrid environments. Maintain complete control and visibility and meet SLAs with monitoring of all automation from a single pane of glass and get custom alerts via emails or SMS. Managed Smart Queues dynamically scale resources for high-volume workloads, reducing process times while the self-service portal enables business users to run and monitor workflows independently. ActiveBatch meets security and compliance standards, with ISO 27001 and SOC 2, Type II certifications, encrypted connections and regular third-party tests, always keeping security at the forefront. Along with ongoing product advancements, get the added benefit of 24x7 support and on-site training.