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Hiring can be a time-consuming process that costs a lot of money and distracts your team from the goal of your business. The right applicant tracking system (ATS) can save time and generate better results from the candidate pool while streamlining the recruiting process. This helps you find the right candidates faster and your team can stay focused on the right tasks. In this article, we look at the best applicant tracking systems for small businesses.
Best ATS Overview
- Best Overall – Pinpoint
- Best Access to Job Boards – iCIMS Recruit
- Best for Candidate Tracking – Greenhouse
- Best for Social Media Interaction – Manatal
- Best for Staffing Agencies – Zoho Recruit
- Best for Automated Tools – SmartRecruiter
Software
Price
Job Board
Applicant Screening
Onboarding
Reporting
$600 per month or $1200 per month
Can advertise on 1,450 job sites
Communications, video interviews, talent pools, candidate scorecards
Personalized workflows to engage employees from day one
Analytics dashboard, custom report builder
From $1,700 per month
iCIMS career sites and platform
Text engagement, video interview scheduling
Automated processes to maximize engagement
Robust recruitment marketing reporting and source analytics
Must contact sales for pricing information
Access to job postings from over 1,000 boards with candidate recommendations
Collaborate with hiring managers; scorecards and plans to track candidate skills
Automated task execution, personalized welcome experience
Analyze and share 30+ core reports
$15 to $35 per user per month, with custom options available
Thousands of free or premium channels, LinkedIn and social media extensions
Easy to use candidate pipeline
In-app training and interactive onboarding
Customizable dashboard, complete analytics suite
Free to $75 per user per month
Career portal, premium boards, job posting on Facebook and Google
Client portal with assessments and interview options
Candidate and employee flows for onboarding
Multiple levels of reporting
Depends on your customized bundle and the number of employees
Manage all job post contracts in one location
Standardized interview evaluation criteria and processes
Custom fields and automatic data transfer
Reports based on interviews, positions, applications, and more
Quick Verdict
Best Overall – Pinpoint. Pinpoint brings together the best of every aspect of recruiting together in one package. Its access to job sites, applicant screening, and customizable onboarding are second to none. Best of all, its features are available for one flat rate.
The 6 Best Applicant Tracking Systems for Small Businesses in 2023
Here are the six best options available for tracking and hiring applicants:
Pinpoint
4.2
Pinpoint’s applicant tracking software brings several features to your hiring process for a flat monthly fee. You can get started with Pinpoint for $600 per month or gain access to all its features for $1,200 monthly. In either case, you can post job openings on as many of the 1,450 popular job boards that Pinpoint works with all from within the recruiting software itself. The ATS provides candidate profiles and scorecards to rate job applicants. During the recruitment process, you and your hiring team can communicate directly in Pinpoint.
Once you’ve identified promising candidates from the talent pool, you or your HR managers can schedule interviews and generate offers from within Pinpoint. The software creates employee engagement from day one with a customizable built-in onboarding process. While in the recruiting process, you’ll have access to Pinpoint’s powerful analytics dashboard to view candidate information. A custom report builder helps pull insights from your hiring processes and glean insights for next time.
- Unlimited active jobs.
- Fixed monthly fees.
- Customizable reporting.
- Good customer service.
- Can be pricey for smaller businesses.
iCIMS Recruit
3.9
iCIMS Recruit’s applicant tracking systems work to connect you with qualified candidates as quickly as possible. The platform is built around cloud-based recruiting software, making everything easily accessible no matter where you are. A user-friendly mobile app lets you and top talent communicate with the push of a button.
The talent cloud is the place for job seekers and hiring managers alike to track the recruitment process through every step of the journey. You or your HR professionals can conduct video interviews, track applicants, and manage offers from the cloud.
Although there are features aplenty, iCIMS Recruit comes with a hefty price tag. Pricing information on their site is far from transparent, but their talent management solutions will likely set you back upwards of $1,700 per month.
There are also several impressive reporting tools to help analyze your recruiting efforts. Hiring managers can view candidate data at a glance across iCIMS’ multiple job boards and identify the best people for your needs.
- Unique software for career portal.
- Automated employee onboarding.
- Cloud-based software.
- Stellar mobile app.
- Cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses.
Greenhouse
3.4
Greenhouse is an ATS solution that proves strong in candidate management through diverse talent acquisition tools. Unfortunately, the ATS software hides its pricing information from view, theoretically offering custom plans depending on company size and feature set.
This modern applicant tracking system uses the power of technology through a mobile app and automated candidate sourcing. Greenhouse optimizes the talent acquisition process by recommending job applications based on your history.
Also within Greenhouse are several candidate relationship management tools to track qualified candidates every step of the way. Hiring teams can communicate right within the ATS software to keep everyone informed in one fell swoop.
Human resources teams or recruitment agencies have over 30 different core reports to view performance management metrics at a glance. There are abundant integration capabilities across all areas to plug into as needed.
- Mobile app.
- Several reporting features.
- Job advertising on over 1,000 external job boards.
- Automated hiring tasks.
- Opaque pricing.
- Clunky user interface.
Manatal
4.1
At prices as low as $15 per user from your company per month, Manatal offers the next best thing to free software. You’re limited in your job posting to just 15 per account unless you upgrade to the $35 plan where you can go unlimited.
One of Manatal’s strongest features is the extension that lets you tie its applicant tracking software to social media like LinkedIn or Facebook. With thousands of other job posting channels available, these are just the tip of the iceberg.
The ATS software can pull in data from resumes to create candidates in your system. Manatal has several applicant tracking tools, including a candidate pipeline that recruiting teams can use to list these applicants in various buckets to keep things organized.
Similarly, you can run various reports within Manatal to understand your performance management during the recruiting process. Manatal also lets you see candidate reports for optimal talent acquisition and even where your money is going during the process.
- Can list jobs on social media platforms.
- Budget-friendly price points.
- Candidate pipeline to track prospects.
- Tight security features.
- Customer service can be slow to help.
Zoho Recruit
3.9
Zoho Recruit was created with corporate HRs and staffing agencies in mind. The applicant tracking software shows off powerful sourcing channels alongside automated resume extraction tools to manage candidates across a multitude of positions.
Among other benefits, these tools will automatically scan resumes for key skills or experience and weed out applicants that don’t have the experience you’re looking for. Such features can really expedite the hiring process, especially when you’re looking across several jobs at any given time.
Prices are set to a monthly fee per recruiter and can range anywhere from $25 to $75 per month, depending on your desired feature set. Zoho does offer a free applicant tracking system that’s limited to one job posting at a time.
The client portal is the best place to view qualified candidates at a glance and offer assessments. You can plan and schedule interviews with individuals that stand out the most from the portal.
The ATS software has multiple layers of reporting tools and dashboards, but many of these only become available at the $50 price point or higher.
- Automated resume screening.
- Several job sites, including Facebook and Google.
- Free plan available.
- Employee referrals.
- Few options for job advertisement.
- Limited customer support.
SmartRecruiter
3.3
SmartRecruiter offers a one-stop-shop for advertising through a central vendor management system. You can track your postings across the big names in job hunting from one convenient location within the software.
You and your hiring managers can standardize things like the interview evaluation process to save time and peruse common results. You can run reports based on applications or interviews, but this tool has some limitations.
When it comes to pricing, SmartRecruiter gets a little hazy. There’s not so much as a hint of what plan options may be, and only filling out a form with the features you’re interested in will get you a quote.
SmartRecruiter shines with automation and is designed to make the hiring process as easy as possible. You can make use of chatbots, automatic resume screening, or recommendations based on artificial intelligence.
- Recruitment chatbot.
- Dashboard for managing applications.
- Automatically screen resumes.
- Centralized viewing of posted jobs.
- Vague pricing model.
- Limited reporting features.
How To Choose an Applicant Tracking System for a Small Business
It’s helpful to do an applicant tracking system comparison to uncover the ideal platform for your business. The right applicant tracking software is going to incorporate the best mix of the following:
- Features.
- Corroboration.
- Career site.
- Analytics and reporting.
- Think long term.
Features
Having the right tools for the job can go a long way towards making the recruitment process a snap. Applicant tracking systems manage candidate tracking and onboarding areas so you don’t have to.
Corroboration
This may not be important if you are the only person on your hiring team, but corroboration is paramount for companies with an HR staff. The best recruitment software provides the means to talk with your team right from the interface, keeping information in one place and not lost in a series of emails.
Career Site
If you’re using an ATS for posting jobs, make sure it allows you to list on the top free and premium boards out there. Some platforms will let you build and customize your own career portal to appeal to applicants and walk them through the onboarding process.
Analytics and Reporting
The best applicant tracking systems come with analytic and reporting tools to offer additional insights into potentially exceptional applicants. These tools can also provide the means to look into your own hiring process to see what you’re doing well and which areas need improvement.
Think Long Term
Pick software that will benefit you both now and in the future. As your business grows, you want your ATS software to expand with you as you post more jobs and increase the size of your hiring team.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Applicant Tracking Systems
Conclusion: Top Applicant Tracking Systems
Applicant tracking software provides a way to automate a lot of redundant job hiring tasks and makes it easier to focus on the more human side of things. These platforms also allow quick access to thousands of sites and the means to screen candidates faster and more completely than ever before.
Whether you have a team or are a one-person show, we feel that Pinpoint is the best applicant tracking system for the features it adds to your repertoire. If this platform doesn’t fit into your business model, we’re confident one of the others on this list will.
Noah is an American copywriter on a mission to help clarify the nuances of the business world through unique insights stemming from backgrounds in both engineering and the medical field. When not working, you’ll likely find him running or traveling.
