HappieMeDo you need HR software for a small team?
A spreadsheet can be enough. The question is whether it still helps you keep employee records and time off clear, without creating more work.
When a spreadsheet is enough
If your records are easy to find, someone keeps them current and access is limited to the right people, you may already have a process that works. A small team does not need HR software simply because it has reached a particular headcount.
Look at the work involved: keeping employee details current, recording requests and checking who is off. If those tasks are manageable with your existing tools, there may be no reason to move yet.
When the spreadsheet starts making work
These are useful signs to look for:
- People ask for their holiday balance because they cannot check it themselves.
- Requests arrive in different places, so it is hard to see what has been approved.
- Several copies of a record exist and nobody is sure which is current.
- Updating a detail means changing it in several places.
We recognised some of this in our own business. Before using HR software, we managed holidays in spreadsheets. Manual calculations took time, and colleagues asked us for balances or kept their own copies. When we moved to HR software, our five-person team fell into a larger pricing band. That experience led us to build HappieMe.
What would it actually cost?
Compare the total for your team, including minimum charges and any add-ons you need. HappieMe Free includes native HR with no headcount limit. Here are the costs for three example team sizes:
| People | GBP / month | USD / month |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | £0 | US$0 |
| 10 | £0 | US$0 |
| 15 | £0 | US$0 |
Free needs no payment card and has no trial expiry. Allow for setup time: moving records, checking opening balances and helping people get used to a new tool still take time.
Plus is coming soon for teams that want tool integrations. The one bundle will cost £3 per active seat/month, or US$4 for US businesses, with currency based on workspace business country. See pricing and the service terms.
Where HappieMe fits
HappieMe brings employee records, holiday requests, approvals, balances and a shared calendar together. We use it for our own team’s holidays and employee details.
Check that it fits your arrangements: holiday setup supports regular, equal-length working days, and automatic public-holiday calendars are available for UK and US workspaces only. A general file importer and assisted migration service are not available yet. Tool integrations for Plus are planned.
If you want one place for employee records and time off, explore HappieMe’s features and check leave coverage before choosing a plan.