Published: April 2025
Updated: September 2025
For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia, managing human resources efficiently is critical to scaling operations while maintaining compliance and controlling costs. This article explores selected HR tools - Employment Hero, BambooHR, Rippling, Workable, Revolut People, Xero Payroll, and Citation Group and focuses on their recruitment, Employer of Record (EOR), HRIS, and payroll functionalities. We include use cases, such as a fintech startup with 100 employees and a marketing agency with 30 employees to illustrate their impact.
Here's a breakdown of the core functionalities covered:
Each tool below offers only some, or a mix of these features, tailored to SME needs which can vary.
Overview: Employment Hero is Australia's leading homegrown all-in-one HR platform, servicing over 300,000 businesses globally, with a strong SME focus. It integrates with Xero for accounting and payroll.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: Employment Hero is a market leader in Australia, used by over 300,000 businesses globally, with 2 million employees globally. It's popular in retail, hospitality, and fintech.
Use Case: A Sydney-based fintech startup with 100 employees uses Employment Hero to streamline recruitment and payroll. SmartMatch sources candidates from a talent pool, potentially cutting time-to-hire by 25%. Payroll automation ensures STP Phase 2 compliance, which could save approximately 10 hours per pay cycle.
Right Time to Move: When your SME exceeds 20 employees and needs integrated recruitment and payroll, especially in compliance-heavy sectors like fintech.
Customer Rating: 4.5/5 (Capterra, based on 200+ reviews)
Overview: BambooHR is a cloud-based HRIS for SMEs with 10–1,000 employees, serving over 34,000 organisations globally with more than 3 million employee users. It's known for its intuitive interface and Australian integrations.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: BambooHR has 3 million+ employee users globally across 34,000+ organisations, with strong adoption in Australia's professional services and tech sectors.
Use Case: A Melbourne marketing agency with 30 employees uses BambooHR for onboarding and recruitment. The ATS streamlines hiring for creative roles, potentially reducing onboarding time by 2 days. Xero integration ensures accurate payroll, saving up to 10 hours monthly.
Right Time to Move: Ideal for SMEs with 10–50 employees needing a simple HRIS and basic recruitment without complex payroll.
Customer Rating: 4.6/5 (G2, based on 1,800+ reviews)
Overview: Rippling is an all-in-one HR, payroll, and IT platform, supporting over 10,000 businesses in 140+ countries. In Australia, it has a smaller footprint but growing, with localisation and 600+ app integrations.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: Rippling is gaining traction in Australia, particularly among tech SMEs. Its EOR capabilities lead in global hiring.
Use Case: A Brisbane healthtech startup with 60 employees uses Rippling for EOR and recruitment. The EOR service hires developers in Europe, ensuring compliance in 5 days. Recruitment tools post to LinkedIn, filling roles up to 20% faster.
Right Time to Move: Best for SMEs with 20+ employees planning international expansion or rapid hiring.
Customer Rating: 4.8/5 (G2, based on 3,000+ reviews)
Overview: Workable is a recruitment-focused platform used by over 30,000 companies across 100+ countries, including Australian SMEs. It integrates with HRIS tools for broader functionality.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: Workable is a global leader in recruitment software, widely used in Australia's retail and professional services sectors.
Use Case: A Perth marketing agency with 30 employees uses Workable to hire digital marketers. AI sourcing and job board integrations reduce time-to-hire by up to 30%.
Right Time to Move: When your SME faces high recruitment volumes or needs efficient hiring for seasonal or rapid growth.
Customer Rating: 4.4/5 (Capterra, based on 400+ reviews)
Overview: Xero Payroll, part of Xero's accounting suite, serves 3.8 million subscribers globally, with 1.2 million in Australia. It integrates with HR tools like Employment Hero.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: Xero dominates Australia's payroll market, used across industries like construction and retail, but it is only a payroll tool.
Use Case: An Adelaide fintech startup with 100 employees uses Xero Payroll with RosterElf integration to automate pay runs and timesheets, saving up to 8 hours per cycle.
Right Time to Move: When your SME needs robust payroll with accounting integration, ideal for 5–50 employees.
Customer Rating: 4.3/5 (Capterra, based on 2,800+ reviews)
Overview: Revolut People is Revolut's HR platform, currently operating in Europe only. It's unavailable in Australia currently, but may launch in the near future on Australian shores. We are featuring this due to Revolut's impressive work to date, and is certainly one to keep in mind from the Fintech behemoth if you are looking to roll out your HR tools next year instead.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: No users in Australia currently.
Right Time to Move: Await Australian rollout, suitable for fintech SMEs with 20–200 employees.
Customer Rating: None
Overview: Citation Group is an Australian provider of outsourced HR and compliance services, serving over 100,000 businesses globally. It combines HR advisory with software solutions, backed by employment law expertise.
Key Functionalities:
Market Share and Users: Citation Group operates across Australia with strength in professional services, healthcare, construction, and retail sectors.
Use Case: A Sydney professional services firm with 100 employees uses Citation Group for HR management. The 24/7 Advice Line resolves workplace relations issues, saving up to 15 hours weekly on HR admin.
Right Time to Move: When your SME needs expert HR support and compliance guidance without building an in-house HR team, ideal for 10–200 employees.
Customer Rating: Strong reputation for personalised service and legal expertise
Adopt HR tools based on your SME's size, industry, and challenges:
If processes are working well and efficiently without these tools with sharp inhouse processes, then there is no rush to move! It is all about making a sensible ROI decision for your business if there are clear tangible benefits for this. Scale Suite have seen companies move when they don't necessarily have to, leading to wasted money and resources.
Below is a broad overview of fee structures and approximate costs for these tools, based on publicly available data as of April 2025. Costs vary by employee count, features, and add-ons:
Costs are indicative and exclude setup fees, add-ons, or discounts for annual billing. SMEs should request quotes for precise pricing.
Tools like Employment Hero, BambooHR, Rippling, Workable, Xero Payroll, and Citation Group empower Australian SMEs to streamline HR and scale efficiently. Whether you need recruitment (Workable), EOR (Rippling), payroll (Xero), comprehensive HR outsourcing and compliance (Citation Group), or all-in-one solutions (Employment Hero), there's a solution for every growth stage.
Citation Group stands out as a unique option for businesses that prefer expert human support and legal backing rather than purely software-based solutions, offering a hybrid approach of technology and personalised service.
Evaluate your SME's needs, employee count, and budget to choose the right tool or combination of tools.
Scale Suite delivers finance and human resource services to support the growth of Australian businesses. Our Sydney-based team creates custom packages tailored to your needs, seamlessly integrating with your existing teams. From comprehensive finance services and strategic business support to recruitment and HR services, we reduce costs, save time, and help you scale confidently.
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