You're drowning in resumes, losing track of candidates in email, and your hiring process is a chaotic mess. You know you need an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), but the market is overwhelming—hundreds of vendors, confusing pricing, and features you don't understand.
This guide cuts through the noise. You'll learn exactly how to assess your needs, which features actually matter for small businesses, the right questions to ask vendors, and the red flags that signal you should run away.
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Download Free ToolkitAnswer these questions honestly:
Post to multiple job boards (Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor) from one place. Manual posting is a time-killer.
Automatically extract candidate info from resumes into structured fields. Manual data entry doesn't scale.
Visual pipeline (like Trello) showing candidates in different stages: Applied → Phone Screen → Interview → Offer. Drag-and-drop to move candidates.
Send/receive emails from within ATS. Email templates for common messages (rejection, interview invites, etc.). All communication tracked.
Calendar integration (Google Calendar, Outlook) to schedule interviews without email ping-pong. Automated confirmation emails.
Hiring team can leave notes, rate candidates, and share feedback in one place. @mention teammates for input.
Search past applicants by skills, location, experience level. Filter by source, date, stage, etc.
Branded career page where candidates can see all open jobs and apply. 60%+ of job seekers use mobile.
Automatically rank/score candidates based on job requirements. Useful if you get 100+ applicants per role.
One-way video interviews (candidate records answers) or live video calls. Great for remote hiring.
Coding tests, personality assessments, or job simulations integrated into workflow.
Trigger background checks directly from ATS when you extend offer. Saves manual work.
Time-to-hire, source effectiveness, funnel conversion rates. Essential for larger teams, overkill for 1-10 hires/year.
Automated EEO data collection and reporting. Only critical if you're a government contractor or over 100 employees.
Employees can easily refer candidates and track referral bonuses. Great culture-builder but not essential.
Nurture relationships with passive candidates over time. More important for competitive talent markets.
Don't just watch the vendor click through slides. Ask them to perform these real-world tasks during the demo:
| Task | What to Watch For |
|---|---|
| Create a new job posting | How many clicks? Easy to write job description? Can you preview what candidates see? |
| Post job to 3 job boards | One-click or manual? Which boards are included? Can you see posting status? |
| Review a candidate application | Is resume easy to read? Contact info visible? Can you quickly see qualifications? |
| Move candidate through pipeline | Drag-and-drop? Automated emails triggered? Can you see history of changes? |
| Schedule an interview | Calendar integration seamless? Timezone handling? Auto-confirmation emails? |
| Collaborate with hiring team | Leave notes? Share scorecard? Tag teammates? Mobile notifications? |
| Search for past candidates | Fast? Relevant results? Filter options? Can you re-engage old candidates? |
| Send rejection email | Bulk or individual? Templates available? Personalization options? Professional tone? |
| Generate a hiring report | Pre-built reports? Custom options? Exportable? Easy to understand? |
| Apply to a job as a candidate (mobile) | How many steps? Easy on phone? Can save and return later? Autofill from LinkedIn? |
Warning sign: "Pricing depends..." or won't quote until final call or requires speaking to sales manager.
Why it matters: You'll likely pay more than if pricing was transparent. Hidden fees will emerge later.
Action: Insist on written pricing breakdown before 2nd demo. If they refuse, move on.
Warning sign: "Implementation takes 6-12 weeks" for a small business ATS.
Why it matters: Overly complex system or vendor is understaffed. You have hiring to do NOW.
Action: For 1-50 employee companies, implementation should take 1-2 weeks max. Walk away from lengthy timelines.
Warning sign: "We don't offer trials" or demo is slide deck only (not live system).
Why it matters: Vendor isn't confident in their product or has high churn. You're buying blind.
Action: Require either 14-day free trial OR live product demo where you can click around. No exceptions.
Warning sign: Career page isn't mobile-optimized or application process is clunky on phone.
Why it matters: 60%+ of job seekers use mobile. You'll lose candidates to friction.
Action: Pull out your phone during demo and apply to a test job. If it's painful, move on.
Warning sign: Average 2-3 stars on G2, Capterra with recent negative reviews about support or bugs.
Why it matters: Past customers are your best predictor of your experience.
Action: Read the 1-2 star reviews specifically. If common themes (bad support, bugs, unexpected fees), walk away.
Warning sign: "This discount expires today" or "I can only honor this price if you sign now."
Why it matters: High-pressure sales usually means high churn—they need to close deals fast.
Action: Never sign same-day. Take 48 hours minimum to review. Good vendors will respect your timeline.
Warning sign: Doesn't integrate with your HRIS, email, calendar, or job boards you care about.
Why it matters: You'll end up doing double data entry or missing candidates from key sources.
Action: List your must-have integrations upfront. If vendor doesn't support them and has no roadmap to add them, move on.
Warning sign: Won't connect you with current customers or all references are 5+ years old.
Why it matters: Either they have unhappy customers or very few customers.
Action: Require 2-3 recent customer references (customers for <2 years). Actually call them.
Why it's great: Beautiful interface, easy to use, powerful collaboration features. Scales from 10-1000 employees. Great candidate experience.
Best for: 10-250 employees, growth-stage companies, tech-forward teams
Pricing: Starting around $4,000/year (decreases per hire with volume)
Free trial: Yes (14 days)
Try Lever Free →Why it's great: Structured hiring workflows, excellent reporting, strong integrations. Ideal if you want to professionalize recruiting.
Best for: 20-500 employees, companies scaling fast, data-driven teams
Pricing: Starting around $6,500/year (custom pricing)
Free trial: No (live demo available)
Get Greenhouse Demo →Why it's great: Affordable, easy setup, all core features included. Perfect for small teams just starting with ATS.
Best for: 1-50 employees, budget-conscious, 1-20 hires per year
Pricing: Starting at $143/month (unlimited jobs, unlimited users)
Free trial: Yes (14 days)
Try Breezy Free →Why it's great: GDPR-compliant, multi-language support, transparent pricing. Strong collaborative hiring features.
Best for: 5-200 employees, European/international companies
Pricing: Starting at €199/month (~$215)
Free trial: Yes (18 days)
Try Recruitee Free →Why it's great: Super simple, quick setup, no bloat. Great first ATS for teams overwhelmed by complexity.
Best for: 1-100 employees, small HR teams, straightforward hiring needs
Pricing: Starting at $75/month (1 job), $250/month (unlimited jobs)
Free trial: Yes (21 days)
Try JazzHR Free →| If You Are... | Look For... | Avoid... |
|---|---|---|
| First-time ATS buyer | Simple UI, short learning curve, great support, free trial | Complex enterprise systems, long implementations, steep pricing |
| Hiring 1-10 people/year | Pay-per-job or low flat fee, basic features, easy setup | Advanced analytics, AI screening, expensive contracts |
| High-volume hiring (50+ hires/year) | Automation, pipeline management, team collaboration, reporting | Basic systems without automation or bulk actions |
| Remote/distributed team | Video interviewing, async collaboration, mobile-first | Systems without calendar integrations or mobile apps |
| Bootstrapped startup | Month-to-month pricing, free tier, transparent costs | Annual contracts, setup fees, hidden charges |
| Compliance-heavy (gov contractor, 100+ employees) | EEO reporting, OFCCP compliance, audit trails | Simple systems without compliance features |
It depends. If you're managing 100+ applications, losing track of candidates, or spending 10+ hours per hire on admin work—yes, you'll see ROI. If you're hiring 1-2 people/year with low application volume, a simple spreadsheet might suffice for now. The tipping point is usually around 20+ applicants per role or 5+ hires per year.
For companies under 50 employees, an all-in-one (like BambooHR or Workable) can be great—fewer systems to manage. For 50-200+ employees, best-of-breed is usually better—use specialized ATS for recruiting, separate HRIS for employee management. The all-in-ones often compromise on recruiting features.
Budget guidelines by company size:
Add 20-30% for job board credits, integrations, and add-ons.
They're often used interchangeably. Technically, ATS focuses on tracking applicants through the hiring funnel, while recruiting software might include sourcing tools (finding passive candidates), CRM features (nurturing relationships), and marketing automation. For small businesses, the distinction doesn't matter—most modern "ATS" includes recruiting features.
Absolutely. Especially for annual contracts. Try: "What discount can you offer for annual prepayment?" or "Can you waive the setup fee?" or "Competitor X quoted $Y—can you match?" Most vendors have 10-20% flexibility. Signing in Q4 (vendors hitting quotas) gives you more leverage.
Yes—at least one manager should attend the demo and provide feedback. They'll be using it to review candidates and provide input. If they find it confusing, adoption will suffer. Bonus: their perspective might catch dealbreakers you'd miss.
For small businesses (under 50 employees): 1-2 weeks from purchase to posting first job. For mid-size (50-200 employees): 2-4 weeks including training and integration setup. For enterprise (200+ employees): 4-12 weeks with change management. If a vendor quotes longer for your size, they're likely over-complicated.
Yes, but it's painful. You'll lose candidate history (unless you export), have to rebuild workflows, and retrain your team. Most contracts allow cancellation with 30 days notice, but switching mid-hire is messy. That's why demos and free trials are critical—test thoroughly before committing.
Only if you're getting 200+ applications per role and have limited time to review. For most small businesses, AI screening adds cost and complexity without much benefit. Manual review or basic keyword filtering is usually sufficient until you're hiring at much higher volume.
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