HRIS Selection
Part of HR software procurement
Comparing licence costs by employee count
Build a comparable HR software licence calculation using billable-user rules, minimums, workforce scenarios and quoted modules.
Compare HR software licence quotes by applying each supplier’s billing rule to identical workforce scenarios. A headline per-person rate is not comparable until you know who is billable, when they are counted, whether a minimum applies and which modules it includes.
Establish the billable count
Read the order form’s unit of charge: employees, users, records or another measure. Ask whether pending starters, casual employees, contractors, administrators and former employees retained for records count. Confirm the billing snapshot or averaging method, when starters and leavers change the invoice, and any committed minimum.
BambooHR’s public pricing lists per-employee, per-month pricing and automatic volume discounts. These are supplier-specific public terms, not another vendor’s terms or a negotiated quote.
Quote field / Answer to obtain
- Unit
- Who or what becomes billable?
- Timing
- When is the count measured?
- Floor or tier
- What minimum or threshold applies?
- Changes
- When do additions and removals affect the bill?
- Scope
- Which modules and support services are included?
- Term
- What changes at renewal or after a commitment?
HR Software Licence Costs by Employee Count: Key Factors for Comparison
- Unit of Charge
- Employees, users, records or another measure
- Timing of Count
- Snapshot or averaging method at billing period start/end
- Changes to Bill
- Additions and removals affect invoice when they occur
- Scope of Modules
- Payroll, time, recruitment, reporting, integration access included?
- Term and Renewal
- Annual commitment may lock in rate; mid-period adjustments possible
Calculate comparable scenarios
Choose counts that reflect the employer’s decision: current expected billable population plus plausible lower and higher levels. Label these as planning assumptions. For each quote, calculate each month of the same comparison period using that supplier’s rule. Keep implementation fees and optional services on separate lines.
For a hypothetical quote of A$12 per billable person per month with a 50-person minimum, 40 billable people produce an A$600 monthly licence charge; 65 produce A$780 before any other fee. This only illustrates the arithmetic. A flat tier, annual commitment or mid-period adjustment needs its own calculation.
A worksheet should show month, people by relevant status, supplier-defined billable count, minimum or tier, rate, module charges and resulting licence cost. Put the quote version and assumptions above the figures. Confirm currency and GST treatment with each supplier before comparing totals.
Check the purchased scope
Similar totals can cover different modules. Identify payroll, time, recruitment, reporting, integration access or additional support the employer needs, and check whether the quote includes it. Request a worked billing example using the proposed count and reconcile it to the order form. Ask how a mid-month starter, a leaver and a fall below the minimum would be invoiced.
Before comparing totals, check that each quoted module charge and any minimum or tier is applied consistently across the workforce scenarios.
Pre-Comparison Checklist for HR Software Licence Quotes
- Confirm billable count definition (e.g., full-time, part-time, contractors)
- Verify if pending starters or former employees are included
- Check whether payroll, time tracking, and recruitment modules are included
- Request a worked billing example using proposed employee count
- Confirm GST treatment and currency (AUD) on all quotes
