HR systems setup for small businesses: choosing the right system and making it work.
Based in Caterham, Surrey, and working across London, the South East and the UK.
Most businesses that call us have already bought something and nobody is using it. Work out which system fits, set it up around how you really run, then get your team using it.
"We bought the HR software, but we're not really using it."
The rest are about to sign a three-year deal on the wrong thing.
What usually gives it away
Payroll dates went in and a staff list got imported. Then the contracts never got uploaded.
Three managers have logins they opened once.
Holiday is still approved by WhatsApp.
Nobody has matched the system to how the business runs.
How it works
Three stages. You start at the one you need.
Some clients take all three. Some take one.
1
Choose
Most owners do not need help pressing buttons. They need help deciding what to buy. You get a shortlist and the reasoning, in writing.
2
Implement
Configuration against how the business really runs, instead of the defaults that came in the box. From £695 + VAT, including 30 days of support.
3
Embed
The stage everyone skips, and the reason systems get abandoned by month three. A walkthrough per manager, and a written guide that survives your next hire.
What good looks like
What "configured properly" means in practice
Your holiday year, not the default one
Entitlement, pro rata and carry-over set to your real policy.
Absence triggers that fire early
So you hear about a pattern in month two, not month nine.
Probation dates that prompt the manager
A nudge three weeks before probation ends, not six weeks after.
Permissions that make sense
Managers see their own team and nobody else's.
Migration
Getting off the spreadsheet
Most clients are not moving from one system to another, but from a holiday spreadsheet somebody built in 2019 and a drive folder called HR (final) (2).
Balances move mid-year so nobody loses a day. Employee records are personal data, so files that should have been deleted do not get carried across. What If HR is ICO registered.
An honest answer
You might not need a system yet
If you have five people, one holiday request a month and everybody sits in the same room, HR software is a subscription you will forget you are paying for. Get the contracts and the handbook right first, with the HR Foundations Build.
We've had a fantastic experience with What If HR. Elena is professional, approachable, and genuinely cares about supporting businesses in the right way. Her advice is always clear, practical, and tailored to our needs, which has given us real confidence when handling HR matters.
That is the Choose stage. We look at what you need now, what you will need at double the headcount and what has to connect to payroll.
What if we already have a system that is not working?
Start at Implement. We audit what is configured, what is on the defaults and what was never switched on, then fix it. Usually nobody ever told the software how the business runs.
Can you move our data across?
Yes, and it is usually the fiddliest part. Holiday balances, sickness history and employee files all have to come across correctly. What If HR is ICO registered.
Are we too small for an HR system?
Possibly, and we will tell you if we think so. The tipping point is usually ten to twelve people, or when the admin starts eating a morning a month.
Can you help with BreatheHR setup specifically?
Yes. BreatheHR setup support is one of the things we do most often. We hold a BreatheHR partnership, and will still say so if something else fits better.
Good to know
What a good system keeps on top of
Records you have to keep, records you should delete and fair ways to plan leave and cover.
All prices + VAT. Choose, Embed and the full programme are quoted after a scoping call. Software subscription not included. General information, not legal advice. What If HR Ltd. Surrey, London, South East England and remote UK.
