A vendor-neutral guide to onboarding software and apps for small and mid-sized employers, including frontline and hourly teams: what onboarding software should handle, features to compare, compliance considerations, rollout and a buyer’s checklist.
| Stage | Tasks |
|---|---|
| Before day one (preboarding) | Offer acceptance, welcome message, personal details, tax and direct deposit forms, policy acknowledgments, first-shift details |
| First day | Form I-9 completion, introductions, workspace and equipment, time clock setup, safety basics |
| First week | Role training, shadowing, schedule and app use, buddy check-ins |
| First 30 to 90 days | Ongoing training, check-ins, feedback surveys, 30/60/90-day reviews |
See our employee onboarding process guide and employee onboarding checklist for the full workflow.
Office onboarding tools often assume a laptop on day one and a company email address. Hourly employees in retail, restaurants, healthcare, cleaning and construction usually start on a phone, may begin within days of the offer and need practical information fast: where to go, when, who to ask, how to clock in, what to wear and what safety rules apply. They may also have higher turnover, so onboarding needs to be efficient and repeatable. Look for phone-number sign-up, short forms, clear first-shift instructions and the ability to see the schedule immediately. See how to onboard hourly employees.
Onboarding software checklist complete.
Software can help collect and organize these, but the employer remains responsible for compliance. See hiring your first employee for the basics.
Every step is assigned to someone with a due date, so nothing depends on memory. See also employee onboarding videos.
For non-exempt employees, time spent on required onboarding activities is generally paid work time, including completing forms, watching training videos and attending orientation, even when done at home before the first shift. Plan preboarding so it either happens during paid time or is recorded and paid. This is a common oversight that creates wage claims, especially when new hires are asked to complete lengthy online training before they start.
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Paperwork completed before day one | Whether preboarding works |
| Time from offer to first shift | Speed of hiring and onboarding |
| Onboarding tasks overdue | Where the process breaks |
| 30, 60 and 90-day retention | Whether new hires stay |
| New hire survey scores | How the experience feels |
| Time to productivity | How quickly new hires work independently |
Review these numbers by location and by hiring manager, not only company-wide. A location where new hires consistently leave in the first month usually has an onboarding or management problem that a short conversation with recent hires will reveal. Early turnover is expensive; our onboarding cost calculator helps estimate what each new hire costs.
Many onboarding tools also handle offboarding, and it is worth using. When an employee leaves, a checklist makes sure access to apps and buildings is removed, equipment is returned, final pay is handled according to state deadlines, exit interviews happen and records are kept. Leaving former employees with active accounts is a common security gap. Using the same system for both ends of employment keeps the employee file complete.
The most damaging mistake is often the simplest: a new hire arrives on day one and nobody is expecting them. Automated reminders to the manager a few days before the start date, with a short list of what must be ready, prevent this. First impressions shape whether hourly employees come back for a second week, so a prepared, welcoming first shift is worth more than any feature.
| Question | Yes / No |
|---|---|
| New hires can complete onboarding on a phone | ☐ |
| Digital forms and e-signatures | ☐ |
| Checklists with tasks and reminders for each owner | ☐ |
| Templates by role and location | ☐ |
| Secure document storage with expiry tracking | ☐ |
| Support for I-9, tax forms and state notices | ☐ |
| Connects to scheduling, time tracking and payroll | ☐ |
| Reports on progress and overdue tasks | ☐ |
EZTime helps frontline teams onboard new hires on their phones. Digital HR forms with e-signatures collect personal details and policy acknowledgments, the digital employee file stores documents with expiry reminders and the HR module tracks onboarding and offboarding tasks. From the first shift, new hires see their schedule, clock in by app, kiosk or NFC tag and receive announcements. New hires can use the app in English, Spanish, French, Russian or Arabic. See EZTime for hiring and onboarding.
During a trial, walk one test hire through the whole process and note what happens at each step:
If any step needs a printed page or a phone call to fix, ask the vendor whether it can be done in the tool. Each manual step is one more place onboarding can stall.
Software that organizes the steps of bringing on a new employee: paperwork and e-signatures, task checklists for HR and managers, document collection, welcome content, training and first-day logistics.
Businesses that hire regularly, especially hourly staff, benefit from digital forms and checklists that make onboarding faster, consistent and better documented.
Employees can complete their section electronically in many systems, but employers must examine documents as the rules require. Check current USCIS guidance for remote examination options.
Send a welcome message, collect personal details, tax and direct deposit forms, share policies for acknowledgment and give clear first-shift information.
Paperwork can be done in days, but effective onboarding continues through the first 90 days with training, check-ins and feedback.
Many tools collect W-4 and state tax forms digitally and support Form I-9 Section 1. Section 2 still requires the employer to review documents within 3 business days of the first day of work for pay, in person or through the approved remote procedure for E-Verify employers.
Onboarding software focuses on the first days and weeks: forms, signatures, tasks and training. An HRIS is the ongoing system of record for employee data. Some HRIS products include onboarding; some onboarding tools feed into an HRIS.
EZTime’s HR module covers digital forms, e-signatures and the employee file, so new hires finish paperwork before their first shift.