--- title: HR records for a small business with no HR department canonical_url: https://hrhive.co.uk/solutions/small-business/ content_type: solution summary: HRHive is built for the owner or office manager who looks after HR on top of the day job. Add your first person with a name and an email address, send one link per starter, and let Home show what is missing, what is due and who needs to act. audiences: - employer jurisdiction: uk status: published last_updated: 2026-10-05 --- # No HR department? You do not need one to keep your people records in order. > HRHive is built for the owner or office manager who looks after HR on top of the day job. Add your first person with a name and an email address, send one link per starter, and let Home show what is missing, what is due and who needs to act. ## What HR looks like with no HR department Someone starts on Monday. Someone else has asked for a fortnight off in August. A contract needs signing, and the person who knows where last year's right to work copies are is on holiday. Nobody has HR in their job title. It is just what has landed on your desk. HRHive does the organising. It keeps the records, notices what is missing or about to run out, and says plainly what needs doing next. It does not ask you to learn a system first. ## What HRHive does for a small business - **Keeps everyone in one place.** Employees and workers, with details, documents, holiday, policies and a timeline. - **Gets people started with one link.** Details, emergency contact, bank details, documents, contract and policies, with progress shown to you. - **Records right to work checks properly.** HRHive guides each step and keeps the evidence in a locked, dated record. You make the check. HRHive records it. - **Handles contracts and signing.** A written statement is built from plain questions, and people sign online and get a copy. - **Lets people ask for holiday themselves,** through their own portal, and tells the right manager. - **Watches the dates.** Document expiries and reviews, with reminders before they arrive. **Good morning.** 3 things need attention - **Holiday requests**: 2 holiday requests are awaiting approval. _(Review)_ - **Sarah Morgan**: Contract awaiting signature. _(Send reminder)_ - **Health & Safety policy**: 1 employee has not acknowledged the Health & Safety policy (v2). _(View)_ Everything else is up to date. ## What to do, in what order You do not have to set everything up at once. This is the order that tends to matter. 1. **Add the people.** Start with a name and an email address. For someone who already works for you, tick **This person already works here** so that no onboarding email is sent. 2. **Say how each person works for you.** An employee, a worker or an individual subcontractor, and the date they started. That decides what is asked for and what is followed up. 3. **Make the right to work checks,** starting with anyone who is about to start. As owner you can make them yourself, or authorise someone to make them. HRHive guides each step and records it. 4. **Send contracts and written statements.** Answer a few plain questions, send the document for signing and keep the signed copy with the person. 5. **Send your policies.** HRHive suggests the common ones, such as health and safety and fire safety, and records who has acknowledged each. 6. **Set up holiday.** Choose when your holiday year starts and the default entitlement, and let people request time off in their portal. 7. **Look at Home each morning.** It lists what needs attention, and says so when nothing does. If someone is about to start, do steps 3 and 4 first, then work down the list. The free employee record checklist shows what a complete file looks like if you want a picture of where you are heading. ## What to expect on day one There are no passwords in HRHive. You sign in with a one-time link, an emailed code or a passkey. As an owner or administrator you will also be asked for a second step, either a passkey or an authenticator-app code. Your people do not need an account to follow a link from an email. After they finish, they can activate their own employee portal, where they can request holiday, see their documents and policies, update their details, raise a concern and send a right to work share code. ## Bringing in what you already have If your records are in a folder, give HRHive a ZIP of it. If they are in a spreadsheet, give it the spreadsheet. It matches files to people by folder, file name, ID or email, sorts them into document types and shows you everything to review before anything is saved. An import can be rolled back. Expiry dates are read from file names only, so check them. ## Working with your accountant or adviser You can invite your accountant or HR adviser into your organisation with the role they need, and they can switch between the businesses they look after. An adviser can see status, request information and chase actions within the role you give them. They cannot complete a right to work check for you. That has to be made by you, or by someone you have authorised. ## What it costs Plans depend on the size of your workforce and nothing else, and every feature is on every plan. One to ten people is £9 a month. Eleven to twenty-five people is £19 a month. Prices exclude VAT. People who have left, and people who have not started yet, do not count. You can start free. ## What HRHive does not do - It is not payroll, timesheets, a rota or a recruitment system. Keep those where they are. - Contract and statement templates are starting points, labelled "for legal review" in the product. Ask your adviser to read them before you rely on them. - It does not contact the Home Office for you. HRHive records the checks you make. - It does not tell you what the law requires of your business. The free guides and law pages explain the rules, and give you the official source. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need to know HR to use HRHive? No. HRHive says what is missing and what is due in plain words, and the free guides and tools explain the rest. For legal questions, take advice. The guides are general information and not legal advice. ### Can I try it before I commit? You can start free, with no demo and no setup call, and add your first person with a name and an email address. ### What if I only employ two people? The plan for one to ten people applies, and every feature is included on every plan. Plans depend only on how many people currently work with you. ## About this page - Last updated: 5 October 2026 ## Related **In HRHive** - [Employee records and personnel files](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/employee-records/) - [Onboarding new starters with one link](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/onboarding/) - [Contracts, written statements and signing](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/contracts/) - [Right to work checks and records](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/right-to-work/) - [Holiday and leave](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/leave/) - [Policies and acknowledgements](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/policies/) - [Employee self-service](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/employee-self-service/) - [Reminders and expiry dates](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/reminders/) - [Compliance overview](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/compliance/) **Templates** - [Manager checklist template for people tasks](https://hrhive.co.uk/templates/manager-checklist/) Canonical URL: https://hrhive.co.uk/solutions/small-business/ Start with HRHive: https://app.hrhive.co.uk/sign-in?next=%2Fnew%3Fhh_funnel%3Demployer_default%26hh_route%3Demployer%26hh_goal%3Dfirst_person_added%26hh_page%3Dsolutions%252Fsmall-business