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Absenca

Sage HR alternative

A Sage HR alternative for teams that only need leave

Sage HR is an HR system for small companies, priced as a base plan plus modules. In the US, Sage HR's Core HR + Leave Management costs $6.50 per employee per month, billed monthly.1 Sage HR's Performance, Shift Scheduling and Timesheets modules cost $3.25 per employee per month each, Expenses $1.75, and Recruitment a flat $210 a month.1 If leave is what you need, Absenca covers it in one plan: free for up to 10 people, and Pro at $37.50 a month for up to 50.

In short

If you want performance, scheduling and timesheets from one vendor, Sage HR is the broader option. If leave is the job, Absenca does it in one plan, with approvals in Slack. Absenca costs less than Sage HR's Core HR + Leave Management plan for teams of 10, 20, 30 and 50 people.1

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Sage HR vs Absenca

Sage HR compared with Absenca
Sage HR Absenca
Free plan None1 Free for up to 10 people
Price $6.50 an employee a month1 Pro: $37.50 a month for up to 50 people
Pricing model A base plan plus paid modules1 One plan, no add-on modules
Accruals, carry-over & seniority Yes2 Yes, on every plan
Public holidays By country, re-added each year3 190+ countries
Slack A daily who's-off notice4 A bot for requests and approvals, on Pro
TOIL (time off in lieu) Manual, or with the Timesheets add-on5 A TOIL balance, on every plan
Bradford Factor analytics Yes6 Yes, on Pro
Leave attachments Yes7 Yes
Blackout periods Yes8 Yes, on every plan
Calendar sync Google or Outlook9 Google and Outlook, on every plan

Absenca vs Sage HR →

What a team pays each month

Monthly price by team size on Absenca and on Sage HR Core HR + Leave Management
TeamAbsencaSage HR Core HR + Leave Management
10 peopleFree$651
20 people$37.50$1301
30 people$37.50$1951
50 people$37.50$3251

Monthly prices in US dollars, before tax. Absenca bills Pro for all 50 seats, so every team from 11 to 50 people pays $37.50.

Why teams pick Absenca

One price, not a base plus modules

Leave, a Slack bot and analytics come in one plan. Sage HR's Performance, Shift Scheduling and Timesheets modules cost $3.25 per employee per month each, Expenses $1.75, and Recruitment a flat $210 a month.1 Absenca costs less than Sage HR's Core HR + Leave Management plan for teams of 10, 20, 30 and 50 people.1

A free plan you can run on

Free for up to 10 people, with no time limit. Sage HR lists no free plan.1

Leave in Slack

Request and approve leave in Slack; the Slack bot is on Pro and the Custom Pack, not on the free Starter plan. Sage HR's Slack integration posts a daily who's-off notice to a chosen channel.4

How to switch from Sage HR

  1. Pick a cut-over date

    Choose the day Absenca takes over, and on that day note each person's remaining balance in Sage HR.

  2. Set up your office

    Add your office with its work week, leave year start and public holidays for its country. Then add your leave types and policies: accrual schedules, carry-over caps and expiry, and seniority tiers.

  3. Import your people from a CSV

    Fill in Absenca's template with each person's name, email, department, role, office and start date. Absenca checks every row before it imports anyone, then emails each person an invitation. CSV import is on every plan.

  4. Set opening balances

    Adjust each person's balance to what Sage HR showed on the cut-over date. Absenca records each adjustment, with your reason, in the audit log.

  5. Go live

    Your team signs in with a Google, Microsoft or Slack account. Approved leave syncs to Google or Outlook calendars, on every plan. Turn on the Slack bot, on Pro, to request and approve leave in Slack.

The full walkthrough, with what to check before and after the cut-over: move your leave data.

Where Sage HR might be the better fit

We'd rather you pick the right tool than the loudest one. If the points above matter more to you than price, Sage HR is a perfectly good choice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Absenca a good Sage HR alternative?

Yes, if leave is what you need. Absenca covers the leave calendar, approvals, accruals and TOIL in one plan, free for up to 10 people, and approvals in Slack on Pro. Sage HR's Performance, Shift Scheduling and Timesheets modules cost $3.25 per employee per month each, Expenses $1.75, and Recruitment a flat $210 a month.1

How much cheaper is Absenca than Sage HR?

Absenca costs less than Sage HR's Core HR + Leave Management plan for teams of 10, 20, 30 and 50 people.1 In the US, Sage HR's Core HR + Leave Management costs $6.50 per employee per month, billed monthly.1 Absenca is free for up to 10 people. Pro is $37.50 a month for up to 50 people, or $33.75 a month billed annually ($405 a year).

Does Absenca do performance reviews, timesheets and payroll like Sage HR?

No. Absenca tracks leave and absence only. Sage HR's Performance, Shift Scheduling and Timesheets modules cost $3.25 per employee per month each, Expenses $1.75, and Recruitment a flat $210 a month.1 Sage HR has no payroll module; payroll comes from separate Sage payroll products that integrate with it.1

Can I migrate from Sage HR to Absenca?

Yes. Absenca bulk-imports your people from a CSV during setup, on every plan.

Other comparisons

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Every Sage HR fact on this page links to its source and the date we checked it. Features and prices change, so check Sage HR's own pages before you decide.

Sources

  1. sage.com/en-us/sage-business-cloud/hr, checked
  2. support.sage.hr/en/articles/10184424-time-off-policy-settings, checked
  3. support.sage.hr/en/articles/5627326-import-public-holidays-to-the-calendar, checked
  4. support.sage.hr/en/articles/722380-integrate-slack-with-sage-hr, checked
  5. support.sage.hr/en/articles/4704027-set-up-and-process-toil, checked
  6. support.sage.hr/en/articles/6579191-bradford-factor-report, checked
  7. support.sage.hr/en/articles/4265431-add-attachments-to-time-off-requests, checked
  8. support.sage.hr/en/articles/5627288-create-blackout-dates, checked
  9. support.sage.hr/en/articles/902915-sync-your-sage-hr-calendar-with-google-or-outlook, checked
  10. support.sage.hr/en/articles/5210154-request-time-off-in-the-sage-hr-app, checked
  11. support.sage.hr/en/articles/3246469-sage-hr-api, checked