Guides
HR automation guides & blueprints
These guides are step-by-step automation blueprints, not vague advice. Each one shows a real workflow I built (the exact trigger, the actions, the tools, and what it saved) so you can copy the setup for onboarding, candidate screening, and other people-ops tasks. Where a tool is named, it's one I've used.
Use these when you know the outcome you want and need the build. Each blueprint includes the trigger-to-action map and, where relevant, a downloadable template, with an honest note on what to keep human.
What these guides cover
Start with the pillar guide, what HR processes can be automated. It maps the full territory — recruiting and applicant tracking, employee onboarding, payroll and contracts, time off and expenses, performance and records, compliance reporting, and offboarding — and for each area it separates what a system should handle from what must stay human, including the legal cautions around automated hiring decisions such as New York City's Local Law 144 bias-audit requirement.
Every guide follows the same method. I build the workflow myself before writing about it: the exact trigger, the actions in order, the tools involved, and an honest note on what to keep human. Where a guide names a tested pick, that verdict comes from a real account of my own — the hands-on write-ups live in the tool reviews, and the ranked shortlists in the best-tools round-ups.
New blueprints publish only after the workflow has been built and measured, so the list below grows deliberately rather than quickly. If the guide you need isn't here yet, the pillar's process map is the best place to decide what to automate first.
- Explainer
What is certified payroll? The Statement-of-Compliance Test
Certified payroll explained from the source: the $2,000 threshold, the weekly rule, why Form WH-347 is optional, and a five-minute test for your payroll tool.
- Explainer
The AI hiring stack in 2026: what's used, what's regulated
The AI hiring stack in 2026, layer by layer: what teams actually use, where the hiring rules now stand, and the payroll layer global hiring runs on.
- Blueprint
How to choose HR software: the Suite-or-Stack Test
How to choose HR software: count the jobs you will run, price a suite against separate tools at your headcount, and check the seams before you sign.
- Guide
How much does HR software cost? The Year-One Bill for small teams
How much HR software costs in 2026: per-employee prices by category, a four-line Year-One Bill, and a ten-person stack priced two ways, $13 vs $49 a head.
- Guide
How much does it cost to onboard a new employee? Priced line by line
The cost to onboard a new employee, priced line by line: a four-line ledger, a $7,756 worked example, and why the quoted $4,700 measures hiring, not onboarding.
- Guide
How to onboard a new employee: the 1–7–30–90 plan
How to onboard a new employee without an HR team: a 1–7–30–90 day plan, the interview-notes handoff most teams skip, and a test for week one.
- Blueprint
How to choose payroll software: the Hardest-Constraint Test
How to choose payroll software for a small team: a constraint-first method, the three numbers that matter, and the support question every guide skips.
- Guide
HR & recruiting software pricing index (2026): the real numbers
Real 2026 prices for HR, payroll, ATS and EOR software: tested or published figures, the pricing model each vendor uses, and a source for every number.
- Comparison
EOR vs PEO: which one fits your team in 2026?
EOR vs PEO, decided: legal structure, liability, real published prices (Deel, Remote, Justworks), the IRS CPEO check, and clear thresholds for choosing.
- Explainer
HR automation: what HR processes can you automate? (2026)
Automated HR processes, mapped: what HR can automate — recruiting, onboarding, payroll, time off, compliance, offboarding — and what to keep human.