BambooHR vs. Sparkrock

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
BambooHR
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
BambooHR is an on-line human resources solution that provides onboarding, payroll, and benefits management. It also offers automated time-off management and employee self-service.
$250
per month
Sparkrock
Score 9.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
Sparkrock’s cloud-enabled solution helps organizations manage their finance and accounting, human resources and payroll, human services case management, and donor and fundraising activities. According to the vendor, key benefits and features include: Finance Management with capabilities to help organizations increase transparency and reduce risk. Workforce Management to help front-line employees deliver services to clients, with tools that help them to be…N/A
Pricing
BambooHRSparkrock
Editions & Modules
Core
$250
per month
Pro
$250
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
BambooHRSparkrock
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptional$50,000 per installation
Additional DetailsNo matter what HR looks like at your company, we have the perfect plan for you!
More Pricing Information
Features
BambooHRSparkrock
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
103 Ratings
3% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data7.885 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history8.892 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration8.591 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.8.380 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting7.188 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management8.081 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)8.552 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
69 Ratings
1% above category average
Sparkrock
9.4
3 Ratings
26% above category average
Pay calculation8.246 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors8.240 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment8.026 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration8.952 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Direct deposit files8.553 Ratings10.03 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management8.153 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management6.827 Ratings00 Ratings
Leave and Attendance Management
Comparison of Leave and Attendance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.9
90 Ratings
10% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Approval workflow9.288 Ratings00 Ratings
Balance details9.081 Ratings00 Ratings
Annual carry-forward and encashment8.572 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee Self Service
Comparison of Employee Self Service features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.7
100 Ratings
7% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
View and generate pay and benefit information7.965 Ratings00 Ratings
Update personal information9.299 Ratings00 Ratings
View company policy documentation9.080 Ratings00 Ratings
Employee recognition8.567 Ratings00 Ratings
View job history9.093 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.8
39 Ratings
1% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets7.839 Ratings00 Ratings
HR Reporting
Comparison of HR Reporting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.7
77 Ratings
1% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Report builder8.173 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-built reports7.773 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to combine HR data with external data7.456 Ratings00 Ratings
Onboarding
Comparison of Onboarding features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.6
81 Ratings
7% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
New hire portal8.777 Ratings00 Ratings
Manager tracking tools8.673 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance and Goals
Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.2
53 Ratings
1% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Corporate goal setting8.243 Ratings00 Ratings
Individual goal setting8.351 Ratings00 Ratings
Line-of sight-visibility8.240 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance tracking8.147 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Management
Comparison of Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.9
59 Ratings
1% below category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Performance plans7.652 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance improvement plans8.047 Ratings00 Ratings
Review status tracking7.953 Ratings00 Ratings
Review reminders8.255 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple review frequency7.850 Ratings00 Ratings
Succession Planning
Comparison of Succession Planning features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
7.2
39 Ratings
9% below category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Create succession plans/pools5.927 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate ranking7.734 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate search7.134 Ratings00 Ratings
Candidate development8.031 Ratings00 Ratings
Recruiting / ATS
Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
8.1
65 Ratings
4% above category average
Sparkrock
-
Ratings
Job Requisition Management8.045 Ratings00 Ratings
Company Website Posting8.353 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to Social Media8.247 Ratings00 Ratings
Job Search Site Posting8.250 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Candidate Prevention7.543 Ratings00 Ratings
Applicant Tracking8.257 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications and Alerts8.760 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
10.0
2 Ratings
32% above category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.5
5 Ratings
16% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.0
4 Ratings
26% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
8.8
5 Ratings
14% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.3
2 Ratings
17% above category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Subledger and Financial Process
Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.6
1 Ratings
26% above category average
Billing Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Cash and Asset Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Travel & Expense Management00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Period Close00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Project Financial Management
Comparison of Project Financial Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.4
1 Ratings
21% above category average
Budgeting and Forecasting00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Project Costing00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Cost Capture00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Capital Project Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Customer Contract Compliance00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Project Revenue Recognition00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Grants Management
Comparison of Grants Management features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.3
1 Ratings
21% above category average
Award Lifecycle Management00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Procurement
Comparison of Procurement features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.6
1 Ratings
32% above category average
Bids Analyzed and Compared00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Contract Authoring00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Contract Repository00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Supplier Management00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Supply Chain
Comparison of Supply Chain features of Product A and Product B
BambooHR
-
Ratings
Sparkrock
9.3
1 Ratings
25% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Inventory Planning00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Performance Monitoring00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
BambooHRSparkrock
Small Businesses
Patriot Software
Patriot Software
Score 9.0 out of 10
Acumatica
Acumatica
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Paypro Workforce Management
Paypro Workforce Management
Score 9.5 out of 10
Infor VISUAL
Infor VISUAL
Score 7.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Infor Human Resources
Infor Human Resources
Score 7.3 out of 10
SAP Business ByDesign
SAP Business ByDesign
Score 7.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
BambooHRSparkrock
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(106 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.2
(10 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Usability
8.5
(33 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.7
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(36 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
9.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.6
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.1
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
BambooHRSparkrock
Likelihood to Recommend
BambooHR
BambooHR is well suited for corporate type of organization. For example, the performance reviews are great, but if something more tailored to the restaurant side were quick and easy, that would be awesome. Timekeeping, as I mentioned, could be a bit more automated. Customer service is top-notch!
Read full review
Sparkrock
For all companies that want to improve the performance of their employees and increase productivity, this software helps all daily business tasks to be executed on time efficiently and smoothly. A very useful program that's why we don't stop using it.
Read full review
Pros
BambooHR
  • It provides an extensive system for setting up time off accruals and managing their balances.
  • It has a powerful system for managing user permissions to allow supervisors access to necessary areas and limit the access of employees.
  • It provides a very useful set of auditing tools and reports, both for tracking changes to employee profiles and who made the changes.
  • It has a clean UI that makes it easy for less tech-savvy users to interact with their HR data.
Read full review
Sparkrock
  • Data collection - the system is robust and we can tailor it to collect the information we need.
  • Easily configurable - the system is easy to configure to meet our specific business needs.
  • Reporting and data extraction - the system allows for easy access to information that helps inform business decisions.
Read full review
Cons
BambooHR
  • Have a more robust report builder that has all the data as a filter.
  • Not all reports are able to be downloaded in different formats. I would prefer, csv, excel and PDF for all.
  • More options in the report builder to be able to customize your own reports instead of having to pay at least $200 for a simple report.
Read full review
Sparkrock
  • Many of the improvements are being met with each upgrade. Altus Dynamics has an idea portal that customers can add ideas to and vote on other customer ideas. This means that most issues that come up are resolved with each new upgrade.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
BambooHR
We have tried other software in the last year and have not found it to be comparable to Bamboo HR especially in relation to the HR functionalities such as workflows, onboarding, automation, user-friendly experience, innovation, timekeeping, and ability to integrate with other 3rd party Payroll processing software. In addition, the employee ease of access and navigation of the platform makes this software crucial within our current culture of multi-site and remote work environments.
Read full review
Sparkrock
We are already scheduled for our upgrade to NAV 2016 beginning in May 2016.
Read full review
Usability
BambooHR
It’s a very user-friendly interface. It is modern and easy on the eyes. It is simple and not overloaded with too much detail. It is not overwhelming, and it is visually insightful for all types of learners and workers. The backend is also just as simple to use and visualize.
Read full review
Sparkrock
Complete workflow management to keep up to date and orderly the daily activities of employees. Allows for seamless cash flow, invoicing, general ledger, payroll, and inventory.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
BambooHR
Yes, there is a huge team in the back of the online platform or it looks like it because I have never been left without an answer when I have a question or waiting from a response on my chat .... There must be a huge team, this is so great and I always seem to have someone that is very knowledgeable too. So many times in the past I had to leave with customer service that would connect you with someone else because of the expertise, here everyone seems to be some kind of an expert in the HR function.
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Performance
BambooHR
I love BambooHR. Reports are easy to run and download and it usually covers any types of requests I get from the management team. You get excel or .csv downloads/reports and it is fast and simple, not too crowded so it is easy to read through. We don't integrate the tool yet but again, soon we will. we just did not had the time to utilize it yet but that's the plan.
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
BambooHR
Support is effective and responsive. During our time with BambooHR we did not experience many issues, but initial support on setup was helpful and allowed for a quick turnaround on getting started. Since then, few needs have arisen for contacting support, but I would not hesitate to do so and would recommend BambooHR based on the quality of their support team.
Read full review
Sparkrock
Complete tracking of employee performance, hours worked, attendance and absences, vacations, and overtime.
Read full review
In-Person Training
BambooHR
I didn't have in-person training besides teaching my managers how to use the program. However, I couldn't omit this question (maybe a system glitch).
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Online Training
BambooHR
As far as I can recall, everything went well with doing it online and got questions answered. Was thankful to work with a dummy file to get used to some practices prior to getting our own domain within bamboo to then place our personnel information in the system, this helped a lot!
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
BambooHR
It was some work involved in moving all of our documents from a drive over to the correct folders and creating the system of what folders were needed and what got placed where
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
BambooHR
Although there are many products in the marketplace, there is no perfect system. BambooHR is the most economical HRIS for a small business, start-up, or business that has never had HR software. BambooHR was selected for its affordable functionality. However, if they continue to ingore the lack of functionality the pretty package will no longer have any value.
Read full review
Sparkrock
  • Real-time data that is available at our fingertips
  • Flexibility of the system to address changing needs over time
  • Elimination of the huge administrative burdens that we were experiencing as a result of the previous system due to lack of integration
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
BambooHR
Since my organization has dropped with employees, I always find ways to reduce costs. I thought there would be a cheaper option, but I was glad that my package included a lot for the price, and downgrading would cost more. The rep could have let me downgraded and taken me to a higher package. I am thankful that didn't happen.
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Scalability
BambooHR
There is so much you can do with this platform, it is incredible and so welcoming. We don't utilize it 100% yet just because we are growing and the HR team has not been able to concentrate on other areas offered to us but but we will soon. Which is also why we got the product, specifically because what BambooHR can do to help us meet our growing business needs.
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Professional Services
BambooHR
VERY professional!
Read full review
Sparkrock
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
BambooHR
  • It's been a great force multiplier for our HR staff, supplementing their skills to allow them to focus on more complex tasks.
  • Employees enjoy using it and have to talk to HR staff less with the self-service options.
  • You may find as your organization grows that you outgrow a module or BambooHR and will replace with a dedicated solution.
Read full review
Sparkrock
  • As a technician it's hard for me to say what effect the ROI has had on our organization, however our finance team seems satisfied on it. We look forward to deploying the staff dashboards for better financial tracking throughout our whole organization.
Read full review
ScreenShots

BambooHR Screenshots

Screenshot of BambooHR's Reporting

Sparkrock Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of