Employee records for small business: what to keep and where

When a business is small, everyone knows who does what. As it grows, that knowledge spreads across email, a folder of forms and a few good memories. Employee records put it in one place.

What an employee record is

An employee record is one profile per person. It holds the details you need to manage the working relationship: who they are, what they do, who they report to and how to reach them.

What to include

A useful record is short. These are the basics:

• Job title and team
• Manager
• Start date, and an end date if they leave
• Contact details
• An emergency contact
• Private notes for HR

In the HR app, a record holds all of these, with fields for employment type and status such as active, on leave or left.

Keep a running history

Facts change over time. People are promoted, take on new duties and do work worth recognising. A history on the record lets you add a dated note each time, so the story of someone's time with you is easy to read later. When a review is shared, it is added to the history too.

See the whole picture on one page

A good record also shows what surrounds the person. In the HR app, you can open a record and see:

• The equipment they hold
• The software seats assigned to them
• Their time off balances
• Their onboarding or offboarding checklists

That saves a lot of switching between lists, especially when someone joins or leaves.

Avoid typing things twice

Duplicate records drift apart. In the HR app, a record is created when you mark an applicant Hired or add a team member. People who have a sign-in are linked to the team list in Settings, so their name and email are managed in one place.

Keep it private

Employee information is sensitive. Employee records are for admins, and private notes are not shown on pages other staff use. Only keep what you need, and review it when people leave.

A short checklist

1. Decide which fields you will always fill in.
2. Create a record for every current employee.
3. Add a note when something worth remembering happens.
4. Check records once a year for gaps.

See the employee records software page for more detail, or start a free trial and add your team.