What is Benefits Management Software?
Benefits management software is used by HR professionals to automate certain processes associated with managing the benefits and eligibility of company personnel, from a basic health plan to retirement.
Also referred to as benefits administration software, this type of tool is a valuable asset for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), as well as large enterprises when it comes to managing employee medical and health insurance, dental, paid leave, time-off requests, employee eligibility, pension and retirement benefits, 401K and other benefits packages. This category of software also covers healthcare marketplaces and brokerages, which authorized personnel can use and healthcare analytics platforms can leverage as an information resource for optimizing decision-making processes.
In addition to helping companies plan and manage a robust employee benefits program, the management solution also ensures compliance with all regulatory requirements for state and local governments and industry standards. Benefits management software solutions are not just used for managing employee health insurance plans, they can also be a huge asset for facilitating employee stock options and open enrollment periods via a comprehensive administrative dashboard.
Many small and mid-sized companies, as well as larger organizations, use this management software to get a clear view of their employee benefits packages and perhaps make crucial modifications whenever necessary. Benefits management applications often provide employee portals, as well as self-service options that enable employees to gain access to their personal information more easily. They can use these portals to manage and update their information in real-time, which greatly improves adaptability and overall user experience.
Benefits management software solutions, however, are typically used by human resources departments, HR teams and HR professionals. The software allows such users to effectively administer the appropriate benefits packages and health insurance plans, while ensuring healthy utilization among the entire workforce. Through proper implementation of benefits administration software, companies can determine which benefits within their program provide real value to employees, helping to reduce overall costs in the long run.
For the regulatory compliance aspect, the management solution is tailored to help ensure compliance with local and federal regulations and industry standards, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is especially useful for most small and mid-sized organizations that don’t really have the resources or the funding to dedicate an entire team just for regulation compliance.
Popular Benefits Management Software Products
Benefits Management Software Vendor Landscape
The Market Radar™ below shows the top Benefits Management Software vendors on Crozdesk. It ranks vendors based on the Solution Strength (user reviews, satisfaction) and Vendor Size to provide an overview of the Benefits Management Software market landscape. You can find the winners in the recent Benefits Management Software Awards list.
Types of Benefits Management Software
Benefits administration software solutions are categorized based on how they are deployed to the customers, i.e. the businesses and organizations that are going to be implementing them. With that said, there are essentially two main types of deployment with a third option that is perhaps the most common method, when it comes to delivering benefits management software to customer businesses.
On-premise benefits management software
On-premise deployment refers to benefits management solutions being deployed locally in the company’s own servers. The software is managed, maintained and secured in-house by a dedicated team employed by the organization. Premise-based benefits management software often falls under the responsibility of both IT and HR departments, with IT taking care of the health and security of the software and HR utilizing the system to manage the company’s employee benefits program by integrating it into their existing workforce management software stack.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to choosing an on-premise management solution. One of those advantages is having the ability to fully customize the software to accommodate your specific needs. On-premise benefits management systems also give you complete control over all your company information, employee health plan policies, including benefits and healthcare packages.
The downside is that premise-based solutions often have a hefty upfront cost. This means not all organizations, especially small businesses, as well as a number of mid-sized companies, can afford to choose on-premise deployment of essentially any kind of software solution, let alone benefits administration software. Licensing fees, maintenance and upgrade costs are added expenses that many companies just can’t afford.
Web-based benefits management software
Web-based benefits management software, also known as cloud-based or software-as-a-service (SaaS), refers to the benefits management application being delivered to customer businesses via the cloud. Web-based deployment is not a new concept when it comes to delivering software applications, but the HR software market is among its first adopters because of three simple reasons: convenience, security and cost.
A large portion of the small and mid-sized business sector prefer the cloud-based deployment approach due to the fact that upfront costs are often significantly less compared to the on-premise alternative. As you may well know, cost is generally a vital determinant for small to mid-sized companies that may not have the necessary resources to properly implement an on-premise management solution.
Apart from cost, convenience is another factor that plays a role in the decision-making process of many small and mid-sized businesses. Web-based benefits management software does not require users to install any kind of additional program in their systems due to the software being hosted remotely by the vendor or service provider in their own servers. Software maintenance, updates and data security also falls under the purview of the service provider, further reducing operational cost, time and workloads for the HR department.
With web-based benefits administration software, customer businesses need only to choose the right vendor or service provider, pick the most suitable subscription plan for their needs and they can start managing benefits enrollment, employee insurance plans and other benefits packages.
Integrated benefits management software
Benefits management software is a kind of software that helps companies implement proper benefits administration for their employees, including benefits like health insurance, medical, dental, retirement plans, paid time off, etc. As you may have noticed, all these processes fall under the responsibility of the human resources department, which also handles human capital management, payroll management, applicant tracking, employee performance management and more. This is why it’s not uncommon for benefits administration software to come as a fully integrated module of top-tier HR software suites.
Integrated benefits management systems not only allow users to create optimized benefits packages for employees, they also give the HR department the ability to keep track of company expenses with regard to employee welfare, create a good benefits program for new hires, as well as liaise with third-party retirement and health insurance providers. Benefits administration software is often included within a more comprehensive suite of HR software, which also integrates employee engagement, payroll management, employee recognition, claims processing, corporate wellness, performance management, employee communication and collaboration, etc.
How to choose Benefits Management Software
Nowadays, there is no shortage in the number of benefits management software available in the market, including HR software suites that offer benefits management features and tools. While cost can be a key factor in choosing the right management solution, especially when it comes to small and mid-sized businesses, finding the right product takes more than just evaluating initial and operational expenses. The easiest and most practical way to assess a product is to look at its features. The following are some of the common features of benefits administration software:
Enrollment planning
This feature helps with employee benefits enrollment for health plans and other benefits packages during the open enrollment and special enrollment periods. The feature also covers benefits data changes in real-time.
Benefits record management
This is the feature that lets you track, optimize and manage in real-time all employee benefits and eligibility data within a centralized, secure database.
Self-service portal
A self-service portal gives employees the ability to manage their own personal information. They simply have to log in and review the benefits packages and other details regarding their employee benefits program elections. Users have access to the system 24/7 and they can make modifications to their profiles and enroll in any health plan when needed.
Document management
This will let you store, organize and manage all employee benefits-related documents, including onboarding benefits documents like W-4s, W-9s, I-9s and other legal documents and employee agreements.
Regulatory compliance management
This feature allows you to manage all your compliance requirements for both local and federal regulations. The benefits management software should provide real-time notifications for any changes with the federal and state benefits regulations, including HIPAA, ACA and COBRA so you can react accordingly.
Benefits of Benefits Management Software
Ensures your compliance with state and federal regulations
With the help of the regulatory compliance management feature, which should be included in the benefits management software you choose to implement, you can be certain of always being on top of any possible changes to the compliance regulations in your city, state and/or industry.
Build strong partnerships with third-party benefits providers
Good benefits administration software doesn’t just allow you to manage employee benefits packages for your workforce, it also gives you and your employees access to the industry’s top retirement and health insurance providers. With the benefits management system, you can give your employees access to an insurance provider that lets them retain the services of their preferred healthcare provider and physician.
Get accurate reports on the effectiveness of benefits programs
Benefits management software with reporting capabilities allows you to get regular reviews on the cost-effectiveness of your employee benefits program. It’s important to ensure the cost-efficiency of the different benefits packages you offer while also making certain that they provide real value to your employees.
Benefits Management Software Buyer Guide 2025
Product recommendations, vendor rankings, market overview and tips on how to select Benefits Management software for business. Published in April 2025.
In order to improve employee retention and comply with worker’s benefit rules, most employers offer different types of employee benefits incentives and benefit plans, including life insurance, health insurance, pension, paid vacations other rewards. Softwar...
FREE DOWNLOAD Benefits-Management-Software-Buyer-Guide-2018.pdfCommon Features of Benefits Management Software
| Feature | Feature Description |
|---|---|
| 360 Degree Feedback | Gather and manage anonymous feedback for employees from co-workers and managers. |
| API | Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are programmatic intersections with external products or platforms that allow for custom integrations with your own solutions or other solutions you are using. |
| Attendance Tracking | Track employee attendance and absence to keep on top of sick days and hours worked for payroll purposes. |
| Batch Permissions & Access | Control user or group access and permission settings for software or other systems. |
| Budgeting | Planning and tracking capabilities for financial budgets and plans often used to manage funds across different departments or for investor / shareholder oversight. |
| Calendar Management | Manage and update calendars for scheduling or consolidation of events across teams, departments or business functions. |
| Dashboard | Dashboards are digital interfaces commonly used to visualise data or give quick access to important features and functions of online platforms. They often serve as an overview gateway in software applications. |
| Data Export | Exporting functionality can be used to streamline the migration of data sets and information across systems, platforms or applications. |
| Data Import | Importing functionality allows you to use data sets from other systems or platforms to cut down on data entry requirements or to more easily migrate records from similar applications you have used in the past. |
| Data Visualization | Data visualization features render a visual interpretation of data sets through the use of charts, infographics and other visual cues generally in form of a reporting dashboard. |
| Employee Database | Manage and update employee records in a centralised database. Used to keep information about work entry, age, past roles and other employee details. |
| Employee Engagement | Collect feedback from employees to recognize achievements, gather feedback and improve employee participation processes in the workplace. |
| Employee Incentive Management | Manage and track incentive schemes for your employees to improve performance and loyalty / retention rate. |
| Employee Onboarding | Streamlines the onboarding process for new employees in form of checklists, password and access management features, as well as other induction elements. |
| Expense Tracking | Track employee travel and other expenses to stay on top of budgeting requirements and reimbursements. |
| External Integrations | Integrations with other software products or platforms to improve efficiency and compatibility across systems. |
| Feedback Management | Manage feedback through the use of surveys and similar elements issued to employees and/or customers to consolidate new ideas or track employee performance. |
| Forecasting | Forecast upcoming expenses, sales, revenue, user levels, etc. through the use of predictive methods and past data. |
| Multi-Currency | Support of different currencies for payments, accounting purposes, taxes, reports and more. |
| Multi-User | Supports more than just one user account and generally allows for collaboration with colleagues. |
| Notifications | Includes notification support and sends you alerts with information on important events and other time sensitive instances. For example through push notifications on mobile phones or email notifications. |
| Scheduling | Schedule tasks, resources, appointments, payments, communications, etc. |
| Timesheets | Track employee attendance, sick days and hours worked for payroll purposes or billable hours for professional services. |
| Travel Management | Manage travel plans and expenses for employees, prospects or potential recruits through a central environment. |
| Vacation & Absence Calendar | Track employee holiday requests and absences for payroll, reporting or shift-planning purposes. |
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