Staffing Agency Software: Which ATS Fits Temp, Contract and Perm Desks in 2026?

What does staffing agency software need to do that a normal ATS does not?

Staffing agency software has to manage two customers at once: the client who orders workers and the worker who fills the order. A corporate ATS only tracks applicants for its own jobs. Agency software adds client records, job orders, rates, margins and, for temp desks, everything that happens after the start date.

The market is large and churns fast. The American Staffing Association counted 9.5 million temporary and contract employees in 2025, staffing sales of $113.5 billion and an industry turnover rate of 376 percent. Staffing Industry Analysts expects the US market to reach $180.2 billion in 2026. With turnover that high, the software has to make refilling and redeploying people quick.

Client CRM and job orders

You need client companies, hiring contacts, rate cards and job orders in the same database as candidates. Business development notes, fee agreements and order history should sit on the client record, not in a separate sales tool.

Submittals and VMS integration

Many large clients release jobs through a vendor management system. Good staffing software pulls those jobs in automatically and pushes your submittals back out, so recruiters are not copying data between portals all day.

Timesheets, payroll and billing

Temp and contract desks have to collect hours, approve them, pay the worker and invoice the client, often every week. This pay and bill cycle is the main dividing line between a recruiting ATS and full staffing software.

Onboarding and compliance

Temps need tax forms, work authorization checks, background checks and, in healthcare, licenses and certifications that expire. The software should collect documents on mobile and flag anything missing or due to expire before someone starts a shift.

Redeployment

When an assignment ends, the best candidate for the next order is often someone you already placed. Look for assignment end date alerts and search filters for available workers with good feedback.

What is the difference between a recruiting ATS and front to back office staffing software?

A recruiting ATS covers the front office: sourcing, pipelines, client CRM, submittals and placements. Front to back office staffing software adds the middle and back office: timesheets, payroll, tax filing, invoicing and pay and bill reporting, all in one database. Our ATS vs CRM guide explains the front office side in more detail.

Agencies that place temps but do not employ them have a third option. A question that comes up on r/RecruitmentAgencies goes roughly: “we typically do direct placements, but a few clients want W2 temps; who can payroll them for us?” The replies point to back office and payrolling firms that charge a markup. In that model you keep a lighter ATS and the partner runs payroll.

Which staffing agency software should you compare in 2026?

The table below covers 17 tools agencies ask about. “Back office” means payroll and billing inside the vendor’s own product, not through a partner. Prices are the lowest published starting point on each vendor’s pricing page in September 2026.

How many agency ATS platforms are there?

The Work Insiders directory tracks 50 applicant tracking systems built mainly for staffing and search agencies, out of 181 ATS platforms in total. 36% of the agency platforms ship an MCP server, so you can search your own database from Claude, ChatGPT or Grok, against 10% of corporate ATS. 40% of agency platforms hide their price behind a demo, against 48% on the corporate side.

Which staffing software runs temp payroll and billing in one system?

Six vendors on our list run timesheets and billing in their own product. Four of them also run payroll. All of them sell by quote after a demo, so expect implementation fees and a contract term.

Bullhorn

The Bullhorn pricing page lists Starter at $99 and Core at $165 per user per month. Pro, Max, Front Office and Bullhorn One are quoted. Bullhorn One adds timesheets, time interpretation, invoicing and pay and bill automation. VMS Automation is a separate quoted add on. See our Bullhorn pricing breakdown, and our Bullhorn alternatives guide if it feels too heavy.

Avionté and TempWorks

Avionté and TempWorks are both built for US temp staffing, with ATS, CRM, payroll and billing in one platform. Avionté says it processes $15 billion in payroll and 4.6 million W2s a year. TempWorks adds payroll processing services and payroll funding through a partner. Neither publishes pricing.

JobDiva and Ceipal

JobDiva’s FAQ describes a single system with ATS, client CRM, VMS job spidering, time keeping and billing, and says pricing is set for each client. Ceipal’s Workforce module covers onboarding, timesheets and invoicing, and the company also sells its own VMS. Both are popular with IT staffing firms that place many contractors through VMS programs.

Tracker

Tracker pairs built in timesheets and invoicing with a published price. The Tracker plans page lists Launch at $79 per user per month billed monthly for up to five users, Core at $99, and a six month minimum commitment. Payroll runs through integrations rather than natively. See the Tracker listing for alternatives.

What works for perm and contract desks that run payroll elsewhere?

If a back office partner or payrolling firm pays your contractors, you do not need a staffing ERP. An agency ATS with clients, job orders, submittals and placements does the job at a published per user price.

JobAdder and Vincere

JobAdder is quote based and connects to back office tools such as Astute Payroll, Timesheet Portal and Karmly. Vincere, owned by the Access Group, now prices by team size: Startup is £150 a month for one user, Core is £95 per user for two to seven users, and Pro starts at £85 per user above seven. Startup and Core run on a 30 day rolling contract. Both suit UK and Australian agencies with mixed perm and contract books.

Crelate and Loxo

Crelate lists Essentials at $85 per user per month paid annually (up to two users) and Business at $119. Loxo lists Core at $149 and Professional from $199, billed annually. Both handle contract placements and connect to back office partners for timesheets and payroll. Our Crelate pricing and Loxo pricing posts go plan by plan.

Recruiterflow and Recruit CRM

Recruiterflow lists its Platform plan at $149 per user per month, built for search firms. Recruit CRM Pro is $95 per user per month on annual billing or $109 monthly, and includes placement invoicing but not payroll. See our Recruit CRM pricing post.

PCRecruiter

PCRecruiter has served agencies, staffing networks and HR teams for decades. Its PCRecruiter FAQ says accounts start at around $115 per user, including API access, integrations and standard support, plus a one time setup and training fee. It also offers a self hosted option, which few rivals do.

Zoho Recruit, Top Echelon and Manatal

These are the budget options. Zoho Recruit sells a separate Staffing edition with clients and submittals, with Standard at $25 per recruiter per month on annual billing or $30 monthly. Top Echelon lists TE Recruit Standard at $79 a month annual or $95 monthly, plus a split placement network. Manatal starts at $15 per user per month. Our cheapest agency ATS guide ranks them.

What is the best healthcare staffing agency software?

Healthcare staffing needs credentialing, shift scheduling and fast pay on top of a normal ATS. LaborEdge sells NexusATS, NexusVMS, a clinician mobile app and NexusPay with daily pay. Its homepage describes a single all inclusive fee per employee per month for the pay product. Ceipal also sells a healthcare platform with credentialing, invoicing and shift management.

A January 2026 r/RecruitmentAgencies thread titled “Best healthcare staffing software for agencies?” sums up the buyer’s problem. The poster cared less about feature lists and more about keeping credentials current, filling shifts fast and not losing candidates to scattered communication. Replies mentioned LaborEdge for credentialing at a three person agency, and warned that Bullhorn’s admin overhead can feel like a full time job. One commenter’s advice was to ask vendors to demo an expired credential or a last minute cancellation, not just the happy path.

How much does staffing agency software cost?

Recruiting ATS tools with a client CRM publish entry prices from $15 to $149 per user per month, as listed in September 2026. Full front to back office platforms are all quote based. Some, like LaborEdge, price pay products per worker rather than per recruiter, so cost rises with the number of temps you employ.

The sticker price is rarely the whole bill. Ask every vendor about:

• Implementation and data migration fees, which PCRecruiter, Recruit CRM and others charge separately.
• Minimum terms, such as Tracker’s six months and annual billing on Loxo and Crelate Essentials.
• Paid add ons for VMS automation, multiposting, enrichment and AI agents.
• Per worker or per check fees for payroll and onboarding modules.

For a first system, our new agency ATS guide covers fit before price.

Which staffing software should you pick for your type of agency?

If you are still unsure, browse every agency system in our ATS directory.

Staffing agency software FAQ