How Much Does Driver Recruiting Software Cost?

Summary: The cost of driver recruiting software can range between $129-$6,000 per month, or $1,548-$72,000 annually, based on your fleet size. This does not include the cost of in-house or outsourced management of your recruiting process. For a full chart broken down by fleet size, view our average cost comparison chart.

Every day, we get asked by motor carriers: "how much does a system to recruit drivers cost?" They may be in a situation where they aren't getting high quality leads and need to make a change, are looking to "start fresh" with a new system in place, or are merely just exploring alternative options because their recruiting strategy just isn't working anymore.

The fact is: they're ready to see what else is on the market and want to know how much a tool to help recruit drivers costs.

What is Driver Recruiting Software? (IE: "Applicant Tracking System")

Driver recruiting software is better known as what's called an applicant tracking system, or ATS. An ATS can be thought of like a hub to manage the entire recruitment process - whether that's storing candidate information, tracking where a candidate is along the hiring process or managing electronic paperwork.

An ATS is software that's accessible anywhere where you have an internet connection.

Some of the best Applicant Tracking Systems have features and functionality to:

• Manage and track candidates
• Send templated text/email to candidates
• Create customizable workflows to move candidates through the hiring process faster
• Reporting functionality to track to understand where quality candidates are coming from,
• Digitized paperwork to simplify the onboarding process

Why is an ATS So Important When Recruiting Drivers?

The key benefit an ATS offers to your driver recruiting process is efficiency. With a system in place to track and manage candidates, recruiters can work much faster and respond to drivers quicker.

Some other added benefits of ATS's are the ability to:

• Find high quality candidates quicker with Filtering
• Abide strict regulations the FMCSA enforces with DOT Compliant Applications and DQ Files
• Attract higher quality candidates with better driver marketing messages and branding
• Utilize other critical recruiting tasks typically conducted from two or more systems in one place with payroll, PSP, MVR, driver monitoring, background screening integrations

An applicant tracking system serves as the engine that powers your entire recruiting process for maximum efficiency and results.

What Type of User Are You (And Your Staff?)

Now that you know what an Applicant Tracking System is, it's time to decide what you are going to need from a system.

Before you think about what platform and features you want, take a second and think about what type of user you see yourself or your staff being with a system like this.

Here are some of typical categories you could place yourself in regarding your usage and depth of interaction:

Types of User Examples:

The Busy Bee

High Frequency. Low Depth

This type of user is very much entrenched in the day-to-day of the software and often conducts repeatable tasks to complete his/her work on a given day. This person utilizes most of the capabilities of the software, but is not evaluating their performance at a high level.

Typically will use features like: Text/Email Communication; Filtering; MVR/Background Integrations; Electronic Forms

The Occasional Owl

Low Frequency, High Depth

Occasional Owls typically need to utilize the software to conduct high level tasks in order to drive strategic decisions.

This type of user only logs in a handful of times per month, but when they do, they expect clean data that tells a story. 

Typically will use features like: Reporting, Filtering

The Dependable Dog

High Frequency, High Depth

For the Dependable Dogs, the business wouldn't exist without the software. The first thing this user does in his/her day is log into the system and stays logged in until the day ends. They may even check in on the platform at night after hours.

This person knows every in and out of the system and is the champion of it being set up properly.

Typically will use features like: Reporting, Filtering, Text/Email Communication; Filtering; MVR/Background; Electronic Forms

It's important to recognize what your users need and don't need with the investment of an applicant tracking system. It's even MORE important to have them included in the demonstration of the product and free trial, if one exists.

Switching platforms as an organization is a large initiative, so including all contributors and managers in the decision making process is vital to the success of the investment.

Factors That Influence Price

Now that you know how your organization will be utilizing an ATS, it's time to understand what factors drive the prices of different platforms up and down.

Admin/Driver Count

The number one factor that will determine the cost of your platform is your user count. In transportation, this is typically calculated by either the number of administrators that have access to the system, and/or the number of drivers that will be utilizing the system. The higher the number of users, the higher the cost will be.

Features and Functionality

Some ATS's will drive the price up or down based on the amount of features you can gain access to. You can associate this with a common pricing structure, as broken down by the tiers: Basic, Pro, Max.

Basic means you get the most stripped down level of features (you only get access to 5 out of 20 features), whereas Max you get all 20 out of 20.

Pro-Tip: When assessing a platform, you may be offered a free trial that gets you unlimited access to all features, only to have those features stripped when your trial is over. Avoid falling into the trap of testing software that lures you in with a 30-day trial of unlimited features, only to later switch you to a higher-tier, long-term commitment. This could jeopardize your budget as you become reliant on features that were initially outside of your financial plan.

Management: In-House or Outsource?

Lastly, a factor that is often overlooked in making the decision for an applicant tracking system is management, or utilization. 

Buying software does not do your job for you. People and processes are the driving forces behind the success/failure of a software. If your staff aren't prepared for using the system (or you don't have staff), you are doomed to fail. 

A common question we get when educating our clients on our software is something like "I bought your software, when do I start to get hires?"

The answer is: when you are comfortable navigating the system.

If you or your staff don't take the time to learn the software (which should intuitively work the way YOU want it to), you won't see results.

If you aren't seeing the results you desire, you'll have to engage with outside help to manage your system. That investment of time and effort will cost you, and should be factored into your decision on a platform based on your budget.

What Potential Add-On Fees Should You Look Out For?

Implementation Fees

Brace yourself for the "onboarding tax," a one-time fee on your first invoice. This covers the setup costs of configuring the software for your fleet; such as building complex workflows or integrating with existing systems. It's the trade-off for white-glove treatment – think personal guides leading you through the platform's intricate terrain.

Integrations Fees

If your fleet operates like a well-oiled machine with multiple software systems, beware of integration costs. Connecting your driver recruiting software to your compliance platforms, payroll systems, or other essential tools can incur additional charges.

Annual Commitments

Vendors might offer tempting discounts for multi-year contracts, however, being locked into a long-term deal can be dreadful if the software doesn't meet your expectations. Remember, a trial run before committing is crucial to avoid getting locked-in to a platform. 

Price Increases

Another important note you should consider when researching the investment of driver recruiting software is annual price increases. This increase is highly common among software products. A reasonable price increase tracks with CPI (Consumer Price Index).

What is the Monthly or Yearly Cost of Driver Recruiting Software?

You will typically see prices broken out by the number of drivers that your fleet is responsible for managing.

*The above prices are subject to annual adjustment

Anything larger than 999 drivers will likely have a custom rate based on your needs.

How Can I Measure the Return on Investment (ROI) of Driver Recruiting Software?

One recruiter should be able to hire 15 drivers per month with the right ATS and the right company marketing behind her. The chart below shows averages of what we’ve documented over the years on how the right driver centric ATS helps you reduce your cost per hire by allowing you to get more out of your advertising dollars and your recruiters process more people in less time.

What Do You Need to Do to Get Started?

Evaluating driver recruiting software should be methodical and inclusive to all at your organization. With the variety of factors that play into the decision, your best playbook for finding the right platform is to conduct a discovery call and the ability to take it for a test drive. During the test drive, hand over the keys to your Busy Bees and Dependable Dogs - they are the ones who will best evaluate whether or not the platform fits their needs to work efficiently and effectively.

If you'd like to conduct a discovery call for AvatarFleet's applicant tracking system, A-Suite Recruit, click the image below.