Applicant tracking systems (ATS) can go a long way to helping you manage the flood of resumes that comes to your desk and in your inbox. But with tech budgets tightening and a lot of vendors to choose from, you’ll have a few things to consider before asking the CFO to sign the check.

First some of the benefits of using an ATS: In addition to helping you organize and keep track of candidates, it can also collect data on how applicants heard of your job postings, which will help you maximize your recruiting budget. Most importantly, perhaps, it speeds up the process to help you sign people on before competitors do.

The biggest downside, of course, is cost. But here some things to keep in mind if you decide to make the investment:

Don’t go too deep too soon - A lot of small companies are turning to Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors to save money. Basically, instead of buying software that you install on your network, you’ll pay a scheduled fee to access software hosted by the vendor. Generally, you pay a certain amount based on the number of users, so small companies don’t have to fork over as much money as a huge enterprise.

Also a lot of companies will offer a trial period before you start paying for the service. Look for a vendor that offers that so you can test the waters before making the investment.

Find a trusted vendor - Ask the company how data is handled. You’ll need to make sure everything is secure, backed-up, and always available. This is where you need to communicate closely with your IT department - they’ll know what specific things to look for.

Measure ROI - Look for software that measures how much time and money was spent on filling each position. That’ll help give you a sense of whether or not your investment was worth it.

Tags: applicant tracking system, ATS, HR vendors