How to Build a Small Business Hiring Process in Five Procedures
A small business hiring process is five procedures run in the same order for every hire. They are defining the role, posting and sourcing, screening and interviewing, making the offer and running any background check, and onboarding and reporting. A process that is documented and consistent gives you a record of each decision, and you stay responsible for every legal step.
This guide is written for owner-led teams in professional services, healthcare, construction, manufacturing, hospitality, and restaurants that hire without a full HR department. It covers federal rules, gives a few state and city rules as examples, and points to state agencies wherever rules vary by state.
In what order should you run the five procedures?
Run the procedures in the order below, because each depends on a decision or document from the one before it.
* Define the role and get the pay range approved before any channel goes live, including for an urgent backfill.
* Run posting and screening for several openings at once, but take each hire through all five procedures in order.
* Make the written conditional offer before you ask for a background check authorization, and send Section 1 of Form I-9 only after the candidate accepts the offer (USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274).
* Return to the role definition when no candidate meets the must-haves, instead of lowering the bar mid-search.
These four federal milestones make up the legal clock for every hire, as of October 2026.
Milestone
What is due
Source
First day of employment
The employee completes Section 1 of Form I-9, which can be completed earlier but only after the offer is accepted.
USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274
Three business days after the first day of employment
You complete Section 2, so a Monday start means a Thursday deadline. If the job lasts fewer than three business days, Section 2 is due at the time of hire.
USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274
First wage payment
The signed Form W-4 takes effect.
IRS, Publication 15 (2026)
Within 20 days of hire
The federal outer limit for reporting the new hire to the state. Some states require it sooner.
HHS Administration for Children and Families, New Hire Reporting
How to define the role before you post
The owner or hiring manager runs this procedure whenever a new or backfill position opens.
What you need first. An approved budget or pay range, a named final decision-maker, and a first draft of the must-have and preferred qualifications.
1. Write one sentence on what the person will do and why the role exists.
2. Separate must-have qualifications from preferred ones and list the essential duties before you advertise. A written job description prepared before advertising or interviewing is evidence of which functions are essential under the Americans with Disabilities Act (EEOC, 29 CFR 1630.2).
3. Classify the job as exempt or non-exempt before you set pay. Job title alone does not establish exempt status, and both salary and duties matter (DOL, 29 CFR 541.2). The executive, administrative, and professional exemptions generally require a salary of at least $684 per week as of October 2026 (DOL, 29 CFR 541.600), and your state may set a higher level, so check your state labor agency.
4. Set a pay range with a minimum and maximum, and as a practice tie it to what you pay comparable roles. Pay-posting and salary-history rules vary by state and city, so check your state labor agency.
5. Check that the final decision-maker can attend the interview stage.
6. Draft the posting and get the budget owner’s sign-off before any channel goes live.
What a correct result looks like. An approved role brief that records the duties, must-haves, classification, pay range, and decision-maker, with a posting ready to go live.
How to post the job and source candidates
The owner or hiring manager runs this procedure once the role brief is approved.
What you need first. The approved role brief, two channels ready to use, one documented place where applications arrive, and the written must-haves.
1. Choose at least two channels at once, including one that serves your industry or trade.
2. Pick one documented intake method, such as a shared email address or an applicant tracking system, and use it for every application.
3. Check the posting language before it goes live. It is illegal for covered employers to publish an ad that shows a preference for, or discourages, applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information, and illegal to recruit in a discriminatory way (EEOC, Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices).
4. Recruit beyond your current team if you ask employees for referrals. The EEOC says relying on word-of-mouth recruiting by a mostly one-group workforce may violate the law if almost all new hires come from that group (EEOC).
5. Announce a review window on the posting or in an auto-reply, and keep to it.
What a correct result looks like. A live posting on at least two channels, every application arriving in one documented place, and a review window that applicants have been told about.
Asure Recruiting distributes a posting to job boards, collects applicants in a central review dashboard with a time-stamped record of hiring activity, and connects directly into AsureCentral so a hired candidate flows into onboarding without re-entry. Distribution depends on your plan and board availability.
How to screen applicants and interview them consistently
The hiring manager runs this procedure for every application and every interviewed candidate.
What you need first. The written must-haves, one set of job-related questions, one scoring sheet, and interviewers briefed on the same rules.
1. Screen every application against the written must-haves before you read further, and set aside below-threshold applications the same way every time.
2. Compare the approved pay range to each candidate’s own stated pay expectation, and leave salary history out of your screening. New York City bars employers of any size from asking about salary history in ads, applications, or interviews (NYC Commission on Human Rights, Salary History Law).
3. Tell candidates how to request an accommodation in the application and interview process. An applicant with a disability who needs an accommodation to apply must get it unless it causes significant difficulty or expense (EEOC).
4. Ask every candidate the same job-related questions. Per the EEOC, employers are explicitly prohibited from making pre-offer inquiries about disability, and questions about race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or age are not clearly forbidden but can be used as evidence of intent to discriminate, so they should be limited to what is essential to determine whether a person is qualified for the job (EEOC). GINA also bars covered employers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information, including family medical history, with narrow exceptions (EEOC, 29 CFR 1635.8), and some states ban other specific questions, so check your state agency.
5. Score each candidate on the same sheet right after the interview, as a practice.
6. Tell each candidate how and when you will be in touch.
7. Keep application forms, postings, scorecards, and interview notes for at least one year from the date the record was made or the hiring decision, whichever is later. After a charge under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, keep relevant records, including other candidates’ applications, until final disposition (EEOC, 29 CFR 1602.14 and EEOC, Recordkeeping Requirements).
What a correct result looks like. A completed scoring sheet for each interviewed candidate, a screening decision for every applicant that traces back to the written must-haves, and a hiring decision you can explain from those records.
How to make a conditional offer and run a background check
The owner or hiring manager runs this procedure after the interview decision and before the new hire’s first day.
What you need first. The interview decision and score sheets, the approved pay, and, if you will run a background check, a screening company account and a stand-alone disclosure form under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
1. Send a written conditional offer that states the title, start date, pay, exempt or non-exempt classification, and remaining conditions, and get it signed. Check your state’s rules before you add at-will wording.
2. If you run a background check through a screening company, give the candidate a written disclosure in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, and get written authorization before the report is obtained. The notice cannot sit in an employment application, and the authorization may be on the disclosure document (FTC, Background Checks guidance and Legal Information Institute, 15 U.S.C. 1681b).
3. Hold conviction-history questions until after the conditional offer, which California (employers with five or more employees) and New York City (four or more employees) generally require, and check your state agency for other places (California Civil Rights Department and NYC Commission on Human Rights).
4. Order the report only after you hold the signed authorization and have certified to the screening company that you gave notice, got permission, and complied with the FCRA (FTC, Background Checks guidance). Decide under a written policy applied the same way to every candidate in the job.
5. Before any adverse action based in whole or in part on the report, give the person a copy of the report, the summary of rights, and an opportunity to review the report and explain any negative information (FTC, Background Checks guidance). If the decision rests on conviction history, California (employers with five or more employees) and New York City (four or more employees) also require at least five business days to respond (California Civil Rights Department and NYC Commission on Human Rights).
6. After adverse action, notify the person of the action, the screening company’s name, address, and phone number, that the company did not make the decision and cannot give specific reasons for it, and the right to dispute accuracy and get a free additional report within 60 days (FTC).
What a correct result looks like. A signed conditional offer and, for any candidate screened through a company, a signed stand-alone authorization and a decision made under a written policy.
How to onboard a new hire and complete the required paperwork
The hiring manager or whoever handles paperwork runs this procedure from the signed offer through the end of the first week.
What you need first. The signed offer, the current Form I-9, Form W-4 and your state’s withholding form, your state’s new-hire reporting instructions, and the workstation, access, and first-week schedule.
1. Send Section 1 of Form I-9 once the offer is accepted, a few days ahead of the start date as a practice, so the employee completes it by the first-day milestone in the legal clock. Download the current edition from USCIS.
2. Let the employee choose which acceptable documents to present, either one from List A or one from List B plus one from List C. Examine original, unexpired documents and complete Section 2 by the Section 2 deadline in the legal clock. You cannot specify the documents or ask for documents to support Section 1, and a certified copy of a birth certificate is the one allowed copy (USCIS, M-274 section 4.0 and section 3.0).
3. Offer remote document examination only if your business qualifies. It is a Department of Homeland Security alternative procedure available only to employers in good standing in E-Verify (USCIS, Remote Examination of Documents), and E-Verify is voluntary except for federal contractors whose contracts include the E-Verify clause and employers covered by some state laws (E-Verify, User Manual).
4. Ask each new employee for a signed Form W-4 when work starts, so it can take effect with the first wage payment. If none is given, treat the employee as Single or Married filing separately with no other entries (IRS, Publication 15 (2026)). State withholding forms vary by state, so check your state agency.
5. Report the new hire to the state agency by the new-hire reporting limit in the legal clock. The date of hire is the date the employee first performs services for pay. The seven data elements are employee name, address, and Social Security number, date of hire, and employer name, address, and federal employer identification number (HHS Administration for Children and Families, New Hire Reporting).
6. Run orientation as a practice. Walk through your policies and ask the new hire to acknowledge them, give access to each system, assign one first-week task, and book a check-in for the end of week one.
7. Retain each Form I-9 for three years after hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later, and expect at least three business days’ notice before an inspection (USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274 and DHS, 8 CFR 274a.2).
What a correct result looks like. Both sections of Form I-9 complete, a signed Form W-4 on file, the state new-hire report filed, and a new hire who has system access, a first-week task, and a check-in on the calendar.
Frequently asked questions
How can a small business hire without an HR department?
A small business can hire without an HR department by running the same five procedures, in the same order, for every hire and keeping a written record of each decision. Software or a managed HR service can carry out administrative steps, but the business remains the employer, and the Form I-9 (USCIS), Form W-4 (IRS), and state new-hire report (HHS) are employer obligations.
Do part-time and seasonal hires need the same paperwork?
Part-time and seasonal hires need the same core federal paperwork as full-time hires. Form I-9 applies to every individual hired, citizens included (USCIS, Form I-9), and the state new-hire report applies whether the hire is part-time or full-time (HHS Administration for Children and Families).
Which federal anti-discrimination laws apply to a small employer?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act cover employers with 15 or more employees, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers employers with 20 or more, counting employees who worked for at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding year. Virtually all employers are covered by the Equal Pay Act (EEOC, Coverage). Part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers count toward those totals and independent contractors do not (EEOC, Counting Employees). The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees and protects applicants as well as employees (EEOC, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act). State and local laws set their own coverage, so check your state agency.
Does your state require sexual harassment prevention training for new hires?
Some states require sexual harassment prevention training for employees, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York, and each sets its own thresholds and timing. Check with your state agency on whether the requirement reaches your business and when training must be completed (California Civil Rights Department, Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Illinois Department of Human Rights, and New York State, Employer Toolkit).
Which edition of Form I-9 should you use?
Use the edition dated 01/20/25 as of October 2026. USCIS lists 01/20/25 as the edition date, and the form expires 05/31/2027 (USCIS, Form I-9 and USCIS, Form I-9 PDF).
Talk to an expert at Asure
AsureWorks is a managed service and a PEO alternative with no co-employment. Asure specialists handle day-to-day HR administration, including new hires and changes, on AsureCentral, and you remain the employer of record. Your legal responsibilities as an employer stay with you. Talk to an Asure expert about AsureWorks.
