Firefish Software

Firefish Software is a recruitment CRM and ATS built exclusively for staffing and recruitment agencies. Founded in 2010 by Wendy McDougall and Andrew Mackay in Glasgow, Scotland, the platform covers permanent, contract, and temporary placements within a single system, letting agency recruiters manage their full desk without switching between separate candidate and client management tools.

What is Firefish Software?

Firefish combines a recruitment CRM for client and business development with an applicant tracking system for candidate sourcing and placement. The platform is purpose-built for agencies, not adapted from a generic HR tool. That focus shows in the feature set: a job multiposter to 30-plus boards, shift scheduling for temp desks, a GDPR compliance hub, and AI-powered candidate matching are all agency-specific capabilities that general-purpose HR platforms do not typically include.

Firefish has 600-plus agency clients, holds G2 Category Leader status for 2023, and earned the Capterra Front Runners Award in 2023. Capterra rates it 4.6 out of 5 from 291 verified reviews. In 2023, the company secured GBP 4 million in investment from Foresight Group to fund ongoing product development.

Firefish Software Key Features

• AI candidate matching: AI surfaces relevant candidates from the database against new job requirements and generates job descriptions from role parameters.
• Job multiposter: Single-click posting to 30-plus job boards including Indeed, Reed.co.uk, CV-Library, and Stepstone, eliminating manual board-by-board posting.
• Business development tools: Lead management, outbound sequences, and pipeline tracking for client acquisition alongside the ATS workflow.
• Email sync: Two-way sync with Microsoft Outlook and Gmail so recruiter emails log automatically against candidate and client records.
• Shift scheduling: Purpose-built tools for temp and contract desks to manage worker schedules, availability, and timesheet workflows.
• GDPR compliance hub: Candidate data controls, contract management, and temp compliance workflows built into the platform.
• WhatsApp for Business integration: Recruiter-to-candidate messaging via WhatsApp through the Payemoji integration.
• KPI analytics and reporting: Real-time performance dashboards for individual recruiters and management teams.
• Boolean and advanced search: CV parsing, keyword matching, and Boolean search within the candidate database.
• Open API: Available for custom integrations with back-office and finance platforms.

Who Should Use Firefish Software?

Firefish is suited to:

• UK-based staffing agencies running permanent, contract, or temporary recruitment desks
• Agencies with 2 to 200 recruiters needing a purpose-built CRM and ATS in one platform
• Recruitment firms that post to multiple job boards and want to consolidate that workflow
• Agencies managing temp workers who need shift scheduling and timesheet compliance tools
• Businesses that need GDPR-compliant candidate data management
• Agencies wanting AI candidate matching and automated job writing to increase desk productivity
• Growing agencies that have outgrown spreadsheet-based tracking or generic CRM tools

Firefish is not suited to in-house corporate HR departments, solo freelance recruiters with very small volumes, or organizations outside the UK or Ireland where Firefish's job board network is most effective.

Firefish Software Pricing

Firefish offers three tiers, all priced on application after a demo:

• Core: Permanent recruitment workflow, search and match, AI and automation, reporting. Price: Contact Sales.
• Scale: Everything in Core plus contract workflow and cross-workflow analytics. Price: Contact Sales.
• Enterprise: Everything in Scale plus temporary workflow and advanced automations. Price: Contact Sales.

Add-on modules start from GBP 150 per module. Visit firefishsoftware.com/pricing to book a demo and receive a quote based on your recruiter headcount, desk types, and required modules.

Firefish Software vs. Alternatives

Within the broader recruiting software category, Firefish is differentiated by its exclusive focus on recruitment agencies rather than corporate HR departments. For in-house HR teams in South Asia needing a cost-effective browser-based ATS, ubiRecruit from Ubitech Solutions is purpose-built for that market. For enterprise talent acquisition teams needing SMS and recruitment marketing on top of Workday or Greenhouse, Loop Works adds that candidate engagement layer without replacing the core ATS. For agencies that also manage contractor payroll and back-office compliance, FastTrack360 combines ATS with payroll and contractor management in one platform. Broader HR software tools for onboarding, payroll, and people management complement a Firefish deployment for agency back-office operations.

Real User Feedback

Capterra rates Firefish at 4.6 out of 5 from 291 verified reviews, with sub-scores of 4.6 for ease of use, 4.7 for customer service, 4.3 for features, and 4.6 for value for money. G2 lists Firefish as a Category Leader for 2023. Named agency clients on the vendor website include Axion Recruitment (manufacturing and engineering), Linear Recruitment (construction), and IntaPeople (STEM: software development, cybersecurity, and engineering). The vendor also references Carmichael Recruitment, Apex Resources, and HG Recruitment on its homepage. The 4.7 score on customer service is particularly notable for smaller agencies that do not have internal IT teams to manage support issues independently.

Firefish Software Integrations

Job boards (30-plus total): Indeed, Reed.co.uk, CV-Library, Stepstone, S1 Jobs, Monster, JobServe, Simply Jobs, National Apprenticeship Service, Green Jobs Board, and 20-plus additional boards.

Email and communication: Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, WhatsApp for Business (via Payemoji), Microsoft Teams, Devyce, Ringover.

Productivity: Microsoft 365, Microsoft Power BI, Google Analytics 360, Google for Jobs.

Finance and back-office: Xero, Tempaid, Evertime, Total Back Office Solutions (TBOS), Liquid Friday.

Sales and sourcing: LinkedIn Recruiter, Paiger, SourceWhale, OneUp Sales, Zapier.

Open API: Available for custom integrations with payroll, back-office, or HR platforms not covered by native connectors.

Mobile Access

Firefish does not have a dedicated native iOS or Android app as of June 2026. The platform is browser-based with a responsive design for mobile and tablet screen sizes. Recruiters access candidate and client records via a mobile browser. The vendor's community forum lists a dedicated mobile app as a requested future feature. Contact the vendor for current mobile roadmap details.

Security and Compliance

• Cyber Essentials certified: Certificate number e1d8895-568d-4d7a-9117-86294b777808
• GDPR and UK GDPR compliant: Data Processing Agreement and Standard Contractual Clauses available
• EU AI Act compliant: Adherence documented for all AI features
• Azure-hosted: Primary in West Europe (Netherlands), secondary in North Europe (Ireland)
• Encryption in transit: TLS 1.3 with 2048-bit RSA key
• Encryption at rest: 256-bit AES-GCM via Azure

Full security documentation is available at firefishsoftware.com/trust.

Implementation and Onboarding

Firefish offers a structured onboarding process after purchase. Setup includes configuring the job board multiposter connections, importing existing candidate and client databases, setting up email sync with Outlook or Gmail, and training recruiters on the CRM workflow. The vendor's support team assists with data migration. Typical onboarding timelines are not publicly documented; contact the vendor for specifics based on agency size and existing system complexity.

Firefish Software Support

Firefish provides customer support from its Glasgow headquarters and earned Best Customer Support recognition in 2023. Support channels are not publicly detailed on the vendor site. Social: Twitter/X at @JoinFirefish, LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/firefish-software, Facebook at facebook.com/Firefishsoftware, YouTube at youtube.com/user/firefishsoftware. Contact the vendor via firefishsoftware.com for current support tier details and SLAs.

What Real Buyers Report

Nirula Patel reviewed Firefish Software using the vendor's product pages at firefishsoftware.com, the Capterra review profile, and the agency case studies for Axion Recruitment, Linear Recruitment, and IntaPeople. The platform's main differentiator is that it was built specifically for recruitment agencies, not adapted from a generic HR tool. That focus shows clearly in the feature set: the job multiposter to 30-plus boards in a single click, the shift scheduling tools for temp desks, and the compliance hub for GDPR and contract management are all agency-specific capabilities that corporate ATS platforms typically do not include out of the box.

The 4.6 Capterra score from 291 reviews is a meaningful signal for a product in this price bracket, and the 4.7 on customer service specifically suggests the vendor invests in post-sale support, which matters for smaller agencies without internal IT teams. The GBP 4 million investment secured in 2023 indicates vendor financial stability and ongoing product development capacity. The absence of a native mobile app is a genuine limitation for recruiters who work on the move; the browser-responsive interface works on mobile but lacks push notifications and dedicated app features that mobile-first platforms provide.

Is Firefish Software Right for Your Business?

Firefish suits UK staffing agencies of 2 to 200 recruiters that need a combined CRM and ATS purpose-built for agency workflows. Its job multiposter, temp desk shift scheduling, AI candidate matching, and Capterra 4.6 track record make it a well-supported choice for agencies that have outgrown spreadsheet-based tracking or generic CRMs.

Buyers also evaluating the recruiting software landscape should review ubiRecruit for in-house HR in South Asian markets and Loop Works for enterprise recruitment marketing and SMS engagement. For contractor payroll alongside recruiting, FastTrack360 covers the combined workflow. The HR software category covers payroll, time tracking, and onboarding tools for agency back-office operations. For invoice management and finance tools as your agency scales, the accounts payable software category lists key options. Book a demo at firefishsoftware.com to receive pricing tailored to your desk types and recruiter headcount.

Verified on 2026-06-08 -- Content sourced from Firefish Software product pages at firefishsoftware.com, Capterra listing (4.6/5 from 291 reviews), G2 Category Leader 2023 award, Axion Recruitment case study, Linear Recruitment case study, and IntaPeople case study. Pricing requires a vendor demo and direct quote.