How to create an automated applicant tracking system (ATS)

Recruiting today is more complex than ever. For small to medium sized businesses, the challenge isn’t just about finding great people; it’s about handling the volume of data, applications, and communication that comes with it. Juggling emails, spreadsheets, and inconsistent processes often means that promising candidates slip through the cracks, while the time to hire drags out longer than it should.

That’s where building your own ATS comes in. An applicant tracking tool doesn’t have to be expensive or overly technical. With the right no-code approach, you can design a flexible system tailored to your team’s unique hiring needs. Using Baserow, you can set up an environment that organizes job applicants, streamlines collaboration for the recruitment team, and makes life easier for hiring managers—all without writing code.

This guide walks you through creating an ATS that supports everything from capturing job seekers via social media campaigns and job board listings, to managing interview scheduling and feedback collection. By the end, you’ll have a functional system that helps you manage candidate tracking, improves candidate relationship management, and ensures your company doesn’t miss out on top talent.

What an ATS does (and why it matters now)

At its core, an ATS centralizes the journey of a candidate. That includes:

• Sourcing: pulling in applications from job postings, referrals, and campaigns.
• Screening: filtering for qualified candidates and prioritizing them.
• Scheduling: organizing interviews, ensuring efficient project management, and keeping everyone aligned.
• Tracking: managing stages like applied, shortlisted, interviewing, or hired.
• Reporting: identifying bottlenecks that slow down hiring and affect time to hire.

Why this matters: for job seekers, a smooth process reflects positively on your company brand. For employers, especially in competitive markets, it ensures potential candidates are engaged before they accept offers elsewhere. A good ATS also protects data privacy and maintains strong data management practices.

Architecture overview (Baserow + automation)

Instead of relying on rigid, off-the-shelf applicant tracking systems, building your own with Baserow gives you flexibility and control. Here’s the high-level setup:

• Database in Baserow: Organize core entities like Jobs, Candidates, Applications, Interviews, and Feedback.
• Forms: Collect applications directly from candidates.
• Automations: Use tools like n8n to set up workflows for alerts, reminders, and updates.
• Collaboration: Share views tailored for hiring managers, while giving the recruitment team full visibility across the pipeline.

Why Baserow? Because it blends the familiarity of a spreadsheet with the power of a relational database. You can scale your hiring operations, integrate with third-party services, and extend functionality over time. Explore the Baserow product overview to see the full feature set.

Steps to build your ATS in Baserow

1. Set up your Baserow workspace

Log into Baserow and create a new workspace. This serves as the foundation for organizing all recruitment data, from job applicants to interview scheduling.

2. Create a database from template

Choose the Applicant Tracker template or start from scratch. Templates make it easy for small to medium sized businesses to get going without designing complex structures.

3. Design tables and fields

Set up tables for Applicants, Jobs, Interviews, and Feedback. Add fields for job postings, candidate status, and recruiter notes. This improves candidate tracking and overall data management.

4. Create a form to capture applications

Use Baserow forms to collect information from job seekers. Share the form on your careers page, social media, or link it to a job board to attract potential candidates.

5. Add credentials in n8n

Connect Baserow with n8n by adding credentials. This enables secure automation of workflows, like sending alerts to the recruitment team when new applications are received.

6. Set up a webhook trigger

Create a webhook in n8n and link it to your database. Every time a new row is added, the workflow triggers—helping hiring managers stay updated in real time.

7. Create a webhook in Baserow for form submissions

Configure Baserow to send applicant data to n8n whenever a form is submitted. This ensures smooth handoffs and keeps candidate relationship management consistent.

8. Test and activate

Run a test webhook to confirm that data flows correctly. Once verified, activate the workflow so updates are pushed automatically without manual effort.

9. Send notifications and reminders

Automate emails and Slack alerts to hiring managers about new applicants. Schedule reminders for interview scheduling and candidate follow-ups to streamline the hiring process.

10. Execute and activate the workflow

Switch from test to production mode in n8n. From now on, every application flows directly into your ATS, giving your team a steady pipeline of qualified candidates and helping you engage top talent faster.

Reporting and optimization

Your ATS isn’t complete without analytics. By using Baserow’s customizable views, you can generate insights like:

• Average time to hire per department.
• Conversion rates from application to hire.
• Best-performing sourcing channels (e.g., job postings vs. referrals).

Dashboards built on top of this data give leadership visibility into bottlenecks and help teams make evidence-based improvements.

Why Baserow fits perfectly

Unlike many traditional applicant tracking systems that are rigid, expensive, and locked into fixed workflows, Baserow gives hiring teams the freedom to build a system that truly matches their process.

Here’s why it stands out:

• Flexibility across industries and company sizes: Whether you’re part of a startup scaling quickly or an established organization managing multiple departments, Baserow adapts to your needs. You can customize tables and views to track job applicants, job postings, or even pipeline progress without being forced into a one-size-fits-all approach.
• Full control through open source: Because Baserow is open source, your recruitment team and IT department maintain ownership of sensitive hiring data. This is especially important when handling large volumes of applications, candidate tracking, and long-term data management.
• Ease of use for non-technical users: HR professionals and hiring managers don’t need programming skills to manage forms, automate workflows, or adjust views. The drag-and-drop interface makes it as simple as a spreadsheet, while still offering advanced capabilities for technical users to extend with integrations.
• Powerful integrations: Through integrations with tools like n8n, teams can automate emails, Slack notifications, and reminders. This ensures timely communication with job seekers and smooth interview scheduling without manual coordination.

For example, a small to medium sized business can use Baserow to centralize sourcing from a job board and social media, automatically notify recruiters when qualified candidates apply, and maintain a database of potential candidates for future roles. The result? A faster, more transparent process that helps attract top talent while reducing time to hire.

To dive deeper into how modern HR teams can better manage hiring workflows, read our guide on modern approaches to HR data management.

Additional Baserow resources

Here are some useful guides to help you extend your ATS further:

• Capture and automate lead qualification with forms
• Update row data with Baserow forms
• Automate emails from a no-code database with n8n
• Automate custom notifications from Baserow form submissions

And for inspiration, visit the Baserow Community, where users share real-world setups, like candidate pipelines and custom reporting dashboards.

FAQs

• How does the ATS system work?

It collects candidate applications, stores them in a central database, and automates workflows such as notifications, scheduling, and reporting. It’s the process by which applicant tracking software parses resumes and checks them against job requirements before recruiters review them. You can learn more about how ATS reads CVs to optimize your application.

• What is the most popular ATS system?

There are many proprietary options like Greenhouse and Lever, but no-code tools like Baserow let you design a custom system at a fraction of the cost.

• How do I check if my CV is ATS friendly?

Use standard file formats like PDF or DOCX, avoid complex graphics, and ensure headings match common job keywords.

• What is ATS for CV?

It’s the process by which applicant tracking software parses resumes and checks them against job requirements before recruiters review them.

• Can small businesses benefit from an ATS?

Yes. Even small to medium sized businesses gain value by using an ATS to organize applications, automate reminders, and reduce their time to hire, without needing a large HR team.

• How does an ATS help hiring managers?

An ATS gives hiring managers visibility into the pipeline, simplifies interview scheduling, and ensures they collaborate effectively with the recruitment team to select qualified candidates.

Conclusion

Building your own automated applicant tracking system gives you more control, transparency, and efficiency in hiring. With Baserow, you can design a database that fits your process, automate repetitive tasks, and keep every stakeholder aligned—whether it’s recruiters, hiring managers, or candidates.

Ready to build your own ATS? Get started with Baserow today.