HR and Payroll Software in India: What It Must Do and What to Check
Payroll is the part of HR that cannot be late or wrong. People notice on the day their salary does not arrive, and the tax office notices what was deducted.
This page walks through a monthly payroll cycle in an Indian business, what to ask a software vendor at each step, and where Zavik helps and where it does not.
A monthly payroll cycle, step by step
The same steps repeat every month:
- Close attendance and approve leave
- Work out each person’s salary from base pay, days worked and unpaid leave
- Apply the statutory deductions: PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS
- Create payslips
- Pay salaries by bank transfer and keep a record
- File returns and issue the year-end certificates
Where software should save you time
The first two steps and the payslips take most of the hours. A good tool lets attendance and approved leave feed the salary calculation directly, so nobody retypes numbers from a register into a spreadsheet.
What to ask about statutory deductions
Whatever a vendor says, ask these questions and ask to see each answer on screen with your own numbers:
- Does it calculate PF and ESI for each person, using the current rules?
- Does it deduct TDS on salary and produce the year-end certificate?
- Does it handle professional tax for your state?
- Does it produce the files you need to file returns?
To check PF and ESI by hand, use the free tool on zavik.in, the PF and ESI calculator.
What Zavik does
Zavik works each person’s salary out from their base salary and the days they were present, on approved leave or on unpaid leave. It creates payslips. Salary can be paid through your connected RazorpayX account, in a batch whose live status you can follow, or you can mark salaries as paid without sending money.
Attendance, leave and payroll sit in the same HR & Payroll module, so approved leave and recorded attendance feed the salary calculation.
What Zavik does not do
Zavik does not calculate PF, ESI, TDS or professional tax. Payroll is worked out from base salary and attendance.
If you need the statutory part calculated
You have two sensible options. Use a specialist payroll tool, or your accountant, for the statutory part and Zavik for the rest of HR. Or choose a payroll product that calculates PF, ESI and TDS and skip Zavik for payroll. Your accountant can tell you which rules apply to your business.
We would rather say this now than have you find out in the first month.
Price and trial
HR & Payroll is in every Zavik plan. Plans start at ₹170 per user per month, and paying for 12 months takes 15% off. A 5-day free trial unlocks all 14 modules and does not ask for a card, so you can run a month of attendance first.
Frequently asked questions
What should payroll software do in India?
At the least it should work out salary from attendance and leave, apply PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS correctly, create payslips, help you pay salaries and support your returns. Check each one with your own data.
Does Zavik calculate PF, ESI or TDS?
No. Zavik works salary out from base salary and attendance. It does not calculate PF, ESI, TDS or professional tax.
Can Zavik pay salaries?
Yes, through your own connected RazorpayX account. You can follow the status of a batch while it is processing. If you prefer, you can mark salaries as paid without sending money.
How does leave affect salary?
Approved paid leave counts as payable days. Unpaid leave reduces the payable days, and salary is worked out from the days that remain.
Can we use Zavik for payroll and another tool for PF and ESI?
Yes, that is a common way to work. Zavik handles attendance, leave, salary and payslips, and a specialist tool or your accountant handles the statutory part. Plan the hand-off between them before you start.
Can we try it with our own employees first?
Yes. The 5-day free trial unlocks all 14 modules and does not need a card. You can bulk-import your employee list from a CSV.
How much does it cost?
From ₹170 per user per month, billed in rupees. Starter is ₹170, Growth is ₹280 and Business is ₹400, and HR & Payroll is in all three.
Run a month of attendance on the trial
Try Zavik free for 5 days with your own team, or ask us how payroll would work for you.