Payroll software for India, in plain words
EPF, ESI, professional tax and TDS worked out on each payslip from the real month's attendance. Salaries post to your books. Files ready to upload.
Payroll is on the Professional plan, at ₹149 per employee a month before GST. The 14-day free trial includes it, with no card.
This page is about Indian payroll, so amounts are in rupees. Outside India? See Ellibo HR.
What the app works out, and what stays with you
Each line below is worked out in the pay run, using dated rates you can see and add to.
EPF
Employee and employer shares, pension (EPS), EDLI and admin charges. Choose PF on the ceiling or on full wages for each person. A pay run warns you when someone has no UAN.
ESI
Works out who is covered from their regular pay, and keeps them covered until the contribution period ends. Employee and employer shares are worked out for you. A pay run warns you when an ESI number is missing.
Professional tax
By the state of each person's location, from monthly bands. Where a state's rate is unclear, it isn't guessed: the pay run tells you, and you enter the rate once you have confirmed it.
Labour welfare fund
By state, in the months it falls due, where a rate is set.
TDS on salary
The year's tax is worked out from what was paid and what is still to come, then spread over the months left. New or old regime for each person, with declarations on the old regime and pay from a previous employer counted in.
Labour Code wages
If allowances are more than half of pay, the excess counts as wages, and the pay run tells you the amount.
Gratuity and final settlement
A final settlement brings last pay, unused leave, gratuity and what is still owed into one run. Check gratuity with your accountant, as eligibility depends on the person's service and contract.
The new form numbers, and files to upload
Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the forms you know have new numbers. Ellibo HR uses the new numbers and shows the old names, so your accountant knows what they are looking at.
| New | What was | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Form 130 | Form 16 | A yearly statement for Part B. Part A comes from the tax department's portal |
| Form 138 | Form 24Q | Quarterly TDS data for your accountant or return tool |
One pay run, step by step
- Make a draft for the monthIt takes attendance, approved leave, salaries, loans and one-off amounts.
- Read the warningsMissing UAN, PAN, ESI number, state or rate. Fix them and work it out again, as often as you like.
- Approve itThe run is frozen, attendance for the month locks, and the journal goes in your books.
- Pay and record itUpload the file to your bank, then record the payment from the account you used.
- Payslips and statutory filesPeople download their payslips. You upload the files, and pay the dues.
An example, rounded to whole rupees.
Pay stays with the people who need it
India payroll questions
Does it file EPF, ESI or TDS returns for me?
No. It works out the figures and makes files and data for you to upload or give to your accountant. You or your accountant do the filing on the government portals.
Does it pay salaries from my bank?
No. It makes a file you upload to your bank. You then record the payment, and it goes in your books.
Are the rates kept up to date?
Rates are stored by date, so a pay run uses the rate in force on its date, and you can add your own. Rules and state rates change, and some state rates are left blank for you to confirm. The pay run warns you when one is missing. Please check compliance figures with your accountant.
Should my accountant check the figures?
Yes, please. Have your accountant check your first pay runs and files before you rely on them, as you would with any new payroll system. Some state rates vary by local body or differ between published sources, and the pay run tells you when one needs confirming.
Does it handle both tax regimes?
Yes. Each person is on the new or the old regime. On the old regime their declarations count, and amounts you verify take their place. Income above the surcharge limit gets a warning, because relief near those limits isn't worked out and an accountant should check it.
What about contractors?
Mark someone as a contractor and the app takes contractor TDS instead of salary lines, once the yearly limit is passed.
Can I use it if my business is outside India?
The India rules apply to a business set up on the India edition. Elsewhere, you enter tax amounts yourself. See the main HR page for general payroll.
Prices: Free for 5 employees without payroll. Professional, with payroll, is ₹149 per employee a month before GST, minimum 10 employees. See all plans or read the India compliance guide.
Try a real pay run, free
14 days of everything, including payroll, for up to 50 employees. No card.