Choosing payroll software in India: the five questions that matter
Most payroll tools look the same in a demo. These questions separate them.
Payroll demos all show a clean salary slip. The differences show up in month three, when someone joins mid-month, a state's professional tax changes, or an auditor asks for last year's Form 16 data.
1. Who owns statutory changes?
Ask how quickly the vendor updates PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS rules, and whether you are told before it changes your numbers.
2. How does it handle the messy cases?
Mid-month joiners and leavers, arrears, loss of pay and full and final settlement. Ask to see each one, not just a standard month.
3. Where does the employee data come from?
If your HRMS is separate, check the sync. A payroll tool that needs a monthly spreadsheet upload will eventually be wrong.
4. What does the bank and filing output look like?
Payout files for your bank, challans and returns. Ask for samples in the formats you use today.
5. Can you leave?
Ask how you export history if you switch. Your payroll records outlive any one vendor.
See the tools at the Payroll station, and if benefits sit next to payroll in your stack, look at Benefits & insurance too.