Payroll for small businesses
Payroll software for small businesses ready to leave Excel
When you have 8 or 80 people, payroll is usually run by the owner or one accountant with a spreadsheet, a notebook of advances and a stack of attendance printouts. Swastik Payroll puts those in one place without asking you to hire a payroll team.
Signs the spreadsheet is costing you
- Last month's sheet is copied and a formula breaks without anyone noticing.
- A salary increase overwrites the old figure, and nobody knows what was paid in March.
- Advances are written in a diary and recovered from memory.
- A staff member needs a salary slip for a bank loan and it takes a day to make.
- You are not sure whether PF or ESIC now applies to you.
How Swastik Payroll handles it
What changes when payroll moves out of the spreadsheet
| In Excel today | In Swastik Payroll |
|---|---|
| Present days counted from a printout or the machine's export | Punches sync from your biometric attendance system every minute, or staff punch from their phone with GPS location and your approval. |
| Absent days multiplied by a daily rate by hand | Per-day rate is base salary ÷ 30, and absent deduction is worked out from the attendance register. |
| Advances noted in a diary | Each advance has a one-time or EMI recovery plan. Skip a month, change an amount and see the full deduction history. |
| Increment typed over the old salary | A revision creates a new salary version from its effective month. Earlier months keep the old salary. |
| Payslips made in Word when someone asks | PDF salary slips for every employee. Staff can sign in and print their own. |
| Anyone with the file can change it | Approved months can be locked. Changes are recorded in an audit log, and staff users only get the permissions you give them. |
Growing past 10 and 20
When PF and ESIC become mandatory
Two headcount milestones matter most to a growing business. Both generally count everyone you employ, not only the people who will contribute.
| Headcount | What generally changes |
|---|---|
| 10 employees | ESIC applies if your establishment type and area are notified (20 in some states). Employees with gross wages up to ₹21,000 are covered: 0.75% from them, 3.25% from you. |
| 20 employees | EPF becomes mandatory. 12% from the employee on basic + DA, 12% from you, with EPS on wages up to ₹15,000. Below 20, voluntary coverage is possible. |
Once covered, an establishment generally stays covered even if headcount later drops. Contributions for each month are due by the 15th of the following month.
What the software does, and what you still do
Swastik Payroll stores UAN and ESIC numbers, works out PF and ESIC from each salary, and gives you an EPFO ECR file and an ESIC contribution CSV.
Registering your business, uploading the files and paying the challans happen on the EPFO and ESIC portals. TDS is recorded as a deduction you or your CA decide; the software does not compute income tax.
Not sure where you stand? Try the free ESI calculator and PF calculator.
Example
One sample salary, worked the way the software does it
An illustration with sample figures for a business with 12 employees, registered under ESIC but not yet under PF. An office assistant earns a monthly base salary of ₹11,400.
- Per-day rate: ₹11,400 ÷ 30 = ₹380
- Absent 1 day: ₹380 deducted, leaving ₹11,020
- ESIC 0.75% of ₹11,020 = ₹82.65, rounded up to ₹83
- ₹3,000 advance taken in the previous month, recovered at ₹1,000 a month
Next month the advance balance shows ₹1,000 still to recover. You do not have to remember it.
| Sample salary line | ₹ |
|---|---|
| Monthly base salary | 11,400 |
| Less absent deduction (1 day) | −380 |
| Employee ESIC | −83 |
| Advance recovery (EMI 2 of 3) | −1,000 |
| Net salary | 9,937 |
Before you switch
What to keep ready
Collecting these before setup makes the first month much smoother. Most of it already sits in your salary sheet.
- Employee list with date of joining, phone, department and position
- Current monthly base salary and the month it took effect
- Allowances and deductions you pay regularly
- Payment method for each person, plus bank name, account number and IFSC
- UAN and ESIC numbers, if you are registered
- Outstanding advances and loans with balance and monthly EMI
- Shift timings, weekly offs and this year's holiday list
- Opening casual leave balances
Import
Download the sample CSV or Excel file, paste in your employee list and upload it in one go.
Run a month side by side
Calculate one month in Swastik Payroll while still using your sheet, and compare the two before trusting either.
Approve and lock
Once the figures agree, approve the month, lock it and hand out PDF payslips.
FAQ
Small business payroll questions
Do I need an HR person to use it?
No. It is built so that an owner or accountant can run the month: attendance comes in, you review each salary, apply advances and adjustments, and approve.
We don't have a biometric machine. Can we still use it?
Yes. Attendance can be entered manually or in bulk, and employees can punch in from their phone browser with GPS location, subject to your approval.
We have fewer than 20 people. Does the PF part matter?
Only if you are registered. If PF does not apply to you yet, simply leave the PF component off. When you cross 20 employees, add UANs and the PF component and the statutory report is ready.
Can my accountant see salaries but not change them?
Yes. Staff permissions separate viewing salary from managing and approving it, and reports can be given view-only access.
How is it priced?
Quotes depend on your employee count, locations and attendance devices. See how pricing works.
Related
Payroll Software
Monthly salary runs from attendance to payslip.
Employee Management
Profiles, departments, bulk import, permissions.
Payroll Software vs Excel
Where spreadsheets break and when to move.
Salary Calculator
Gross salary to take-home pay.
Payslip Generator
Printable salary slip in minutes.
Payroll Process in India
The monthly cycle, step by step.
Bring your current salary sheet to the demo
Share last month's Excel file and your advance diary. We will run the same month in Swastik Payroll so you can compare every figure before deciding.