Start with payroll compliance
Payroll is where a weak HRMS costs money: a wrong slab, a missed return or a late deposit brings interest and penalties. Ask each vendor to show, not describe, the following.
- PF and ESI worked out on the right wages, with the PF wage ceiling of ₹25,000 in force from 17 September 2026, the EPS share capped at the ceiling, and ESI coverage held for the whole contribution period.
- The returns themselves: a PF ECR file ready to upload to EPFO and an ESIC monthly contribution file, not just a report to retype.
- Professional tax for every state you employ people in, including states with half-yearly or annual schedules, and who keeps those slabs current.
- TDS on salary under both the old and new regimes, with investment declarations, proof checks and joiners' previous-employer income.
- Quarterly and annual tax forms: from tax year 2026-27 the salary TDS return is Form No. 138 (earlier Form 24Q) and the employee certificate is Form No. 130 (earlier Form 16). Ask which forms and which years the product supports.
- Full and final settlement with leave encashment, notice recovery and gratuity, approved before it is paid.
Attendance and leave that feed payroll
Most payroll errors start in attendance. Check that the system you choose captures attendance the way your people actually work, and that the result reaches payroll as loss of pay without a spreadsheet in between.
- Capture options: biometric devices you already own, mobile check-in with geofenced work sites, face check-in, or a mix by location.
- Shifts and weekly offs: night shifts that cross midnight, rotating shifts, and patterns such as the 2nd and 4th Saturday off.
- Corrections: regularisation for missed punches, and a way to approve work on a rest day as comp-off or overtime.
- The divisor for loss of pay: whether you can choose calendar days, working days, or a fixed 30 or 26 days.
- Leave rules: accrual, carry-forward, probation limits, holiday calendars per location, and encashment.
Mobile and approvals
Employees who do not sit at a desk will use the HRMS only if it works on their phone. Install the app during the trial and try the everyday tasks: checking in, applying for leave, submitting an expense with a receipt, and a manager approving all three. Ask what happens when there is no signal at the time of a check-in.
Approvals should follow your organisation, not a fixed two-step chain: multi-level approvals, routing by amount for expenses, and a delegate when the approver is away.
Data protection under the DPDP Act
An HRMS holds PAN, Aadhaar, bank accounts, salaries and sometimes health information. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, your company remains responsible for that data even when a vendor processes it. Ask for:
- A data processing agreement that sets out what the vendor does with your data.
- Encryption in transit and at rest for sensitive fields, and how one customer's data is kept apart from another's.
- Role-based access that limits who can see salaries and identity numbers, and an audit trail of changes.
- A way for employees to see and correct their data, and retention rules that delete what is no longer needed.
- Two-factor login for administrators.
Pricing, migration and support
| Area | What to ask |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Is it per user, per active employee or a flat fee? Is there a minimum? Is payroll included or an add-on? |
| Hidden costs | Are there setup, implementation or per-payslip fees? Is GST shown separately? |
| Plan changes | Can you move up or down between plans, and when does a change take effect? |
| Trial | Can you run a real payroll month on your own data before you pay? |
| Data import | Which records can be imported — employees, salary structures, PF and ESI details, leave balances and history? Is there a preview that shows errors before anything is saved? |
| Leaving | Can you export your data if you move on later? |
| Support | How do you reach support, and is help with setting up included? |
The checklist
| Check | How to test it |
|---|---|
| PF, ESI, PT and TDS computed correctly | Run last month's payroll in the trial and compare it line by line with what you paid |
| Statutory files produced | Download the PF ECR and ESIC files and check they match the portal format |
| PT for all your states | Look up the slab table for each state you employ people in |
| Attendance flows into pay | Mark an absence and a half-day, then check the loss of pay on the payslip |
| Mobile app works for staff | Have a field employee check in, apply for leave and submit an expense |
| Approvals match your structure | Set up a two-level leave approval and an expense approval by amount |
| Data protection | Read the data processing agreement and check who can see salaries |
| Clean import | Import a sample of employees and leave balances, and review the preview |
| Pricing is clear | Get a written quote for your headcount, with every fee |
Where Verdeshell HRMS fits
Verdeshell HRMS is built for Indian companies. Payroll computes PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS and produces payslips, the PF ECR file, the ESIC return file and the PT register; Verdeshell maintains the income-tax rates and state PT slabs, and your company decides its PF and ESI settings. Attendance comes from biometric devices, geofenced and face check-in, and feeds loss of pay. The iOS and Android app covers attendance, leave, expenses and approvals; payslips stay on the web.
Pricing is published, every plan has a 14-day free trial set up after a demo, and bulk import with a dry-run preview brings your existing records across.