HR and payroll for small Indian teams, in one price

HRMS software (human resource management system) keeps one record for each employee and runs the monthly HR work from it: attendance, leave, approvals, payroll, onboarding and exits. In India it also works out PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS on each payslip. LekhaHR is HRMS software for Indian teams from two people upward, billed per employee each month with no minimum.

The three usually named are HRIS, HRMS and HCM. An HRIS keeps employee records. An HRMS adds the rules that run each month: attendance, leave, approvals and payroll. An HCM suite adds talent work such as goals, reviews and workforce planning for larger organisations. Vendors use the names loosely, so before you buy, ask to see a mid-month joiner's first payslip worked out from attendance.

Cloud-based HR software runs on the vendor's servers and opens in a web browser, so there is nothing to install and no office server or backup to look after. Employees punch in, apply for leave and download payslips from their own phone or laptop, and the approver decides from anywhere, against the same records. LekhaHR works this way, and its payroll reads the attendance the team recorded.

Small-team HRMS plans in India are priced either per employee a month or as a flat monthly fee that covers the first 25 or 50 people, so the bill at your headcount matters more than the headline rate. On list prices reviewed on 19 Oct 2026, as published, 5 people pay ₹4,495 a month on greytHR Growth, a flat fee that covers 50, and ₹4,000 on Zimyo Basic, which bills at least 50 users. LekhaHR Operations costs ₹495 a month for 5 people, ₹2,475 for 25 and ₹7,700 for 100, billed monthly, before GST.

LekhaHR costs ₹99 per employee a month for the first 25 employees on the Operations plan, billed monthly, with no base fee and no minimum. Higher bands cost ₹79, ₹65 and ₹59, each only for the people inside that band, so 30 people cost 25 × ₹99 + 5 × ₹79 = ₹2,870 a month. Business starts at ₹139. GST at 18% is extra, and every team starts with a 30-day free trial, no card needed.

Yes, several Indian vendors publish free plans, each limited by headcount, by module or by an active-usage policy. LekhaHR has no free plan; it has a 30-day free trial with no card needed, and five people on Operations then cost ₹495 a month before GST. Before choosing a free plan, check that it runs payroll with PF, ESI and professional tax for your state, and what it will cost at the headcount you expect in a year.

The best HRMS for a small Indian business is the one with the lowest bill at your headcount for the modules you need, whose payroll follows the rules in force today. Check the bill at your size now and in a year, since some plans charge for a 25- or 50-person band. Check that PF is worked out on Code wages (from 21 Nov 2025) with the ₹25,000 EPF ceiling from 17 Sep 2026, and that every payslip line shows its rule.

Yes. Both plans include payroll with PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS, payslips, and the figures for Form 130 (earlier Form 16). Each payslip line shows the rule behind it and the date that rule took effect. LekhaHR works out the figures; you or your accountant file the returns and make the deposits.

Usually not. ESI applies once an establishment has 10 or more employees in an area where ESI is implemented, and EPF once it has 20 or more; below 20, EPF coverage is voluntary. Professional tax depends on your state. In LekhaHR you add the PF, ESI and PT registrations each office holds, and payroll applies only those.

No, not on its own. A chatbot can explain how PF or ESI is worked out, but payroll needs the month's attendance and leave, each person's salary structure and the rates in force on the pay date, kept as a record that someone approves and can audit later. An HRMS holds that record, and LekhaHR shows the rule and effective date behind every payslip line so you can check it.

Yes, for small teams. LekhaHR covers the core HR work a small team runs in those tools: employee records, attendance, leave, payroll, onboarding and exits. It is billed per employee with no minimum, and switching starts from your existing export, with one month run side by side before you move.

Your employee export as it is, with opening leave balances. You match its columns to LekhaHR once, decide only the rows that need a decision, and each opening balance becomes the first dated line of that person's leave ledger. Plan one month run side by side before you move.

Yes. Any role can be given any module at the scope you choose: self, team or the whole company. A common set-up gives the accountant payroll for the whole company and nothing else, and every change records who made it, when and why.

LekhaHR is available by invitation: request an invite and we reply by email with your setup. Every invited team starts with a 30-day free trial, no card needed. Tell us your team size and the tool you use now, and a person reads every request.