--- title: "Keka Alternative: Switch from Keka or greytHR | LekhaHR" description: "A Keka alternative for small teams: bring your Keka or greytHR export as it is, map columns once, and run one month side by side before you move." canonical: https://lekhahr.in/switch-from-keka/ last_updated: 2026-09-30 --- A Keka alternative for small teams # Switching from Keka or greytHR? Bring your export as it is. Upload the file you already have, match its columns to LekhaHR once, and decide only the rows that need a decision. Balances arrive as ledger lines that say where they came from. Then one month runs side by side before anyone is paid. [Request an invite](https://lekhahr.in/request-invite/) See what moves across No. 01 What moves --- because a switch that loses last year's history is a switch you pay for again at year end. ## What moves across from Keka or greytHR? Employee records and history, salary structures, leave balances as opening ledger lines, past attendance, pay so far this tax year by component, tax declarations, and old payslips and certificates. Each piece keeps a pointer to the file it came from, and importing a set again replaces the last import instead of adding to it. - **01People and their history**: records because joining dates, managers, departments and documents come across with each person. - **02Salary structures**: components because each component is matched once to a LekhaHR component, with its PF and ESI treatment checked. - **03Leave balances**: opening lines because each balance becomes the first line of that person's leave ledger, with the file and row it came from. - **04Attendance history**: past months because loss of pay and regularisations from before the switch stay readable, and the parallel month uses the same days. - **05Pay so far this tax year (April to date)**: by component because the year's tax projection and the Q4 Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) salary details need every month, including those paid in the old tool. - **06Tax declarations**: regime and claims because the regime each person chose, and their Form 124 (earlier Form 12BB) claims and proofs, carry on, and nobody is asked twice. - **07Old payslips and certificates**: attached because files named by employee code are matched to each person, so their history stays with them. No. 02 How it works --- because an import you can't check is a guess with your team's balances in it. ## How do you switch from Keka to LekhaHR? In four steps. Export the employee master, salary structures, leave balances and pay register from Keka. Map each column to a LekhaHR field once. Review only the rows that need a decision. Then run one month side by side: nothing is paid from LekhaHR until every difference has a cause you accept. 1. ### Export Download the employee master, salary structures, leave balances and the pay register from Keka or greytHR. A spreadsheet you keep yourself works the same way. 2. ### Map once Match each column to a LekhaHR field. Names don't have to agree: Emp Code, Employee ID or Staff No. all map to the same field, and the mapping is saved for the next file. 3. ### Review the rows that differ Rows that import cleanly go straight in. A row with a problem, such as a negative balance or a missing PAN, waits for a decision and says why. 4. ### Run one month side by side LekhaHR calculates a month from the same inputs as your old tool. Nothing is paid or sent from LekhaHR until every difference has a cause you accept. No. 03 The parallel month --- because the safest payroll switch is one where the first month has already been checked. ## One month, calculated twice, until the difference is explained. LekhaHR runs a month from the same attendance and salary data as your old tool. Take-home is compared person by person. Every difference is grouped by cause and settled once, and nothing is paid or sent from LekhaHR during the run. ### Parallel run · September 2026 42 people compared · old tool and LekhaHR, same inputs - **Take-home the same, to the rupee**: 41 of 42 - **Karthik Iyer · old tool**: ₹68,640 - **Karthik Iyer · LekhaHR**: ₹66,640 because 1 day without pay on Tue 22 Sep is in the attendance you imported; the old run had not applied it. Settled: LekhaHR's days are right. - **Difference found**: −₹2,000 - **Left unexplained**: ₹0 Settled Tue 29 Sep 2026 every cause has a decision Parallel run settledSeptember 2026 No. 04 What you keep --- because the day you go live should be the least eventful day of the month. ## Your history stays readable after the cut-over. Going live is a date you pick after the parallel month. Until then your team sees nothing new, and after it the old records stay attached to the people they belong to. - **01Past payslips and year-end certificates**: on each person because they are matched to people by employee code at import - **02Leave ledgers**: from the b/f line because the opening line names the file, date and row it came from - **03Pay so far this year**: by component because the year's tax working needs every month, not only the new ones - **04Your export files**: yours because the originals stay with you, and each import can be run again ### Cut-over checklist In this order - **1Last month paid from the old tool**: closed - **2Balances as of that month's last day**: imported - **3Parallel month**: settled - **4Employees invited**: on go-live - **5First month paid from LekhaHR**: with a second approver No. 05 What you pay instead --- because a small team shouldn't pay for seats it hasn't filled. ## What does a Keka alternative cost for a small team? LekhaHR costs ₹79 per employee a month for the first 25 on Operations, billed annually, with no minimum and no base fee, so a five-person team pays ₹395 a month before GST. Keka does not publish its plan prices, so there is no Keka figure here. Compare against your own invoice, divided by your active employees. - **LekhaHR · Operations**: ₹79 per employee a month because the bill grows only when you hire, and never charges for empty seats. - **greytHR · Essential**: ₹2,495 a month because it is a flat plan that covers up to 50 employees, then ₹45 for each one after. LekhaHR Operations: ₹79 per employee per month on annual billing for the first 25 employees, then ₹59, ₹45 and ₹39 a person in the higher bands, with no minimum and no base fee; GST extra. Business is ₹119 per employee for the first 25 on the same terms, and monthly billing adds ₹20 per employee in every band. Competitor figures: each vendor's published price for the named plan, excluding GST, as reviewed on 30 Sep 2026. Prices change. Put your headcount into the calculator and see the monthly bill for either plan, with GST shown on its own line. To set it beside other vendors, see [what each HR software vendor publishes at 5, 25 and 100 employees](https://lekhahr.in/hr-software-pricing-india/), or [how small teams in India compare HR software](https://lekhahr.in/best-hr-software-india/). [See pricing](https://lekhahr.in/pricing/) ## Should you switch from Keka or greytHR? No. 06 · Written for you if ### Switch when the tool is sized for a bigger team than yours. - You have from 2 to a few hundred people and pay for a plan sized for more. - You have a Keka or greytHR export, or a spreadsheet, and want to keep your history. - You want one full month checked side by side before anyone is paid from the new system. - You want every leave balance and payslip line to say where it came from. No. 07 · When to stay with Keka ### When switching isn't worth it - Your team is settled on Keka, the bill works for you, and nobody asks why a figure is what it is. - You need biometric or face-recognition devices wired into attendance. - You want someone else to do the whole move for you, hands-off. - You pay people outside India or in another currency. No. 08 Questions --- because most switching questions are really about what happens to last year. ## Questions about switching ### Is LekhaHR a Keka alternative for a small team? Yes, for teams from 2 people upward. LekhaHR covers attendance, leave, payroll, employee records and the rest of the HR suite, priced per employee each month with no fixed monthly minimum. Switching starts from your Keka export, and one month runs side by side before anyone is paid from LekhaHR. ### What are the best Keka alternatives for a small company in India? Other Indian HRMS products with payroll include greytHR, Zoho People with Zoho Payroll, Kredily and Zimyo, as well as LekhaHR. Judge them on three tests: the monthly bill at your headcount, whether PF, ESI, PT and TDS follow the current rules, and how cleanly your Keka export comes across. LekhaHR suits teams from two people. ### How much does Keka cost per employee? Keka does not publish its plan prices, so there is no Keka figure to quote. The fair comparison is your own invoice: divide the monthly total by your active employees. LekhaHR's Operations plan is ₹79 per employee for the first 25 on annual billing, with no minimum, so you can compare per head directly. ### Which is better for a small team, Keka or greytHR? Both are established Indian HRMS products with payroll, attendance and leave. greytHR publishes flat monthly plans that cover up to 50 employees (reviewed 30 Sep 2026), and Keka does not publish its plan prices. For a team under 25, compare the effective cost per employee, not the plan price, and check how each explains its payroll figures. ### What do I need to export from Keka or greytHR? The employee master, salary structures, leave balances, attendance for past months, the pay register for this tax year (April to date) and tax declarations. Old payslips help too. The columns don't need to match LekhaHR's names; you map them once. ### What happens to leave balances? Each balance becomes the opening line of that person's leave ledger, marked with the export file, its date and the row it came from. A balance that looks wrong, such as one below zero, waits for your decision instead of importing silently. ### Can we switch in the middle of the financial year? Yes. Pay so far this tax year (April to date) is imported by component, because the year's tax projection and the Q4 Form 138 (earlier Form 24Q) salary details need every month, including those paid in the old tool. Where tax was deducted, Form 130 (earlier Form 16) then covers the whole year. ### How long does switching take? It depends on how clean your export is and when your month closes, so we don't quote a fixed time. The one step we ask you not to skip is the parallel month: go live after a full month matches, or every difference has a cause you accept. ### Do employees see anything while we switch? No. Invitations stay held until you go live, so your team keeps using the old tool until the parallel month is settled. No. 09 · Invitation ## Available by invitation. LekhaHR is available by invitation, from teams of two. Tell us which tool you use today and when your month closes, and we'll reply by email. [Request an invite](https://lekhahr.in/request-invite/)