Payroll FAQ India — PF, ESI, ECR & Salary Slip Questions Answered

Find answers to common questions about Payroll Simple

All
General
Getting Started
Calculations
PF & ESI
Reports
Privacy

General Questions

What is Payroll Simple?

Payroll Simple is a free, payroll calculator designed for Indian businesses. It processes payroll instantly without requiring signup, installation, or storing your data on any server.

Is it really free?

Yes, completely free. No hidden charges, no trial periods, no premium plans. Process unlimited employees forever at zero cost.

Do I need to create an account?

No. Payroll Simple is instantly usable with no signup or login required

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Where is my data stored?

Your information stays private, is never transmitted or stored, and is cleared automatically after you’re done.

Getting Started

How do I start using Payroll Simple?

Download the Excel template, fill in your company name, month, and employee details once, then upload it to process payroll.

What information do I need to provide?

Company name, payroll month, and employee details including basic salary, allowances, PF number, bank account, and monthly attendance data.

Can I customize the allowance columns?

Yes! The template has "Column 1", "Column 2", "Column 3", and "Column 4" that you can rename to match your company's allowances (e.g., Fuel Allowance, Internet Allowance).

How many employees can I process at once?

Up to 50 employees per upload. For larger teams, split your file into batches of 50 and process each separately.

What attendance fields are mandatory?

Working Days, Days Worked, Days Absent, Paid Leaves, and Half Days are all mandatory and cannot be blank or zero (except Days Absent/Leaves which can be 0).

Salary Calculations

How is salary calculated for employees with absences?

The system calculates "Paid Days" = Days Worked + Paid Leaves + (Half Days × 0.5). Salary is then prorated based on Paid Days / Working Days ratio.

How is LOP (Loss of Pay) calculated?

LOP is calculated as: (Full Month Gross ÷ Working Days) × Days Absent. The payable gross already reflects the attendance adjustment.

How is overtime pay calculated?

Hourly Rate = Basic ÷ Working Days ÷ 8 hours. OT Pay = Hourly Rate × OT Multiplier × OT Hours. Default multiplier is 2x.

PF & ESI Calculations

How is PF calculated?

PF is calculated on Payable Basic + Payable DA (after attendance adjustment), capped at ₹15,000 per employee. Both employee and employer contribute 12% each.

What is the PF wage limit?

Maximum PF wage is ₹15,000 per employee per month, even if their Basic + DA is higher.

How is employer's PF contribution split?

Employer's 12% is split into: 3.67% EPF (Employee Provident Fund) and 8.33% EPS (Employee Pension Scheme).

What are EDLI charges?

EDLI (Employee Deposit Linked Insurance) is 0.5% of PF wages, paid by the employer. There is no minimum amount.

What is VPF and how is it calculated?

VPF (Voluntary Provident Fund) is an additional PF contribution an employee can make over and above the mandatory 12%. In the payroll template, enter either a VPF % or a fixed VPF Amount — not both. VPF is calculated on payable Basic+DA with no ceiling cap and shown separately in all reports and the PF challan.

Can I enter VPF as both percentage and fixed amount?

No. You must enter either VPF % or VPF Amount — filling both will trigger a validation error and the file will not process until one is cleared.

Who is eligible for ESI?

Employees whose full month gross salary is ≤ ₹21,000.

How is ESI calculated?

Employee contributes 0.75% and employer contributes 3.25% of the payable gross salary (after attendance adjustment).

Which states have Professional Tax?

Payroll Simple supports Professional Tax for 15 states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, and Tripura. For all other states, PT is returned as ₹0.

Reports & Downloads

What reports can I download?

You can download:

  • Complete Excel Payroll Report with all calculations
  • Individual Salary Slips for all employees
  • PF & ESI Challan with 4 separate sheets
  • EPFO ECR file — .txt for portal upload and .xlsx with 3 sheets for records

What is an ECR file and how do I generate it?

ECR (Electronic Challan cum Return) is the EPFO-mandated file you upload every month on the Unified Portal to remit PF contributions. After processing payroll, click "Generate ECR File" to get ECR Version 2 (UAN-based) — downloadable as .txt for direct portal upload or .xlsx for your records.

What does the ECR file contain?

Each ECR row contains: UAN, Employee Name, Gross Wages, EPF Wages, EPS Wages, EPF Contribution Remitted, EPS Contribution Remitted, EPF-EPS Difference, NCP Days, and Refund of Advances — exactly as required by the EPFO Unified Portal.

What if some employees don't have a UAN?

Employees without a UAN are skipped from the ECR file. The ECR generator shows you a list of skipped employees before download so you can update their UAN and reprocess if needed.

What's included in the PF Challan?

Four sheets: (1) PF Summary, (2) PF Employee-wise Details, (3) ESI Summary, (4) ESI Employee-wise Details.

Can I print salary slips?

Yes, click "Download Salary Slips" to view all slips, then use the Print button. You can also save as PDF from the print dialog.

Do I need to re-enter employee details every month?

No! Keep your master Excel file. Each month, just update the month name and attendance columns (Working Days, Days Worked, etc.).

Data Privacy & Security

Is my data secure?

Yes. Everything runs in your browser. Your employee data and salary details are never transmitted to any server and are cleared automatically when your session ends.

What happens to my data after I close the app?

All data is processed in your browser and cleared when your session ends. Nothing is retained between visits.

Can anyone else access my payroll data?

No. Your data is isolated to your active session and accessible only to you on your device.

Which platforms are supported?

Payroll Simple works on all modern platforms, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Do I need an internet connection?

An internet connection is only required to load the application. No data is transmitted during use.

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