Quick answer: HR software removes most of the manual work in PF, ESI and professional tax (PT): it calculates contributions by wage and state, produces the challan and return files, and keeps registers ready for audits. greytHR, Pocket HRMS and factoHR all list statutory modules. You still own the due dates and the data, so verify the setup before the first filing.
What you are actually automating
Statutory compliance for a typical Indian employer splits into four jobs. First, deciding who is covered and on what wage. Second, calculating the contribution each month. Third, preparing the file or challan and paying it by the due date. Fourth, keeping records that survive an inspection. Software is good at the second and fourth, helpful at the third, and weakest at the first, because coverage decisions depend on your wage structure and the law as it stands.
Three regimes matter most for small and mid-sized firms:
| Regime | Who it covers (in practice) | What the software should do |
|---|---|---|
| PF (EPFO) | Employees of covered establishments | Compute employee and employer shares, generate the ECR file, track UAN |
| ESI (ESIC) | Employees in covered establishments up to the wage limit | Compute contributions, produce the monthly challan data |
| PT (state) | Employees in states that levy it | Apply the state slab, deduct, report |
PT is the trap because it is a state subject: slabs, rates and filing frequency differ between Maharashtra, Karnataka and other states. A tool that says "state-specific rules built in" is only useful if your state is covered, so test it.
What the official pages say
On ESIC's contribution page, employee contribution is 0.75% of wages and employer contribution is 3.25% of wages paid or payable (effective 1 July 2019, as that page states). It adds that employees earning a daily average wage up to Rs. 176 are exempt from their own contribution, though the employer still pays its share, and that contributions must be paid "within 15 days of the last day of the Calendar month". Treat those numbers as the vendor's published figures (checked October 2026) and recheck before you configure your system.
For PF, EPFO's wage-ceiling FAQ (notification S.O. 5109(E) dated 17 September 2026) says the statutory wage ceiling rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026. Its worked example for October 2026 onwards shows the employee paying 12% to EPF, and the employer's 12% split as 8.33% to EPS and 3.67% to EPF, with 0.5% for EDLI and 0.5% for admin charges. The ECR, the electronic challan cum return, is the monthly file you submit, ordinarily due by the 15th of the following month; the September 2026 return is due by 15 October 2026, and EPFO says it should be a single ECR that applies the old ceiling up to 16 September and the new one from 17 September. So a PF module should be able to handle the ceiling change, produce the ECR, and split the employer share. Test exactly that.
How the three tools handle it
greytHR. Its payroll page lists PF calculations with ECR generation, ESI computations and challans, PT with all state-specific rules built in, TDS and eTDS returns, one-click Form 24Q with FVU validation, digitally signed Form 16, and Labour Welfare Fund. Its homepage says it auto-computes PF, ESI, PT, LWF and TDS across 28 Indian states and describes one-click payroll close with direct government portal filing. It also states SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certification. Plans are covered in our greytHR pricing guide; its payroll product has its own listing at greytHR Payroll.
Pocket HRMS. Its site describes payroll with compliance to Indian statutory norms, machine-learning-assisted processing in "3 clicks", F&F settlement and a leave module with auto credits and debits. It says it is ISO 27001 certified, hosted on Microsoft Azure, and used by 2,000+ companies. Per its pricing page (checked October 2026), Standard is ₹2,995 for up to 50 employees plus ₹60 per additional employee, and Professional is ₹4,495 for up to 50 plus ₹90 per additional. The site does not itemise which statutory forms are generated, so ask for a demo of your state's PT and your ESI challan. See also Pocket HRMS Payroll.
factoHR. Its homepage lists payroll with statutory compliance for PF, ESI, PT and LWF, attendance with face recognition and geofencing, leave policies and OKR-based reviews. It states 4,000+ businesses, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, SOC 2 Type II and DPDP Act compliance, and pricing starting at ₹2.5 per employee per day on the Core plan (checked October 2026). Compare it with Pocket HRMS and Kredily in our pricing comparison.
A month in the life with compliance automation
- Day 1-20. Attendance and leave flow into payroll as employees work.
- Cut-off day. Final changes: new joiners (UAN and ESI details), exits, wage revisions.
- Pay run. The system calculates PF, ESI, PT and TDS; you review the summary.
- Filing days. Generate the ECR and the ESI contribution data; pay through the government portals or through the tool where it supports it.
- After filing. Store challans, receipts and registers inside the employee record.
The ESIC 15-day window means the deadline falls soon after payroll, so scheduling matters more than software speed.
Setup checklist before the first compliance cycle
- Establishment codes (PF and ESI) entered and verified.
- Employee UAN and ESI numbers captured for existing staff; a plan to capture them at joining for new staff.
- Wage components mapped correctly to PF wages and ESI wages. This mapping is the most common source of mismatched contributions.
- PT state and slab verified for each work location.
- Registers and report formats reviewed by your accountant or compliance consultant.
- A named backup person for filing dates.
When software is not enough
If you have contract labour through multiple contractors, multiple establishments, or complex PF wage-ceiling decisions, involve a compliance professional. Tools compute what you configure. If the configuration is wrong, they compute the wrong thing quickly. If you outsource filing, RazorpayX Payroll states on its site that it files and pays TDS, PF, PT and ESIC for you; confirm scope and liability terms.
For more on payroll tools, see our payroll software pricing guide and the payroll category.
Common PF, ESI and PT errors that software will not catch for you
Wrong wage definition. If an allowance is wrongly treated as PF wages, every month's contribution is off. Fix the component mapping once, then audit it each time you add a pay component.
Missing identifiers. A new employee without a UAN or ESI number creates a manual step at filing time. Make these mandatory fields in your onboarding flow; see our onboarding checklist.
Wrong state. An employee posted to another state changes the PT slab. Update work location on the date of transfer.
Missed exits. An employee who left but remains active keeps attracting contributions. Link exits to payroll; our guide to full and final settlement shows how.
No second pair of eyes. Have someone outside payroll review the contribution summary against the previous month. A wrong mapping shows up as a sudden change in total contribution without a matching change in headcount.
Choosing between the three
Choose greytHR when state-wise breadth and filing support matter and you want a large installed base. Choose Pocket HRMS when you want published plan prices and a simple suite for smaller teams. Choose factoHR when you want attendance with face recognition, compliance modules and a per-employee-per-day price in the same product. Whichever you shortlist, do a parallel run of one full month and compare each employee's contributions with your records.
What to ask your vendor about statutory updates
Rates, wage ceilings and PT slabs change. Ask how updates are delivered (automatically, or as a patch you must apply), how fast after a notification, and whether past months can be recalculated if a rule is made retrospective. greytHR's homepage says statutory updates are applied "before you even notice"; Spine HR's manufacturing page says tax slabs update automatically when government rules change. Treat such statements as promises to test: ask for the last two updates they shipped and the dates.
FAQs
Can HR software file PF returns automatically?
Tools generate the ECR file; some, per their sites, support direct filing or file on your behalf. Confirm which applies in your plan.
What is the ESI contribution rate?
ESIC's contribution page lists 0.75% for employees and 3.25% for employers, effective 1 July 2019. Recheck the page for changes.
Is professional tax the same in every state?
No. It is state-specific, so test your state's slab in the tool before relying on it.
Which HR software is cheapest for PF and ESI compliance?
Prices differ by model: Pocket HRMS lists plan prices and factoHR lists a per-employee-per-day starting price. Compare total cost for your headcount, including compliance modules.
What if the software calculates a wrong contribution?
Check the wage mapping first; most errors come from which pay components are marked as PF or ESI wages.
Next step: get a free matched shortlist, or compare more in HRMS software.
