Payroll Module Feature Specification
Payroll Module Feature Specification
0 | Confidential
PAYROLL MODULE
Product Feature Specification
Comprehensive Feature Set — Benchmarked Against Greythr & Saral
PayPack
Version 1.0 | June 2026
Executive Summary
This document defines the full feature specification for the Payroll Module to be developed as part of the
integrated HR platform. The feature set is modelled to be at par with or superior to leading Indian payroll products
— Greythr and Saral PayPack — covering the complete payroll lifecycle from employee setup through statutory
compliance, expense management, full & final settlement, and employee self-service.
Module 1 — Dashboard
Real-time payroll control centre
Pending Actions Panel Alerts for pending approvals, missing bank Core
accounts, unclaimed expenses, ESI/PF due dates
Monthly Calendar View Payroll cycle calendar highlighting cut-off dates, High
processing deadlines, and statutory due dates
Statutory Due Date Tracker Visual tracker for PF challan, ESI return, PT Statutory
payment, and TDS deposit deadlines
Employee Count Snapshot Count of active, on-hold, and exited employees Core
impacting the current payroll run
Recent Activity Log Audit trail of last 10 payroll-related actions with High
user, timestamp, and change summary
Company Profile Setup Register company name, PAN, TAN, CIN, Core
registered address, and payroll cycle
(monthly/weekly)
Financial Year Configuration Set financial year start/end, salary month lock date, Core
and payroll closing dates
Leave & Attendance Integration Link leave module for LOP (Loss of Pay) High
calculations in payroll
Multi-Branch / Location Support Configure multiple work locations with location- High
specific PT slabs and payment banks
ESI Rate Setup Configure Employee ESI (0.75%) and Employer Statutory
ESI (3.25%); set ESI wage ceiling (currently
₹21,000)
Professional Tax Slab Setup State-wise PT slab configuration with monthly/half- Statutory
yearly deduction cycles
Financial Institute Setup Configure payout bank accounts for salary Core
disbursement, PF trust, and ESI payments
Payslip Template Designer Drag-and-drop payslip layout builder with logo, Core
company header, earnings/deductions columns
Rounding Rules Set rounding rules for TDS, PF, ESI: round up, Core
round down, or nearest rupee
Language / Format Toggle Payslip output in English; support for rupee symbol Medium
and Indian number formatting
Multi-Level Approval Chain Configure L1/L2/L3 approvers for salary revisions, Core
expense claims, and IT declarations
Email & In-App Notifications Trigger notifications at each approval stage with Core
pending action summary
Earnings Heads Library Pre-built heads: Basic, HRA, Conveyance, Medical, Core
Special Allowance, LTA, Bonus, Overtime
Deduction Heads Library Pre-built deductions: PF, ESI, PT, TDS, Loan EMI, Core
Advance Recovery, Canteen, Insurance
TDS Reference Mapping Map each earning head to the relevant income tax Statutory
section (Sec 10, 17, 80C, 80D, etc.)
Create Salary Group Create named groups (e.g. 'Staff Grade A', Core
'Manager') with assigned earning & deduction
heads
View Salary Groups Tabular view of all groups with head count, creation Core
date, and last modified info
Edit Salary Group Modify heads, formulas, and ceiling limits; changes Core
tracked with effective date
Copy Salary Group Duplicate an existing group as a base for creating a High
new variant
Add Earning Heads to Group Add custom or library earning heads directly from Core
the group configuration screen
Add Deduction Heads to Group Add custom or library deduction heads with priority Core
sequence for net pay calculation
Bulk Assign Salary Group Assign a salary group to multiple employees Core
simultaneously via filter or CSV upload
Change Salary Group (WEF Date) Move employee to a different group with effective Core
date — historical group preserved for past payroll
Employee Group Summary View List all employees per group with CTC, joining date, High
and current salary details
Bulk Update — Salary Components Mass update specific salary heads (e.g. HRA Core
revision) across selected employees via CSV
Edit Single Employee Salary Inline edit of individual salary components with Core
WEF date and remarks
ESI Enable / Disable Toggle ESI applicability; system auto-validates ESI Statutory
wage ceiling eligibility
PT & TDS Setting Configure PT state for the employee; set TDS Statutory
computation method (old/new tax regime)
Salary Payment — Cash & Cheque Mark employee as cash/cheque payout; exclude Core
from bank transfer file
Salary Payment — Bank Transfer Assign bank account for NEFT/RTGS salary credit; Core
validate IFSC
Add Bank Account Add / update employee bank account — account Core
number, IFSC, bank name, account type
View Single Employee Salary Full CTC breakup: gross, net, employer Core
Breakup contributions, YTD summary, and payslip history
Salary Revision History Timeline view of all salary changes with effective Core
dates, revised amounts, and approver details
Salary Comparison (Pre/Post Side-by-side view of salary before and after a High
Revision) revision for validation
Appraisal Cycle Setup Create appraisal cycles with review period, Core
Bulk Increment Upload Upload increment data via CSV: employee ID, new Core
CTC or % hike, effective date
Individual Increment Entry Manual increment entry for individual employees Core
with approval routing
Increment Letter Generation Auto-generate increment/offer letters with new CTC High
breakup in branded format
Add Expense Head Create custom expense categories: Travel, Hotel, Core
Meals, Office Supplies with GL code mapping
Upload Expense Bills / Claims Employee self-upload of bills (PDF/JPG) with Core
amount, date, category, and project tagging
Monthly Expense Summary Aggregated view of all claims for the month by Core
employee, department, and category
Expense Approval Workflow Multi-level approval with rejection remarks and Core
resubmission capability
Fuel Rate Chart Maintain fuel rate per litre (manual entry or portal Core
integration) updated periodically
Fuel Portal Integration Optional integration with IOCL/HPCL retail price Advanced
APIs for auto-rate updates
Process Fuel Expenses Calculate fuel claim: distance × fuel rate / mileage; Core
support odometer-based and flat-rate methods
Vehicle Type Configuration Set different mileage/rate for 2-wheeler, 4-wheeler, High
Monthly Advance Setup Configure salary advance eligibility, max limit (% of Core
net pay), and recovery schedule
Advance Request & Approval Employee requests advance via ESS; manager Core
approval with auto-recovery from next salary
Loan Type Configuration Define loan types: personal loan, vehicle loan, Core
education loan — with interest rate and tenure
Loan Closure & Foreclosure Close loan early with outstanding balance; High
generate loan statement for the employee
Upload Bills / Create Claim Submit reimbursement claims with supporting bills; Core
OCR-assist for amount extraction (optional)
Annual Reimbursement Utilisation Track utilised vs. available reimbursement balance High
per employee per head
Employee IT Declaration (ESS) Employees declare investments via ESS with Statutory
Previous Employer Income Capture previous employer income, TDS deducted, Statutory
PF, and PT for accurate annual TDS computation
Proof Submission & Verification Upload investment proofs; HR verifies and Core
approves/rejects with remarks
TDS Computation Summary Month-wise and cumulative TDS computation with Statutory
taxable income, exemptions, and projected TDS
Form 16 (Part A & B) Generation Generate Form 16 after year-end TDS Statutory
reconciliation; digitally sign with employer TAN
New vs. Old Tax Regime Toggle Employee selects preferred regime in ESS; system Statutory
computes TDS under both for comparison
TDS Shortfall Alert Flag employees with TDS shortfall based on High
projected annual income vs. deducted TDS
Monthly TDS Calculation Auto-calculate TDS per employee each month Statutory
based on declaration, regime, and projected
income
6.1 Pre-Processing
Feature Description Priority
Additional Earnings — Open Entry Manually enter one-time earnings for selected Core
employees: bonus, incentive, ex-gratia
Additional Deductions Entry Enter one-time deductions: fine, notice period Core
recovery, excess leave deduction
LOP (Loss of Pay) Import Import LOP days from attendance/leave module; Core
auto-calculate proportionate deduction
Attendance Integration Pull present days, overtime hours, and shift High
differentials from attendance module
Run Payroll (All / Selected) Process payroll for all employees or selected Core
department/group/individual
Payroll Preview / Dry Run Preview computed salaries before final lock — flag Core
anomalies (negative net pay, zero TDS)
Put Salary On Hold Freeze salary for specific employees (dispute/legal Core
hold) without affecting rest of payroll
Payroll Unlock / Revise Unlock and reprocess payroll for corrections before High
bank file generation
Yearly Salary Summary Annual CTC vs. actual payout summary per Core
employee with total employer cost
Department-wise Cost Report Total salary cost per department/cost centre for High
finance and budgeting
Export to Excel / PDF All registers and reports downloadable in XLSX and Core
PDF formats
View Individual Payslip HR view of any employee's payslip with full Core
component breakup
Payslip Revision & Reissue Revise and reissue corrected payslip after High
unlocking payroll
Cash / Cheque Payment List Generate payment list for cash/cheque payees with Core
acknowledgement sheet
Pro-rata Salary Calculation Calculate salary for partial month based on last Core
working day and LOP adjustment
Notice Period Recovery / Waiver Deduct unserved notice period salary or waive on Core
management approval
FNF Payment Processing Disburse FNF via bank transfer or cheque; Core
generate payment advice
FNF Lock & Archive Lock FNF record after disbursement; maintain in Core
employee history for audit
ECR File Upload Ready Export ECR in .txt format for direct upload to EPFO Statutory
Unified Portal
UAN Seeding & Validation Validate UAN linkage for all employees; flag Statutory
missing/invalid UANs before challan generation
ESI Challan Generation Generate monthly ESI contribution challan with Statutory
employer and employee shares
ESI Monthly Register Employee-wise ESI register with IP number, gross Statutory
wages, and contribution amounts
ESI Half-Yearly Return Generate Form 5 (half-yearly return) for submission Statutory
to ESIC portal
ESI Portal File Export Export contribution data in ESIC-compatible format Statutory
for online filing
ESI Wage Ceiling Auto-Trigger Auto-disable ESI for employees crossing ₹21,000 Statutory
gross wages in a month
IP Registration Support Generate new employee ESI registration data for Statutory
submission to ESIC portal
State-wise PT Challan Generate PT challans per state with correct slab- Statutory
based deduction amounts
TDS Reference (Government) Map all salary components to IT Act sections per Statutory
latest Finance Act
Quarterly TDS Return (24Q) Generate Form 24Q (quarterly TDS return for Statutory
salary) with annexure details
Form 16 / 16A Generation Year-end Form 16 (Part A & B) generation with Statutory
digital signature integration
Form 12BA Generate Form 12BA for perquisite reporting per Statutory
employee
TRACES Integration (Optional) Connect to TRACES portal for 26AS reconciliation Advanced
and TDS credit verification
Tax Liability View Employee views projected tax liability, TDS High
deducted, and form 26AS reconciliation summary
Expense Claim Submission Submit expense claims with bill upload from mobile Core
or web; track claim status
Salary Breakup View View CTC breakup, in-hand salary, and employer Core
cost contribution
Bank Account Update Employee updates/adds bank account details via High
ESS (subject to HR approval)
Loan Statement View Employee views outstanding loan balance, EMI High
FNF Statement View Exiting employee views and downloads their FNF High
settlement statement
Attendance Module Integration Pull present days, OT hours, shift allowance Core
triggers from attendance system
Leave Module Integration Auto-import LOP and leave encashment data for Core
payroll computation
EPFO Portal Integration Push ECR file to EPFO Unified Portal; pull TRRN Advanced
and challan receipt
ESIC Portal Integration Upload monthly contribution file to ESIC portal; Advanced
receive acknowledgement
Bank ERP Integration Generate bank-format salary advice files: SBI Core
YONO, HDFC Payroll, ICICI iConnect
Fuel Price Portal Integration Pull retail fuel prices from IOCL / HPCL APIs for Advanced
automated fuel rate update
Audit Log & Data Security Role-based access control, field-level audit trail, Core
data encryption at rest and transit
API for Third-Party Integration REST APIs for ERP (SAP / Oracle / Tally) High
integration for cost centre booking and GL posting
Document Notes
• Priority Key: Core (must-have for MVP), High (Phase 1 add-on), Statutory (regulatory
requirement), Advanced (Phase 2 / optional integration), Medium (nice-to-have)
• WEF = With Effect From — all salary/group changes support effective dating for correct
historical payroll
• ESS = Employee Self-Service portal accessible via web browser and mobile app
• All statutory features (PF, ESI, PT, TDS) are mandatory and non-negotiable for market launch
• Portal integrations (EPFO, ESIC, PT, TRACES, Fuel) are optional and can be enabled per
client licence