PF, ESI, professional tax and TDS — what to get right each month, without needing a full-time compliance team.
Payroll compliance in India isn't one rule — it's several, and they change with company size, employee salary, and state. This isn't tax advice, but here's the shape of what small businesses typically need to track. Always confirm current thresholds and applicability with a qualified compliance advisor.
Thresholds and applicability change periodically — treat this as a checklist of what to check, not the current numbers.
Every statutory calculation starts from days worked and CTC. If attendance is wrong, every downstream number is wrong too — see attendance tracking without spreadsheets.
A clear payslip showing gross, deductions and net pay is both good practice and often a compliance expectation. See CTC vs in-hand salary for what a payslip should contain.
Track when a hike takes effect and what changed — this matters for both compliance and for resolving any future pay dispute.
Deducting PF or TDS from a payslip is only half the job — the amounts also need to be deposited with the relevant authority on time.
Compliance is rarely broken by one big mistake — it's broken by small, repeated gaps in attendance, records, or deposits that compound over a year.
Merik doesn't file statutory returns for you, but it keeps the foundation clean: accurate daily attendance, a full salary-hike history, and a clear monthly payslip per employee — the records a compliance advisor or auditor will ask for first. See common payroll mistakes to avoid, or explore the payroll module.
A practical monthly process for founders and office managers.
The recurring errors that cost time, money and employee trust.
What CTC really means and how monthly net pay is calculated.
