In this guide 6 sections
Ask whether the software runs the salary calculation or only prepares the month. Then ask how it takes each client’s attendance format, who can see salary and bank details, and what it claims about statutory filing. GullySystem’s Employee Records and Self-Service Software holds records, attendance and payslips, and passes the closed month to payroll. It is not a payroll engine.
Does it calculate salaries, or prepare the month
This question splits the market in two. Some products run the salary calculation. Others hold employee records, attendance, overtime and leave for every client, then hand the closed month to whichever payroll software or consultant does the calculation.
Both can be useful to a provider. Know which one you are buying. Request a demonstration of a closed month reaching the place salaries are worked out.
If a vendor says it does both, see both on your own client data.
How does attendance arrive from each client
One client sends a biometric file, another an Excel sheet, a third a photo of the muster roll. Find out how each format is brought in. Check what happens to a row that matches no employee.
A good answer lists the errors before anything is worked out. Days present, overtime, leave and loss of pay should be visible per person. Your team then fixes the file, not the result.
- A template per client format
- Errors listed before the month closes
- Overtime counted by each client’s rules
- Joiners and exits in the same import
Who sees salary, bank and identity details
A provider holds Aadhaar, PAN, bank accounts and salaries for many employers. Access should split by client and by role. Staff on one client should not open another.
Confirm whether views and exports are logged. Find out where the data is hosted and how it is backed up. Settle how a client’s records are handed back if that client leaves.
Keep the answers in writing. Spoken promises fade. What your client contracts require is a question for your lawyer.
- Access by client and by role
- Every view and export logged
- Hosting and backups stated
- Handover terms in the proposal
What does it claim about statutory filing
Be wary of any answer that sounds like a promise of compliance. Software can store UAN and ESIC numbers and the attendance returns are built from. Filing, and any notice that follows, stay with people.
Get a list of the files it produces and those it does not. Then learn who updates formats when portals change. Which rules apply to each client is for that client’s accountant or adviser.
What do employees see on their phones
Workers want payslips for loans, leave balances and tax forms. Each request reaches the client, then your desk. A self-service portal takes most of those requests away.
Open it on a low-cost handset. See whether a supervisor can apply on behalf of staff who prefer not to. Look for a report of who has never logged in.
A provider with a handful of clients may do well with a ready multi-company package. These questions still help compare options.
Payroll vendor question sheet
A sheet listing the questions in this guide on the left and the vendor’s written answer beside each. Add a third column for what you saw demonstrated on your own client data. Gaps between the second and third columns are the ones to press.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Is Employee Records and Self-Service Software a payroll engine?
No. It holds records, documents, attendance, overtime and leave, and hands the closed month to payroll software or your consultant. Payslips released by payroll are then shown to staff on their own login.
Will any software make our clients PF and ESI compliant?
Not on its own. Software can prepare and store what filings are built from. What is filed, and how a rule applies, is for the client’s accountant or adviser.
Can the closed month reach Tally?
The month leaves as an export in the format asked for. A salary journal link to Tally is scoped at set-up rather than assumed.
Should a small provider buy custom software?
Often not. With a handful of clients, a ready multi-company package is usually enough. Many clients and unusual structures are where custom work starts to make sense.