HRMS Software Buying Checklist (India 2026)
Most HRMS demos look identical for the first 20 minutes. This checklist forces a vendor to answer the questions that actually decide a 3-year HR contract: payroll depth, India compliance, mobile UX, and pricing. Paste it into your shortlist tracker, score each vendor 0 to 2 per item, and let the math pick.
What a HRMS Buying Checklist must include
- Payroll depth: PF, ESI, TDS, PT, LWF, Gratuity, Bonus
- Attendance: biometric, GPS, geo-fence, shift roster, regularisation
- Leave: multiple leave types, accrual, carry-forward, encashment
- Hiring & onboarding: ATS, offer letter, document upload, e-sign
- Performance: appraisal cycle, KRAs, 360°, hike letters
- Employee self-service: mobile app, payslip download, leave apply
- Compliance reports: ECR, Form 16, 24Q, ESI return, PT challans
- Integrations: biometric devices, accounting (Tally/Zoho/QB), Slack/WhatsApp
- Security: RBAC, audit log, India data residency, ISO/SOC certifications
- Pricing: per-employee, hidden onboarding fee, setup time, free trial
Drafting tips
- Don't ask for everything in your RFP. Ask for the 10 items that matter most for *your* situation. A perfect-on-paper vendor often loses to a focused one.
- Score during the live demo, not after. Vendors are very good at pivoting answers in follow-ups, so the first answer is usually the truthful one.
- Always run a 2-week real-data trial. A demo with seed data hides 80% of friction; running your own employees through it surfaces the rest.
HRMS Buying Checklist format
HRMS BUYING CHECKLIST. Score Each Vendor 0 / 1 / 2 (0 = missing, 1 = available with caveats, 2 = strong out-of-the-box) ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── A. PAYROLL Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. Auto PF computation with ECR file generation [ ] [ ] [ ] 2. ESI 0.75% / 3.25% with half-yearly return [ ] [ ] [ ] 3. TDS: old & new regime, Section 80C/80D/HRA [ ] [ ] [ ] 4. Form 16 Part A & Part B at year-end [ ] [ ] [ ] 5. Form 24Q quarterly return (.txt for ITD upload) [ ] [ ] [ ] 6. State-wise Professional Tax (multi-state ready) [ ] [ ] [ ] 7. LWF + Bonus + Gratuity provisions [ ] [ ] [ ] 8. Off-cycle / arrears / hold-salary support [ ] [ ] [ ] 9. Bank advice (NEFT) file generation per bank [ ] [ ] [ ] 10. Payroll lock + immutable payslip + PDF freeze [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── B. ATTENDANCE Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 11. Biometric integration (eSSL / ZKTeco / Realtime) [ ] [ ] [ ] 12. Mobile selfie + GPS + geo-fence punch [ ] [ ] [ ] 13. Shift roster + rotation + auto-scheduling [ ] [ ] [ ] 14. Regularisation workflow (request + approve) [ ] [ ] [ ] 15. Auto LOP for unmarked / mismatched days [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── C. LEAVE Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 16. Configurable leave types (CL/SL/EL/Comp-off/etc.) [ ] [ ] [ ] 17. Auto-accrual per state Shops & Establishment Act [ ] [ ] [ ] 18. Carry-forward + lapse + encashment rules [ ] [ ] [ ] 19. Manager + HR + skip-level approval chains [ ] [ ] [ ] 20. Holiday calendar by location [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── D. HIRING & ONBOARDING Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 21. ATS: pipeline, sourcing, interview scheduling [ ] [ ] [ ] 22. Offer letter generation + e-sign + acceptance tracking [ ] [ ] [ ] 23. Pre-joining document upload + verification [ ] [ ] [ ] 24. Day-1 onboarding tasks (HR / IT / Finance / Manager) [ ] [ ] [ ] 25. Background check vendor integration [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── E. PERFORMANCE & APPRAISAL Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 26. Configurable appraisal cycle (annual / half-yearly) [ ] [ ] [ ] 27. KRA / OKR / KPI tracking [ ] [ ] [ ] 28. Self / Manager / 360° review templates [ ] [ ] [ ] 29. Calibration matrix (bell curve, 9-box) [ ] [ ] [ ] 30. Bulk hike letter generation [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── F. EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 31. iOS + Android mobile apps [ ] [ ] [ ] 32. Payslip download + tax declaration from mobile [ ] [ ] [ ] 33. Leave / regularisation / reimbursement apply on mobile [ ] [ ] [ ] 34. WhatsApp / Slack notifications [ ] [ ] [ ] 35. Multi-language UI (Hindi + regional) [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── G. COMPLIANCE & REPORTING Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 36. ECR file (PF): direct upload to EPFO [ ] [ ] [ ] 37. ESI half-yearly return [ ] [ ] [ ] 38. Form 16 + 12BA bulk generation [ ] [ ] [ ] 39. Audit log on every record change [ ] [ ] [ ] 40. Custom report builder + export [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── H. SECURITY & TRUST Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 41. Role-based access (HR / Manager / Employee / Finance) [ ] [ ] [ ] 42. India data residency (AWS Mumbai / GCP Mumbai) [ ] [ ] [ ] 43. SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / DPDP-aligned [ ] [ ] [ ] 44. Encrypted at rest + transit [ ] [ ] [ ] 45. Daily backups + disaster recovery [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── I. PRICING & SUPPORT Vendor1 Vendor2 Vendor3 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 46. Per-employee transparent pricing [ ] [ ] [ ] 47. No setup fee / migration fee [ ] [ ] [ ] 48. Free trial with real data (not demo data) [ ] [ ] [ ] 49. Implementation < 2 weeks for SME [ ] [ ] [ ] 50. India-based support (chat / phone / WhatsApp) [ ] [ ] [ ] ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── TOTAL (out of 100) ___ ___ ___
FAQs
Which checklist items matter most for an Indian SME?
For most 25 to 250 employee Indian SMEs, the make-or-break items are: (1) PF/ESI/TDS automation with ECR + Form 16, (2) biometric + mobile attendance, (3) leave with state-wise accrual, (4) per-employee transparent pricing with no setup fee.
How long should an HRMS evaluation take?
2 to 4 weeks. Week 1: shortlist 3 vendors. Week 2: live demos with this checklist. Week 3: 1-week real-data trial of your top 2. Week 4: decision plus onboarding kickoff.
Should I prefer a payroll-first or HR-first product?
Payroll-first if statutory compliance is your biggest pain (greytHR). HR-first if hiring + performance is the bottleneck (Keka). Modern products like Indian HRM cover both equally. See /best-hrms-software-india for a head-to-head.
How much should HRMS cost per employee in India?
₹50 to ₹250 per employee per month is the typical SME range. Anything above ₹400/employee/month should justify itself with hiring/performance modules you actually use.