Freelancers and consultants
Payroll software for small consultancies and first hires
Payroll only matters once someone joins you. When a junior designer or a second consultant does, pay them on time with a proper payslip, from the same place you invoice.
In short
SimpleERP is payroll software for small consultancies and freelancers in India who have started hiring. Set Basic, HRA and professional tax per person, mark attendance and leave on the phone, and post each month's salaries to the books.
Illustration of a payslip with Basic, HRA, provident fund and professional tax lines and net pay of ₹27,660.
A payroll day at Saanvi Mehta Studio
After three years alone, Saanvi Mehta Studio hired its first employee in July: Rohan, a junior designer on ₹28,000 a month who works three days from the co-working desk and two from home. In October a training coordinator joined part-time to run workshop logistics.
Saanvi still bills milestones and retainers herself, and a freelance illustrator in Bhopal sends her an invoice for each piece he draws. On the last working day of the month she wants two payslips that are right, salaries out by bank transfer, and the illustrator kept clearly outside payroll.
Who goes on payroll, and who sends me a bill?
Anyone on a monthly salary is an employee and belongs in payroll. A freelancer who invoices you for work is a supplier: record their invoice as a purchase bill or an expense, and pay it like any other bill.
- Employees: salary structure, attendance, leave, payslip.
- Subcontractors: a supplier bill with their GST, if they charge it, as input tax.
- You, the proprietor: what you take out is drawings, not a salary; ask your CA.
What goes on a first employee's payslip?
Set a salary structure once and every month starts from it. Rohan's gross of ₹28,000 splits into Basic, HRA and a special allowance, and professional tax comes off as Madhya Pradesh sets it.
- Provident fund usually becomes compulsory at 20 employees, so a three-person studio often runs without it; check with your CA.
- TDS on salary is a deduction you set per person if their income calls for it.
- Bonus or arrears added to a single payslip before you approve the run.
| Component | Earning or deduction | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Earning | ₹14,000 |
| House rent allowance | Earning | ₹5,600 |
| Special allowance | Earning | ₹8,400 |
| Gross | ₹28,000 | |
| Professional tax | Deduction | As per the Madhya Pradesh slab |
Illustration of a payslip with Basic, HRA, provident fund and professional tax lines and net pay of ₹27,660.
How do work-from-home days and leave reach the salary?
Each employee marks attendance from their phone, with work from home as its own status. Leave requests come to you for approval, and the balance updates at once. The monthly run reads both, so an unpaid day comes off without you counting.
- Self-service on the phone: attendance, leave balance and past payslips.
- One default shift seeded for you, which suits a small office.
- Holidays set once for the year, so they never count as absences.
Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.
Can I give a salary advance and recover it from later pay?
Yes. Pay the advance with a monthly recovery amount, and each payroll run deducts it until the advance is settled. The advances page shows what was paid, recovered and still due, so the balance is never a note in a diary.
- Rohan's ₹6,000 advance with ₹2,000 recovered a month is cleared in three runs.
- The payroll register shows every employee's gross, deductions and net for the month.
- Salaries post as one journal to salary expense and salaries payable.
One system
What it connects to
Attendance and leave feed the payroll run, the run posts salaries and deductions to the ledger, and the P&L shows what the team costs against what you bill.
Freelancers and consultants
SAC-coded GST invoices, advances and milestones, TDS deducted by clients and expenses for one-person practices.
See howGST billing for freelancers
Milestone and retainer invoices with SAC codes, IGST for clients in other states and advances applied to the right bill.
See howAccounting for freelancers
A ledger that keeps itself from your invoices and expenses, TDS deducted by clients as a receivable, and a P&L your CA can read.
See howInventory for freelancers
Most freelancers can skip stock. For the few who sell workshop kits, printed workbooks or merchandise, a count per shelf at average cost.
See howPayroll
Salary structures, monthly runs and payslips with PF, PT and TDS, posted to the books.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- Income tax (TDS) is not computed; you set the deduction per employee
- No preset ESI or gratuity; add them as components where they apply
- No biometric device integration: attendance is marked on the phone or entered by HR
- TDS on fees you pay subcontracting freelancers under 194J is not computed either
- No PF or professional tax returns; payroll gives you the figures to file
Getting started
Start with payroll
Sign up with your phone
Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.
Tell us about the business
Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.
Add your people
Add each employee with their joining date and phone number, set a salary structure with Basic, HRA and professional tax, and invite them to self-service.
Run the first payroll
Attendance and leave feed the run; payslips post to the books and staff see them on their phones.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is it worth setting up payroll for one employee?
If you pay a monthly salary, yes. A proper payslip helps the employee with a rent agreement or a loan, and the salary posts to your books as a cost of the practice instead of looking like a personal transfer.
Do I need to register for PF with two employees?
Usually not yet: the EPF rules generally apply once an establishment has 20 employees, though you can join voluntarily. Rules change, so confirm with your CA before you decide.
Can my employee see their own payslips but not my invoices?
Yes. Give them the Employee self-service role. They see their attendance, leave and payslips on the phone, and nothing about clients, invoices or the P&L.
An intern gets a fixed stipend. Does that go through payroll?
It can. Add the intern as an employee with a one-line salary structure for the stipend, so the payment is on record with a payslip. Ask your CA whether any deduction applies.
Related
Keep reading
Freelancers and consultants
SAC-coded GST invoices, advances and milestones, TDS deducted by clients and expenses for one-person practices.
Read moreGST billing for freelancers
Milestone and retainer invoices with SAC codes, IGST for clients in other states and advances applied to the right bill.
Read moreAccounting for freelancers
A ledger that keeps itself from your invoices and expenses, TDS deducted by clients as a receivable, and a P&L your CA can read.
Read more
See how payroll works in SimpleERP for freelancers and consultants
Seven days free. No card. Your first GST invoice in minutes.