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Law firms and advocates

Payroll software for law firms and advocates

Run one monthly payroll for the clerks, typist and salaried associates, recover the clerk's salary advance on its own, and let everyone see their payslip on their phone.

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In short

SimpleERP is payroll software for law firms and advocates in India. Salaried clerks and associates are paid from attendance and leave, with PF, PT and TDS lines you set, salary advances recovered each month and payslips posted 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 Rangan and Iyer Advocates

Rangan and Iyer Advocates pays seven people every month: a senior clerk who has been with the chamber for twenty years, a junior clerk, a typist, an office assistant and three salaried associates. Two more associates work on retainership and send their own bills, so they are not on the payroll at all.

The clerks spend half their days at the court registry, so attendance on a register in the chamber never matched reality. The senior clerk also took ₹30,000 as a salary advance for his daughter's college fees, to be repaid at ₹5,000 a month, and the partners kept forgetting to cut it.

In SimpleERP each person marks attendance on their phone, leave is requested and approved there too, and the monthly run builds every payslip from the paid days, with the advance recovery as a line of its own.

Salary structure

What does a clerk's salary look like in the payroll?

Each person has a structure with exactly one Basic line, HRA and other allowances, and the deductions that apply to them. Amounts are pro-rated by paid days, so a clerk who took two unpaid days is paid for the rest without anyone working it out.

  • PF for those who are covered, with the employer share posted too.
  • Professional tax and TDS as amounts you set per person.
  • Bonus or arrears added to one month's payslip without changing the structure.
ComponentTypeAmount
BasicEarning₹18,000
House rent allowanceEarning₹7,200
Conveyance for court visitsEarning₹2,500
Provident fund, employee shareDeduction₹1,800
Salary advance recoveryDeduction₹5,000
Net pay₹20,900
October payslip for the senior clerk at Rangan and Iyer Advocates, full month. PF and PT amounts follow your rules.

Attendance

How is attendance marked when clerks are at court all day?

Each person checks in from their phone wherever the day starts, whether that is the chamber or the registry, and HR or a partner can correct a day by hand. Leave requests go to a partner on the phone, and the balance updates the moment one is approved.

  • A default shift and your holiday list decide the working days.
  • Leave types such as casual and sick leave, with paid or unpaid set on each.
  • Court vacations entered as holidays so they do not count as absence.

Illustration of the daily attendance sheet on a phone with a Mark all present button.

A clerk's attendance and leave on the phone.

Associates

Do associates on retainership go through payroll?

Only if they are employees. An associate paid a fixed salary with PF goes on the payroll like anyone else; one engaged on retainership who issues a bill each month is a supplier, and the bill is recorded as a purchase with the fee as an expense.

  • Salaried associates in the payroll run with their own structure.
  • Retained associates paid against their bill, with the payment allocated to it.
  • Each run moves from generate to approve to pay, and posts salaries payable.

One system

Where payroll connects

Attendance and leave feed the run, the approved run posts salary expense and payables, and paying it clears them from the bank.

Honest limits

Limits for a chamber's payroll

  • 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 paid to retained associates under 194J is not computed; enter what you deduct on their bill

Getting started

Start with payroll

  1. Sign up with your phone

    Name, phone number and a password. No card for the seven-day trial, and email is optional.

  2. Tell us about the business

    Type your GSTIN and the state fills itself. Accounts, GST rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for you.

  3. Add your people

    Add the clerks, typist and salaried associates with their joining dates, salary structures and PF or PT where they apply.

  4. 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

Can a clerk see his own payslip without asking the office?

Yes. Each employee signs in with their phone number and sees only their own attendance, leave, payslips and advance balance. Partners and the accountant see everyone.

How is the senior clerk's salary advance recovered?

Record the advance with a monthly recovery amount and each payroll deducts it until it is repaid. The last month deducts only what is left, and the advances page shows paid, recovered and due.

We are only seven people. Is payroll worth setting up?

It takes an afternoon: seven structures, a shift and a holiday list. After that each month is one run to generate, check and approve, and the journal posts itself.

Can a court vacation month be paid in full?

Yes. Enter the vacation days as holidays, so they count as paid and no one loses pay for days the court was closed.

Related

See how payroll works in SimpleERP for law firms and advocates

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