Free Payroll Software India: Payroll Manager with EPF, ESI and Payslips

About this free online payroll software for India

Techmin Payroll Manager helps employers, payroll administrators and accountants in India run monthly salary processing in the browser. Build salary components with safe formulas, assign structures to employees, enter attendance, calculate EPF, ESI, professional tax and a gratuity estimate from dated statutory rules, and produce payslips and registers. Nothing is sent to a server.

Frequently asked questions

What is Techmin Payroll Manager?

A free, browser-based payroll workspace for Indian employers and accountants. It keeps companies, employees, salary components, attendance and monthly payroll in your own browser and produces payslips and registers.

Does my payroll data leave my computer?

No. Calculations and storage happen in your browser and nothing is sent to a server by the software. Keep regular backups, because browser data can be cleared.

Which statutory calculations does it cover?

EPF with employee, EPS, employer EPF, EDLI and admin shares, ESI with the Rs. 176 daily wage exemption, professional tax by state rule and a gratuity estimate, all from effective-dated rules you can edit.

Does it handle the EPF wage ceiling change of 17 September 2026?

Yes. When a rule changes inside a month, wages are taken for each part of the month at that part's ceiling. Confirm the rule against the latest EPFO instruction before relying on it.

Does it create the EPF ECR or ESIC upload file?

Not in this release. Use the free PF ECR File Creator and ESIC Monthly Contribution Creator on tools.complypro.co.in for those files. Upload files for the payroll manager itself are planned.

Can I use it for several companies?

Yes. Each company keeps its own employees, components, attendance, payroll runs and settings, and you switch between them from the selector at the top.

How do I back up my data?

Use Data and backup to download a JSON backup, optionally encrypted with a password, and restore it later. A backup carries an integrity check that is verified on restore.

Is it free?

Yes. A voluntary donation is welcome but creates no warranty, support or service obligation.

Error codes and solutions

Every message carries a code in square brackets. Quote the code when you ask for help. Version 1.2.0.

Code	Type	What it means	What to do
PM-E101	Error	A salary formula is not valid (bad number, unexpected character, missing bracket or formula ends too early).	Open the component, fix the formula and use only the listed fields, numbers, brackets and functions.
PM-E102	Error	Components refer to each other in a circle.	Change one of the components so that it no longer depends on the other.
PM-E103	Error	A formula divides by zero.	Check the field used as the divisor, or guard it with an IF.
PM-E104	Error	A formula uses an unknown field or function.	Use a component code that exists in this company, or a listed function.
PM-E105	Error	A component is a percentage of itself.	Choose a different base for the percentage.
PM-E106	Error	The component code is already used, or has an invalid format.	Start with a letter; use letters, numbers and underscore only; choose a code not already used.
PM-E201	Error	Company legal name is required, or the PAN format is invalid.	Enter the legal name and a PAN in the format AAAAA9999A.
PM-E202	Error	The browser blocked storage, so data could not be saved.	Allow site data for this page, leave private browsing, and download a backup as a safeguard.
PM-E301	Notice	A required entry is missing (name, template, gross, effective date or selection).	Complete the missing entry shown in the message.
PM-E302	Error	The import file is not usable (no file, over 5 MB, no valid rows, or Excel reader not loaded).	Choose a .xlsx or .csv file under 5 MB with the headings from the template. Use CSV if the Excel reader cannot load.
PM-E401	Error	Payroll or payslips are requested before payroll is calculated.	Calculate payroll for the month first. Calculate the previous month if the message names it.
PM-E402	Error	The Excel writer could not be loaded.	Use CSV, or check the internet connection and reload.
PM-E403	Notice	The payroll for the month is locked.	Unlock the run before changing it.
PM-E501	Error	A rule in the Rule master is incomplete or inconsistent (dates, slabs, source or deduction months).	Fix the item named in the message, then save the rule again.
PM-E601	Error	A backup could not be made or restored (wrong password, changed or damaged file, newer version or not a Payroll Manager backup).	Use the password that was set, or an earlier backup. Do not edit backup files by hand.
PM-E602	Notice	This browser does not support the requested feature.	Use a current version of Chrome or Edge.
PM-E603	Error	The backup file is too large (over 100 MB).	Restore a backup created by this software.
PM-E701	Notice	The feedback form cannot be opened because the device is offline.	Connect to the internet and select the feedback link again.

Release notes and user guide

Techmin Payroll Manager, Version 1.2.0, released 27 October 2026.

What is new in Version 1.2.0

New Feedback panel at the foot of the page: a link to the short customer feedback form for this software, a "Review us on Google" button and an animated link to tools.complypro.co.in. The form asks what developments you expect in the next versions.
New error code PM-E701: shown if the feedback form is opened while the device is offline.

What was new in Version 1.1.0

Payslips and reports carry no Techmin logo. If a company adds its own logo it is printed, otherwise none. Every PDF ends with "Generated using Techmin Payroll Manager v1.1.0 by Techmin HR Solutions".
New Error codes tab. Every message carries a code such as PM-E101, with a cause and a solution.
Security: Content Security Policy, clickjacking guard, referrer policy, a size limit on backup files, removal of unsafe keys when a backup is restored, and protection of CSV exports against spreadsheet formula injection.

1. Purpose

Techmin Payroll Manager is a browser-based payroll workspace for accountants, payroll administrators and employers. It keeps companies, employees, salary components, attendance and monthly payroll in your own browser, calculates earnings, EPF, ESI and professional tax from effective-dated rules, and produces payslips and registers. Version 1.0.0 is the first release and covers the payroll core. Statutory upload files, arrears, exits, labour welfare fund, income tax, bonus and full and final settlement follow in later releases.

Nothing is sent to a server. Calculations, storage, Excel, CSV and PDF files are all handled in your browser.
Amounts are held in whole paise and rounded by explicit rules, never by loose decimal arithmetic.
Every statutory rate, ceiling and slab is a dated, editable rule with a source and a verified mark.

2. Who it is for

Payroll and accounts professionals who run salaries for one or more establishments.
Employers and managers of small and medium businesses and institutions.
Compliance consultants who prepare payroll for several clients and need clients kept apart.

3. What is in Version 1.0.0

Area	Feature
Companies	Several companies on one device, each fully separate. Name, constitution, state, PAN, TAN, EPFO and ESIC numbers, PT and LWF registration, branches, wage days basis, payslip settings and logo.
Employees	Full employee master with employment, statutory and bank details, search, sorting, paging, masked identifiers, custom fields, document collection with verification status, Excel or CSV import with a preview and row-level errors, duplicate detection, and export.
Salary components	Unlimited earnings and deductions. Methods: fixed, percentage of another component, formula, balance of gross and manual monthly input. Separate statutory mappings for EPF, ESI, professional tax, tax, bonus and gratuity. Effective dates, rounding and proration choices.
Formula builder	A safe formula language with fixed fields and functions. No program code is ever run. Formulas are checked as you type, and circular references are caught.
Salary templates	Templates by employee group, a live preview of earnings and employer cost, copy, bulk assignment of a template, gross and effective date to many employees, per-employee overrides and salary history.
Attendance and inputs	Monthly grid for loss of pay days, overtime hours and every manual component, with Excel or CSV import into the grid for review before saving. Joiners and leavers part-way through a month are prorated.
Payroll run	Calculation for a month with draft, reviewed, approved and locked states. Approved payroll cannot be recalculated. An immutable snapshot of results and of the rules used is saved with each run. Exceptions are listed for each employee.
Statutory calculation	EPF (employee, EPS, employer EPF, EDLI, admin) with the 17 September 2026 ceiling change handled by day-wise split; ESI with the daily wage exemption and upward rounding; professional tax by state rule; gratuity estimate; the optional 50 per cent wages test.
Reports	Monthly and year-to-date salary registers, earnings and deductions summary, employer contribution register, professional tax register, variance report, attendance register, gratuity estimate, exceptions report and joining and exit report, each as PDF, Excel or CSV.
Payslips	Printable PDF payslips, one employee or all, with current-month and year-to-date columns, optional employer contributions and the gratuity display setting (none, total, accrual or both) with a clear note that it is not a deduction.
Rule master	Effective-dated rules for EPF, ESI, gratuity and professional tax with sources, verification marks, version history and overlap checks. Professional tax rules for any state can be added.
Backup and audit	Backup to a JSON file with an integrity check, optional AES-256-GCM password encryption, restore with checks, and an audit history of actions on the device.

4. How to use it

Company: create your company. This also loads default salary components, a sample template and the statutory rules.
Rule master: open each rule marked unverified, compare it with the official notification and tick Verified once confirmed. Add a professional tax rule for any state other than Kerala.
Salary components and templates: adjust the components and build a template for each group of employees.
Employees: add or import employees, then assign a template, gross salary and effective date. Use the selection boxes to assign many at once.
Attendance and inputs: pick the month, enter loss of pay days, overtime and manual items, then save.
Payroll run: calculate, read the exceptions, open each employee for the full working, mark as reviewed, approve and lock.
Reports and payslips: produce registers and payslips from the saved payroll.
Data and backup: download a backup after each month. Add a password if the file will be stored or sent anywhere.

5. How the main figures are worked out

Salary: each recurring earning is calculated for a full month and then prorated by paid days divided by the days basis. Overtime and manual items are not prorated.
EPF: employee 12 per cent of EPF wages; employer EPS 8.33 per cent of pension wages (nil from the age you set, 58 by default); employer EPF is 12 per cent less EPS. EDLI and admin charges are shown separately. Amounts are rounded to the nearest rupee.
EPF ceiling change: the wage ceiling rose from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 on 17 September 2026. When a rule changes inside a month, wages are taken for each part of the month at that part's ceiling, weighted by days. This follows EPFO's September 2026 illustration as reported. Check the latest EPFO instruction.
ESI: employee 0.75 per cent and employer 3.25 per cent of ESI wages, each rounded up to the next rupee. Where average daily wages are Rs. 176 or less the employee share is nil and the employer share remains.
Professional tax: the state rule gives slabs on monthly, half-yearly or yearly gross and the months of deduction. Half-yearly rules sum the saved months of the period and warn if earlier months are not saved.
Gratuity estimate: wages for gratuity multiplied by 15, divided by 26, multiplied by counted years (a part year over six months counts as a year), subject to the limit in the rule. It is an estimate, not an accounting provision or an actuarial valuation.
Year to date: the sum of saved approved or locked months in the financial year (1 April to 31 March), plus any opening balance entered on the employee, plus the month being viewed.

6. Rules and their verification status

Rule	Status and source
EPF up to 16 Sep 2026	Ceiling Rs. 15,000. Rates 12, 8.33, 0.5 and 0.5 per cent. Checked against the EPFO ECR 2.0 document.
EPF from 17 Sep 2026	Ceiling Rs. 25,000 per the Ministry of Labour and Employment notification of 17 September 2026 (reported as S.O. 5109(E)). Marked unverified because it was confirmed from published reports. EPS and EDLI ceilings are assumed to follow it. Confirm on epfindia.gov.in.
ESI	Rates 0.75 and 3.25 per cent and the Rs. 176 exemption are on the ESIC contribution page. The Rs. 21,000 ceiling comes from secondary sources. Marked unverified.
Gratuity	15 days per year, divisor 26, limit Rs. 20 lakh and five-year eligibility as described in the Ministry of Labour and Employment FAQs on the labour codes.
Kerala professional tax	Half-yearly slabs deducted in September and March, taken from published payroll references. Marked unverified: confirm on the official Kerala profession tax portal. No other state is preloaded.

7. Data, privacy and backup

Records are kept in the IndexedDB storage of your browser. Nothing is transmitted to Techmin or any other server by the software.
Browsers can lose this data if you clear site data, use a private window, change profile or lose the device. Download a backup regularly.
A backup password encrypts the file with AES-256-GCM using a key derived from the password. Techmin cannot recover a lost password.
Uploaded employee documents stay in the browser and are not included in the JSON backup. Keep the originals.
Identifiers (PAN, UAN, IP number and bank account) are masked on screen and in reports and payslips unless you tick the box to show full numbers.
Use trusted devices only. A browser has no server-side login, so anyone who can open this browser profile can open the data.

8. Known limitations and what comes next

This release does not produce the EPFO ECR file or the ESIC contribution upload file. The separate PF ECR File Creator and ESIC Monthly Contribution Creator on the same site do that from a sheet.
Not yet included: EPF arrears, EPF and ESI exit workflows, labour welfare fund, income tax and salary TDS (enter TDS manually for now), Form 16, statutory bonus, full and final settlement, leave policies and holiday calendars.
ESI contribution periods and the continued-coverage rule are not modelled. Wages above the ceiling raise a warning only.
The EDLI admin charge is held at zero and the minimum administrative charge per establishment is not applied. Confirm both.
Excel (.xlsx) reading and writing use a library loaded from the internet the first time. CSV works without it. The Excel paths were not exercised in the automated tests for this release.
Professional tax uses the saved months for half-yearly slabs. Where earlier months are not saved, a warning appears and the slab is applied to the months available.
The tool does not file returns or connect to any government portal, and its output is not an official certificate or return.

9. Version history

Version	Date	Summary
1.0.0	25 October 2026	First release: companies, employees, salary components and templates, attendance, payroll run with status control, EPF, ESI, professional tax and gratuity estimate, registers, payslips, rule master, encrypted backup and audit history.

Disclaimer

This software is provided by Techmin Wealth Partners and Techmin HR Solutions (A Subsidiary of Techmin Wealth Partners) for general information and as a working aid only.

Not a Government or portal product

Techmin Payroll Manager is an independent utility. It is not an EPFO, ESIC, Income Tax Department or Government of India product and is not connected with any statutory portal. It does not file returns or make payments.

Not professional advice

Nothing in the software or its output is legal, tax, accounting, actuarial or financial advice. Wage ceilings, rates, slabs, coverage and procedures change and must be checked against current official sources. Rules marked unverified in the Rule master are only a starting point.

Output must be reviewed

Payroll results, payslips, registers and estimates are prepared from the data and rules you enter or accept. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of the data, for reviewing every calculation before approval, and for every return, payment and payslip issued. The gratuity figure is an estimate and not an accounting provision or actuarial valuation.

No warranty and limit of liability

The software is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including accuracy, completeness, availability or fitness for a particular purpose. Techmin Wealth Partners and Techmin HR Solutions accept no liability for any loss, penalty, interest, damages or other consequence arising from the use of, or reliance on, the software.

Your data and privacy

Data is processed and stored in your browser and is not sent to a server by this software. Browser data can be lost, and anyone with access to the browser profile can open it. You are responsible for device security and for keeping backups and backup passwords safe.

Donations

The software is free to use. A voluntary donation does not create any warranty, support or service obligation.