Which is the best Indian payroll software money can buy?

Imagine you are the CIO of an enterprise with its legacy HR and payroll system on the last legs (or worse, the evil spreadsheets rule). You now need good payroll software that supports all the latest statutory reports, the latest income tax rules, digital signatures for Form 16, UTN, and so on...

So what's the best way to select the right software that will make the best sense for your enterprise? Get some references, google a bit, and soon you have a big crowd. But a little probing will quickly eliminate the pretenders from the contenders, and you have a more manageable set.

Once you have the severe payroll software vendors lined up, you develop an RFI document and start collecting data. You then need to collate it and analyze the results. It's a long and tedious job. Could it be easier?

One solution is for someone to do a product/service shootout and tabulate the results. For example, the site TopTenReviews does this for various products, and their tag line is apt: "We research, so you don't have to". Check their review of online payroll services (for the US market) to see how it works. This study from an independent site gives a good overview of all the significant contenders out there and makes the CIO's job so much easier.

One solution is for someone to do a product/service shootout and tabulate the results. For example, the site TopTenReviews does this for various products, and their tag line is apt: "We research, so you don't have to". Check their review of online payroll services (for the US market) to see how it works. This study from an independent site gives a good overview of all the significant contenders out there and makes the CIO's job so much easier.

Unfortunately, this is not so prevalent in India. Worse, it's difficult to quickly and independently review the available options without any risks or obligations. Most payroll software services seek to influence customers by just talking while keeping their offerings under a wrap. Anyone can make tall claims but isn't a free trial far better?

Today, if you want to decide based on facts, you get stumped. For example, one savvy entrepreneur searching for an Indian HR and payroll software had this to say:

There are other companies, but they don't allow you to quickly signup and check out their services before you can make a decision.

The solution? Service providers need to let users do free signup and experience the service. They can then reach a rational decision by evaluating the features, ease of use, pricing, statutory compliance, support, and personal fit. It calls for openness and transparency. It's a little hard for players who rely on mere words, smoke, and mirrors to sell, but they will soon have to evolve or perish. Here's hoping this happens sooner than later (i mean, evolve ;).

Coming back to the question "Which is the best Indian payroll software?", the jury is still out. But one thing is for sure: GreyHR Online is one of the front-runners!