Offrd
Cloud Payroll Software for Indian Companies Moving Off Excel
Cloud payroll software runs your monthly pay run in a browser instead of a desktop install or a shared workbook. In Offrd, salary structures balance to CTC, EPF, ESI and professional tax compute in an editable grid, and payslips go out by email. Pricing is ₹99 per document or ₹50 per active employee per month.
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What should you check before moving payroll to the cloud?
Most teams arrive here with a workbook that has grown for years: one tab per month, formulas nobody wants to touch, and a copy on the laptop of whoever runs payroll. It holds until a joiner lands mid month or a slab changes.
The useful question is narrow: will the new tool do the arithmetic you now do by hand, and will it say plainly what stays with you? These checks apply to any cloud based payroll software, and Offrd's answer sits beside each one.
| Check | Offrd's answer |
|---|---|
| Does each salary structure reconcile to CTC? | Yes. Special Allowance auto balances, so components always add back to the CTC you entered. |
| Are professional tax slabs held per state? | Yes. A state wise slab table with pay range, monthly deduction and state, which you can edit. |
| Can one person sit outside EPF or ESI? | Yes. Per employee toggles for EPF, ESI and Pension. |
| Can you correct figures before payslips go out? | Yes. An Excel style grid for day counts, earnings and deductions, with real time recalculation and validation warnings. |
| How do payslips reach people? | By email, after a Confirm Email Addresses step, and inside the Atndnz app. |
| What does your CA receive? | CSV exports and specialised EPF data formats. Offrd does not file returns. |
| Does it pay salaries? | No. You pay from your own bank. |
| Does it work without internet? | No. It runs in the browser. |
How does a cloud based payroll solution keep CTC and deductions in step?
The brittle part of a workbook is rarely the payslip. It is the structure underneath: the chain of cells that splits a CTC figure into Basic, HRA, allowances and deductions. Change one percentage, miss one matching edit, and the total drifts.
Offrd builds that chain as a salary structure. Basic defaults to 50% of CTC and HRA to 40% of Basic, and you can change both. DA, performance bonus and variable pay can be set as a share of CTC. Custom components can be a percentage of CTC or a fixed amount, and benefits such as Sodexo, transport or broadband can be mapped to designations, monthly or yearly. Whatever is left over lands in Special Allowance, which balances itself so the structure always reconciles to CTC. You stop writing the plug figure by hand.
Statutory deductions sit on top of that structure. EPF is computed at 12% employer and 12% employee on the EPF base. ESI is 3.25% employer and 0.75% employee on gross wages. Gratuity is calculated from Basic. Professional tax comes from the state slab table, so an employee in one state and a colleague in another each get their own deduction. The state wise professional tax slab rates page lists the slabs if you want to compare them with your current sheet, and the PF calculator lets you check an EPF figure for one person before you trust a whole month of them.
Internal deductions ride along too: loan repayments, medical insurance premiums and other recoveries. Custom components and deductions appear as their own columns in the payroll grid, so the lattice you built in Excel still shows up, only now the columns cannot fall out of step with each other.
What to gather before your first month on online payroll software
A switch goes faster when the inputs are ready before you log in. Most of it already sits in your workbook or your accountant's files. Treat this as a sketch of what month one needs.
| Gather this | Why month one needs it |
|---|---|
| CTC and current components for each employee | The structure is built from CTC. Compare the default Basic and HRA percentages with what you pay today and adjust before the first run. |
| The professional tax state for each employee | The deduction comes from that state's slab, so the right state decides the right figure. |
| UAN for each EPF member | Your CA will match EPF data to members when filing. |
| Bank account number and IFSC | Banking fields are held per employee for payslips and reference. |
| A list of who is outside EPF, ESI or Pension | Set the per employee toggles once, instead of deleting a deduction every month. |
| A working email for every employee | Payslips are sent by email, and you confirm each address before dispatch. |
| Your opening month and payday mode | Decide the first month you will run in Offrd, and whether pay counts Calendar Days or Working Days. |
| Company TAN and PAN, logo and address | Logo and address print on payslips. TAN and PAN are needed before Form 16 Part B at year end. |
Employees can be added in bulk through a spreadsheet upload, or one at a time with Quick Add. Run your first month beside your old workbook if you like. One parallel month lets you compare net figures line by line, and because every component has its own column in the grid, a mismatch is tractable to trace.
Who does what once payroll runs in a payroll portal?
A cloud tool changes where the work happens, and each step keeps the same owner it has today.
| Step | Who | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance through the month | Employees | Check in on the Atndnz app, which is free for Offrd users. HR reads the month in the Atndnz reports. |
| Open the month and generate | You | Pick the month, generate in bulk, and watch the status move from Ready to Generated to Completed. |
| Review the grid | You | Correct day counts, earnings or deductions. Gross Monthly Salary, Total Deductions and Net Payable recompute as you type. |
| Calculate statutory deductions | Offrd | EPF, ESI, professional tax and gratuity, per the structure and toggles. |
| Send payslips | You | Choose the Standard or Classic template, confirm recipients, then dispatch. |
| See payslips | Employees | By email, and in the Atndnz app with their HR letters, profile and attendance history. |
| Pay salaries | You | From your own bank. Offrd does not disburse. |
| File returns | Your CA | Works from the CSV and EPF data format exports. Offrd does not file ECR or 24Q. |
The grid behaves like a spreadsheet, so the habit of scanning rows and fixing a cell stays. What goes is the formula that silently broke in March. If Basic falls outside the expected ratio, a validation warning appears before you commit, which is a terse but useful nudge.
Payday mode is a per cycle choice. Calendar Days counts every day in the month, and Working Days counts only working days, which changes how a partial month is paid. Match your current practice so month one agrees with your last manual run.
Payslips carry your company logo and address. The dispatcher lists every recipient in a Confirm Email Addresses modal, and you can edit any row before sending, which trims the scant but real risk of a slip reaching an old address. For the slips themselves, see the payslip generator.
What happens at year end with Form 16 Part B?
Year end is where a workbook shows its threadbare edges: twelve tabs of TDS figures and a declaration sheet per employee. Offrd keeps this in the same account as the monthly runs.
Form 16 works per financial year. You enter monthly gross and TDS for each employee, with a fill all months helper for salaries that do not change through the year. You record the employee's declaration, including new or old regime, HRA and LTA. Then you Save and Lock the record; Part B cannot be generated until you do. Part A comes from TRACES, the TDS Reconciliation Analysis and Correction Enabling System. You upload it, generate Part B, and combine the two. Bulk generate and combine handles the whole team, and you can send each Form 16 to the employee from Offrd.
Two conditions apply. Company TAN and PAN must be set up first. And Offrd does not file anything with the tax department; your TDS returns stay with your CA. The Form 16 generation software page walks through the screens in more detail.
What does cloud payroll software cost, and where does it stop?
Offrd has two ways to pay. The subscription is ₹50 per active employee per month, billed monthly, with no minimum employee requirement. Pay per use is ₹99 per document. A payslip costs 2 credits per employee, and the first use is free, so you can run a real month before deciding. Every signup gets 50 free credits with no card, setup takes under 2 minutes, and you can switch plans anytime.
The limits matter when you are moving something as sensitive as pay. Offrd does not disburse salaries; you still pay from your own bank. It does not file ECR, 24Q, ESI or professional tax returns; it calculates and exports, and your CA files. The compliance calendar inside Offrd is a tracker for guidance only. It needs an internet connection, because it runs in the browser. And the interface is in English only.
If you want the full tour of the monthly editor and exports, the payroll management software page covers it. If payroll is one part of a wider move, read about cloud based HR software, where offer letters, onboarding and policies dovetail with the same employee records.
Cloud payroll questions from teams moving off Excel
What is cloud payroll software?
Payroll software that runs in a web browser, so salary structures, calculations and payslips sit in one account. Offrd is cloud payroll software for growing companies in India, with EPF, ESI and professional tax worked out for each employee every month.
Does Offrd file EPF, ESI or TDS returns?
No. Offrd calculates the contributions and exports CSV and specialised EPF data formats. Your CA files the returns. The compliance calendar inside Offrd is a tracker for guidance, not a filing service.
Does Offrd pay salaries into employee bank accounts?
No. Offrd works out the payroll and holds bank details for each employee, but it does not disburse salaries. You pay from your own bank as you do today, working from the CSV export.
How do employees see their payslips?
Payslips go out by email, after a step where you confirm every recipient address. Employees can also open their payslips in the Atndnz app, along with their HR letters, profile and attendance history. Atndnz is free for Offrd users.
Can Offrd generate Form 16?
Yes, Part B. You enter monthly gross and TDS, record the employee declaration, Save and Lock, then generate Part B and combine it with the Part A you download from TRACES. Company TAN and PAN must be set up first. Offrd does not file anything.
How much does cloud payroll cost with Offrd?
₹50 per active employee per month on the subscription, or ₹99 per document on pay per use. A payslip costs 2 credits per employee, and the first use is free. Every signup gets 50 free credits with no card.
Offrd calculates payroll and exports data for your CA. If you need salary payouts or return filing done for you, pick a tool that offers them.