Running payroll yourself or handing it to a bureau

01

What each model means

In-house payroll means your own team calculates salaries, deductions and statutory contributions, usually with payroll software, and files the returns.

Outsourced payroll means a bureau or accounting firm runs the calculation and often the filings. Your team still sends inputs every month: joiners, leavers, attendance, leave, revisions, reimbursements and investment declarations.

02

Side by side

Watch for itOutsourcing moves the calculation, not the inputs. Most payroll errors start with late or wrong attendance, leave and change data, and that work stays with you.

03

When each fits

• Outsourcing tends to suit organisations with no one who knows Indian payroll, a simple and stable workforce, and few mid-month changes.
• In-house tends to suit organisations with frequent changes, shift or overtime pay, employees in several states, or a need to answer employee questions quickly.
• A mixed model is common: payroll is calculated in-house on software, and a consultant reviews filings or handles year-end work.

04

Questions to settle before outsourcing

1. 1Which filings does the bureau make, and who pays interest or damages if one is late because of its error?
2. 2What is the monthly input cut-off, and how are corrections after cut-off handled?
3. 3Can you export payroll registers, payslips and statutory returns at any time, and on exit?
4. 4Who answers employee queries about payslips and tax?