Custom HRMS, payroll and attendance software
A custom HRMS holds your employee records, attendance, leave and payroll in one system built around your own shift patterns, pay rules and sites. WavX builds these for companies whose rules a subscription product cannot follow. For a small team with a standard salary structure, a subscription HRMS is cheaper, and it absorbs statutory changes for you.
Build or subscribe: decide this first
Payroll is the one business system where the rules are written by someone else and change without asking you. That shapes the decision more than cost does.
| Your situation | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A small team, monthly salaries, one location, standard leave | Subscription HRMS | The vendor updates statutory rules for every customer at once |
| Shifts, overtime, piece rates or site allowances the product cannot express | Custom | HR stops keeping a second spreadsheet beside the software |
| Many sites, contract staff, or attendance that drives billing to customers | Custom attendance, at least | Attendance is an operations system here, not an HR form |
| Standard payroll, unusual attendance | Both | Custom attendance and leave, exported each month to a subscription payroll product |
| Per-employee fees that have grown large with headcount | Compare the totals | Include the cost of maintaining statutory rules yourself |
The fourth row matters most. Attendance and rostering are where businesses differ; payroll arithmetic is where the law is the same for everyone. Building the first and buying the second is often the cheapest sound answer. The longer comparison is in HRMS software in India: build vs buy, and the build-vs-buy calculator puts numbers on it.
Modules
WavX builds HRMS, payroll and attendance systems as web applications with an optional employee app. A first version rarely needs every row.
| Module | What it does | Decide before the build |
|---|---|---|
| Employee records | Joining details, documents, department, reporting line, salary structure, history of changes | Which fields are mandatory, and who may see salary |
| Attendance | Punches from devices or phones turned into present, absent, half day, late, overtime | The rules: grace minutes, minimum hours, night shifts that cross midnight |
| Shifts and rosters | Who works when and where; shift swaps | Fixed, rotating or weekly rosters |
| Leave | Leave types, balances, accrual, carry-forward, approval | Your leave policy, written down |
| Payroll run | Earnings, deductions, arrears, loss of pay, loans and advances, full-and-final settlement | Monthly, weekly or piece-rate, and the cut-off date |
| Statutory deductions | Provident fund, ESI, professional tax and income tax as dated, configurable rules | Who signs off the configuration: your accountant or consultant |
| Payslips and payout | Payslip PDFs, a bank transfer file, a salary register | Your bank's file format |
| Claims | Expense and travel claims with approval | Limits by grade |
| Self-service | Employees see attendance, apply for leave, download payslips | Web only, or a mobile app |
| Reports and audit | Headcount, attendance and overtime cost, deduction summaries, a log of every change to pay | What management reads monthly |
If HR is one part of a wider system with stock, purchase and accounts, it belongs in a custom ERP instead of a separate product.
Attendance: devices, phones and the rules between them
The punch is the easy part. Turning punches into a payable day is where attendance software is won or lost.
| Source | How the data arrives | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Fingerprint or face device at the gate | Depends on the model: some push each punch to a server address, some provide a developer kit, some only export a file | Exact make and model; whether it works when the site's internet is down and sends the backlog later |
| Phone with location | The employee app records a punch with GPS position inside a permitted area | Location can be faked on some phones; decide what evidence is enough, such as a photo |
| Supervisor entry | A supervisor marks a crew present from a list | Who may edit after the fact, and whether edits are logged |
| Access-control or turnstile system | Usually through that system's own export or interface | Whether the vendor documents one |
WavX lists biometric and attendance devices among the integrations it builds, and treats each device model as its own small integration to be tested with your hardware before the module is written. No device brand is assumed in a quote.
The rules are agreed in writing first: what counts as late, how a missed punch is corrected and by whom, how overtime is rounded, and what happens on a night shift that begins on one date and ends on the next. The guide on tracking employee attendance with software covers the owner's side of these choices.
Fingerprint and face templates are sensitive personal data. A sound design keeps them on the device where the model allows it, stores only the punch record centrally, and limits who can see salary and identity documents.
Statutory payroll: what the software must keep up with
The figures below were read on the official sources listed on this page on 2 October 2026. They are here to show what a payroll engine has to hold as settings, and how recently those settings have moved. They are not advice; your accountant or labour consultant confirms what applies to your establishment.
| Component | What the official source says, as of October 2026 | What it means for the software |
|---|---|---|
| Provident fund | EPFO states that employee and employer each contribute 12% of basic wages plus dearness allowance. The wage ceiling for mandatory coverage was raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month with effect from 17 September 2026. | The ceiling is a dated setting. A payroll run for August and one for October must use different values. |
| Employees' State Insurance | ESIC lists contributions of 0.75% of wages from the employee and 3.25% from the employer, and a wage limit for coverage of ₹21,000 a month (₹25,000 for persons with disability). | Eligibility is checked per employee per period, not once at joining. |
| Definition of wages | The Ministry of Labour's FAQ states that the definition of wages under the Labour Codes took effect on 21 November 2025, and that where excluded allowances exceed 50% of remuneration, the excess is added back to wages. | The salary structure screen must show the wage base that results, because gratuity and other calculations are based on it. |
| Income tax on salary | The Income Tax Department states that for salary paid from April 2026, tax deduction follows section 392(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. | Slabs, regimes and form references are settings and templates that will be revised again. |
| Professional tax | A state levy. Article 276 of the Constitution caps the total at ₹2,500 a year per person; slabs differ by state. | The rule is chosen by the employee's work location. |
Three of these five rows changed in the twelve months before this page was written. That is the argument for caution with custom payroll: the engine is simple to build and constant work to keep correct. Two design rules follow.
- Rules are data. Every rate, ceiling and slab is stored with the date it applies from, so last year's payslip can be reproduced exactly and a new rule can be entered before it takes effect.
- A named person approves each change. The software records who changed a statutory setting, when, and on whose instruction.
Planning range
These figures come from the WavX cost model, the same one behind the software cost estimator. The range is the subtotal less 15% to the subtotal plus 25%. It is a planning range, not a quote.
| Scenario | Cost model inputs | Subtotal | Planning range | Timeline band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and leave only | Internal tool base ₹2,00,000; roles ₹60,000; third-party integrations ₹60,000; exports and reporting ₹50,000 | ₹3,70,000 | ₹3,14,500 to ₹4,62,500 | 6–10 weeks |
| HR records, attendance and payroll | Custom web application base ₹4,50,000; roles ₹60,000; admin panel ₹90,000; third-party integrations ₹60,000; exports and reporting ₹50,000 | ₹7,10,000 | ₹6,03,500 to ₹8,87,500 | 10–16 weeks |
| The same, with an employee mobile app | Adds companion mobile app ₹2,00,000 | ₹9,10,000 | ₹7,73,500 to ₹11,37,500 | 10–16 weeks |
Assumptions: small scale (multiplier 1.0), standard interface design, one attendance device model, devices bought separately. Each additional device model is extra integration work. Yearly maintenance is 15–25% of the build cost, as set out in the maintenance cost guide; for payroll, plan towards the upper end, because statutory updates are part of it.
How the build runs
- Policy first. Attendance, leave and pay rules are written down and signed off. Gaps in the policy surface here, which is cheaper than finding them in code.
- Employee records and attendance. Built and put into use first, with one device connected.
- Leave and rosters. Added once attendance data is trusted.
- Payroll in parallel. The new payroll runs beside your current method for at least two pay cycles, and every difference is explained before the old method is retired.
- Self-service and reports. Opened to employees last, when the numbers behind them are settled.
- Handover. Source code, database and a written description of every pay rule belong to your company.
The parallel run is the step not to skip. A payroll error is discovered by every employee on the same day.
What a custom HRMS does not do
- It does not make your company compliant. It applies the rules it is configured with; responsibility for those rules stays with you and your advisers.
- It does not replace the judgement of an HR manager on exceptions. It records them and who approved them.
- It does not remove the need for maintenance. Statutory settings will change again.
HRMS development is one part of custom software and business systems at WavX.
Frequently asked questions
Should we build a custom HRMS or subscribe to one?
Subscribe if your salary structure and attendance rules are standard; the vendor then carries every statutory change for you. Build when the product cannot express your shift patterns, piece rates, site allowances or approval chain, or when attendance has to feed another system you run. Many companies do both: custom attendance and operations, feeding a subscription payroll product.
Can it connect to our existing biometric machines?
Usually, but it depends on the model. Some devices push each punch to a server address, some come with a developer kit, and some only export a file. We ask for the exact make and model before quoting, and test with one of your devices before the attendance module is built.
Who updates the software when PF or tax rules change?
With custom software, you do, through a maintenance arrangement. Rates, ceilings and tax slabs are kept as dated settings so most changes are a configuration update, but someone still has to make and test it. Budget for this before choosing custom payroll.
Does it file PF, ESI and TDS returns for us?
It produces the figures and the export files your accounts team or consultant uploads. The filing itself, and the responsibility for it, stay with your company and its advisers. We do not give legal or tax advice.
How much does a custom HRMS cost?
The WavX cost model gives a planning range of about ₹3.1 lakh to ₹4.6 lakh for an attendance and leave tool, and about ₹6 lakh to ₹8.9 lakh for HR, attendance and payroll together. These are planning ranges, not quotes; the software cost estimator shows the inputs.
Sources
- Ministry of Labour and Employment: Cabinet approves higher EPFO wage ceiling of ₹25,000 (release of 16 September 2026) · read 2 October 2026
- PIB: EPFO wage ceiling enhanced from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month (23 September 2026) · read 2 October 2026
- EPFO: EPF Scheme (contribution of 12% of basic wages and dearness allowance) · read 2 October 2026
- ESIC: Contribution · read 2 October 2026
- ESIC: Coverage · read 2 October 2026
- Ministry of Labour and Employment: Additional FAQs on Labour Codes (as on 16 March 2026) · read 2 October 2026
- Income Tax Department e-filing portal: TDS compliance (transition to the Income-tax Act, 2025) · read 2 October 2026
- Legislative Department: The Constitution of India, Article 276 · read 2 October 2026
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