Steps 1–3BeforeFix salaries · final attendance · leave
Steps 4–7DuringAdjustments · variable pay · claims · calculate
Steps 8–10Before releaseCompare · approve · bank file
Steps 11–13AfterPF/ESI/PT · TDS · payslips
Before the cycle starts
- Fix the salary structure. Make sure increments, role changes and grade changes are in. Anything changed after payroll runs becomes arrears next month.
- Finalise attendance and overtime. Bring in final attendance from the biometric devices and the app. Check that attendance corrections and overtime hours are approved.
- Apply leave and loss of pay. Deduct leave as per policy. Mark loss of pay for unapproved absence. Check comp-off credits.
During the cycle
- Add monthly adjustments. Arrears, bonuses, deductions and ex-gratia. One-off payments outside the regular components.
- Add variable pay and bonus. Variable pay, festival bonus and performance bonus. Check how tax applies to lump-sum payments.
- Add claims and advances. Approved expense claims, salary advances and recoveries, all included in the month’s payroll.
- Calculate salaries. Process all employees together. Then compare each person’s pay with last month and list anyone whose pay moved by more than about 10%.
Before release
- Check the big changes. Look into every salary that moved by more than about 10%. The cause is usually a missed input: a bonus not approved, attendance not fully in, or leave forgotten.
- Approve the payroll. The HR head approves the month. The system records who approved what, and when.
- Prepare the bank file. A NEFT or internal transfer sheet in your bank’s own upload format. Upload it to your corporate banking site.
After release
- Statutory filings: PF, ESI and PT. Prepare the ECR for EPFO, the ESI contribution sheet and the PT return. Upload each to its portal. (Ready-to-upload files from Digiclove payroll are coming soon.)
- TDS deposit and quarterly 24Q. Deposit TDS by the 7th of the next month. Prepare the quarterly 24Q return and check it with the Income Tax Department’s file validation utility.
- Publish payslips on the employee app. Employees see their payslip on the phone, and their yearly statement updates.
The 13 steps on one page
-
Before the cycleSteps 1–3
- 1Fix the salary structure
- 2Finalise attendance and overtime
- 3Apply leave and loss of pay
-
During the cycleSteps 4–7
- 4Monthly adjustments
- 5Variable pay and bonus
- 6Claims and advances
- 7Calculate salaries
-
Before releaseSteps 8–10
- 8Check the big changes
- 9Approve the payroll
- 10Prepare the bank file
-
After releaseSteps 11–13
- 11PF, ESI and PT filings Upload files: coming soon
- 12TDS deposit and 24Q
- 13Publish payslips
Where the time goes
On Digiclove HRMS, some steps still take time, such as checking the big changes and using the government portals. But moving figures between attendance, leave, claims and salary no longer does.
With spreadsheets, the same work means copying figures between files, with an accountant on call to check the return files. On Digiclove it also stands up to an audit, because every step above is recorded with the date, time and the person who approved it.
What’s new (October 2026)
- Rules for each branch (step 3). Payroll rules are set per branch, and flexible-shift and loss-of-pay rules apply the same way everywhere.
- Half-day loss of pay (step 3) now has its own payroll screen.
- Bank sheets (step 10) are built in each bank’s own format, with the bank name taken from the IFSC and several bank accounts for each pay organisation.
Want to see this checklist on your own data? Book a demo →
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