Salary Slip Generator Software in India (2026): Format, Example and Free vs Paid
What an Indian salary slip must contain, a worked payslip with loss of pay and PF, free generators vs payroll software, common mistakes and how to generate and email payslips in one run.
Every month, every employee should get a salary slip that shows exactly what they earned, what was deducted and why. It sounds basic, but it's where many small companies still struggle: payslips built in Word or Excel, copied from last month's template, with loss-of-pay days typed in by hand and PF worked out on a calculator. One wrong cell and the payslip is wrong — and employees notice.
This guide covers what a salary slip must contain in India in 2026, the difference between a free salary slip generator and payroll software, a worked payslip example, the mistakes to avoid, and how to choose software that generates correct payslips automatically.
General guidance as of 30 September 2026, not legal advice. Check the requirements for your state and establishment.
The short answer
- Employers must issue wage slips under the labour codes (and the state laws and rules before them); electronic payslips are accepted.
- A payslip should show the employee's details, the pay period, days paid and unpaid, every earning, every deduction (PF, ESI, Professional Tax, TDS and others), and the net pay.
- Free salary slip generators are fine for a one-off slip, but they don't calculate anything — you type every number.
- Payroll software generates payslips from attendance and salary data, calculates deductions and emails every slip in one go.
- For more than a handful of employees, use software. It saves hours and removes most payslip errors.
What a salary slip must contain
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Company | Name, address, logo |
| Employee | Name, employee code, designation, department, date of joining |
| Statutory IDs | PAN, UAN (for PF), ESIC IP number (for ESI) where applicable |
| Bank | Bank name and account number (masked) |
| Pay period | Month and year |
| Attendance | Days in the month, days paid, loss-of-pay days |
| Earnings | Basic, HRA, special allowance, other allowances, bonus, arrears, reimbursements |
| Deductions | Employee PF, VPF, employee ESI, Professional Tax, TDS, loan or advance recovery |
| Totals | Gross earnings, total deductions, net pay (in figures and words) |
| Employer contributions | Employer PF, EPS and ESI — often shown for information |
The key requirement is clarity: an employee should be able to follow the calculation from gross to net without asking HR.
A worked salary slip example
Priya's monthly salary structure:
- Basic: ₹15,000
- HRA: ₹6,000
- Special allowance: ₹4,000
- Monthly gross: ₹25,000
In September (30 days), she had 2 days of unpaid leave, so she's paid for 28 days.
Earnings (prorated for 28 of 30 days):
| Earning | Full month | Paid (28/30) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹15,000 | ₹14,000 |
| HRA | ₹6,000 | ₹5,600 |
| Special allowance | ₹4,000 | ₹3,733 |
| Gross earned | ₹25,000 | ₹23,333 |
Deductions:
| Deduction | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Employee PF | 12% of basic earned (₹14,000) | ₹1,680 |
| Employee ESI | Not applicable — gross above ₹21,000 | ₹0 |
| Professional Tax | Depends on state | ₹200 |
| TDS | Nil at this income under the new regime | ₹0 |
| Total deductions | ₹1,880 |
Net pay: ₹21,453
Employer contributions (shown for information): EPF ₹1,680 split as EPS ₹1,166 (8.33% of ₹14,000) and EPF ₹514.
Three things in this example commonly go wrong on handmade payslips: forgetting to prorate every component for unpaid days, calculating PF on the full-month basic instead of the basic earned, and getting the EPS/EPF split wrong.
Free salary slip generators vs payroll software
| Free online generator / Excel template | Payroll software | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Per employee per month |
| Calculations | You type every number | Earnings, loss of pay, PF, ESI and TDS calculated |
| Attendance | Not linked | Loss-of-pay days come from attendance and leave |
| Bulk generation | One slip at a time | Every employee in one run |
| Distribution | Download and email manually | Emailed automatically; employees download from their login |
| Records | Files on someone's laptop | Stored by month, searchable |
| Statutory files | None | PF ECR and ESIC return from the same numbers |
| Best for | One or two slips, occasionally | Any company running regular payroll |
A free generator is perfectly fine if you need a single payslip — for a loan application, say. For monthly payroll, the time you spend typing, checking and emailing quickly costs more than software.
Common salary slip mistakes
- Not prorating for unpaid days — or prorating only basic, not the other components.
- PF on the wrong wage. It should be on basic (plus DA) actually earned, within the wage ceiling your company applies.
- ESI applied to the wrong people. Eligibility is fixed for a contribution period, not re-checked every month.
- TDS that jumps around because it isn't spread correctly over the remaining months.
- Old templates. Last month's designation, bank account or salary structure carried into this month.
- Joiners and leavers paid for the full month.
- No record of what was sent. When an employee disputes a payslip months later, nobody can find it.
What good salary slip software does
- Generates payslips for every employee in one run, from salary structures and attendance.
- Calculates loss of pay from attendance and leave automatically.
- Prorates mid-month joiners and leavers.
- Calculates PF, ESI and TDS correctly and shows them on the slip.
- Supports custom earnings and deductions — incentives, arrears, advances, reimbursements.
- Produces a clean PDF with your logo, and emails it to each employee.
- Lets employees download past payslips themselves.
- Keeps the payslip, the PF ECR and the ESIC return consistent, because they come from the same numbers.
How PeopleVio generates salary slips
PeopleVio's payroll generates payslips directly from attendance, leave and salary data:
- One run for the whole company, or for selected employees.
- Loss of pay from attendance and leave, and automatic proration for mid-month joining and exit.
- PF, VPF and ESI calculated through the EPFO and ESIC modules, with UAN and ESIC IP numbers printed on the slip.
- TDS under the old or new regime, based on each employee's declarations.
- Custom earnings and deductions for incentives, arrears, advances and one-off amounts; approved expense claims are added automatically.
- A professional PDF payslip with your logo, earnings and deductions tables, employer contributions and net pay in words.
- Emailed to each employee automatically, and available in their own login to download any time.
- Month-by-month history, with a searchable, paginated list of payslips.
What it doesn't do: calculate Professional Tax or Labour Welfare Fund (add them as deductions), or apply overtime rules automatically (add overtime as an earning).
What it costs
PeopleVio is priced per active employee, with payroll and every other module included:
| Active employees | Monthly billing | Yearly billing (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | ₹590 | ₹490 |
| 25 | ₹1,475 | ₹1,225 |
| 50 | ₹2,450 | ₹2,050 |
| 100 | ₹4,900 | ₹4,100 |
Prices exclude GST. See the pricing page.
For ten employees, that's less than the cost of an hour of an accountant's time each month — and every payslip is calculated, not typed.
How to move from Excel payslips to software
- Collect your data: employee list, salary structures, bank details, PAN, UAN and ESIC IP numbers.
- Import employees in bulk from Excel.
- Set up leave policies and attendance, so loss of pay is calculated automatically.
- Run one month in parallel and compare the software's payslips with your Excel ones. Investigate every difference — often the software is right.
- Switch over and let payslips go out by email.
Frequently asked questions
Is it mandatory to give salary slips in India? Yes. Employers are required to issue wage slips to employees under the labour codes and applicable state rules. Electronic payslips are accepted.
What is the best free salary slip generator? Many free online generators and Excel templates work for a single payslip. They don't calculate deductions or link to attendance, so for monthly payroll, payroll software is more reliable.
Can I generate salary slips for all employees at once? With payroll software, yes. PeopleVio generates and emails payslips for every employee in one run.
Does a salary slip need to show employer PF contribution? It's not always required, but showing employer PF, EPS and ESI contributions helps employees understand their full cost-to-company.
What's the difference between a salary slip and a payslip? They're the same thing — a monthly statement of an employee's earnings, deductions and net pay.
Can employees download old payslips in PeopleVio? Yes. Employees can view and download all their past payslips from their own login.
The bottom line
A salary slip is the one HR document every employee reads carefully, every month. Typing them by hand invites errors that cost trust. Generate them from attendance and salary data, calculate the deductions automatically, and send them out in one run.
See PeopleVio's pricing or book a demo to run your next payroll and payslips on your own data.
Related reading: CTC vs in-hand salary in 2026 · Payroll software price in India · Best payroll software for small business · How to file PF ECR online
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