Compliance · India · 2026
PF / ESI software for India — built into HelloTime.
One system for attendance, payroll and statutory filings. HelloTime auto-generates the EPFO ECR file, ESIC challan and Form 24Q quarterly TDS from the same attendance data your team is already capturing.
What is PF (Provident Fund)?
The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a retirement savings scheme administered by EPFO under the EPF & MP Act, 1952. Every covered employee contributes 12% of PF wages (basic + DA) and the employer matches with 12% — split into EPS (8.33%, capped at ₹15,000 wages) and balance EPF. EDLI (0.5%) and admin charges (0.5%) are paid by the employer. The combined corpus accrues interest set annually by the EPFO Board.
What is ESI (Employees' State Insurance)?
ESI is a social security and health insurance scheme administered by ESIC under the ESI Act, 1948. It covers employees earning gross monthly wages up to ₹21,000 with medical, sickness, maternity and disability benefits. The employee contributes 0.75% and the employer 3.25% of gross wages — together credited to the employee's IP (Insured Person) number.
Applicability — when do PF and ESI kick in?
- PF: Mandatory for establishments with 20 or more employees (10+ in notified sectors).
- ESI: Mandatory for establishments with 10 or more employees (20+ in some states), for individuals earning ≤ ₹21,000 gross.
- Professional Tax: Levied by state — Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh each maintain their own slabs (use our calculator for live numbers).
The monthly compliance flow
- UAN linkage. Every member needs a Universal Account Number. HelloTime stores it against the employee, includes new-joiner lines in the next ECR if missing, and reconciles when the EPFO portal allots one back.
- ECR generation. By the 15th of the next month, generate a pipe-delimited ECR file with 11 fields per member (UAN, name, gross/EPF/EPS/EDLI wages, contributions, NCP days, refund). HelloTime exports this directly from attendance + salary master.
- EPFO challan + payment. Upload the ECR on EPFO's Unified Portal, generate the challan, pay via net-banking. HelloTime archives every monthly TRRN against the corresponding attendance period.
- ESIC return + challan. File the contribution period statement on ESIC's portal and pay the challan by the 15th. HelloTime computes IP-wise contributions and flags employees who crossed the ₹21,000 threshold mid-period.
- Form 24Q quarterly TDS. Salary TDS is filed quarterly on TRACES. HelloTime prepares the 24Q text file (Annexure I + II) including PF/ESI/PT figures from the same source data.
Where HelloTime fits
HelloTime is attendance, time tracking and payroll in one. Attendance hours flow into the salary run; the salary run produces the ECR file, ESIC challan, PT register and Form 24Q export. No re-keying, no Excel reconciliation. CAs and HR teams get a read-only audit view by branch and month.
- Auto-generated ECR file
Pipe-delimited, EPFO-portal-ready, every month.
- ESIC challan + IP file
Including ₹21k threshold handling and new-joiner insertions.
- Form 24Q quarterly export
Annexure I & II — TRACES-ready text file.
- PT register per state
Maharashtra, Karnataka, WB, TN, Gujarat, Telangana, AP slabs maintained.
Try the numbers first.
Use the free PF/ESI calculator to see exactly what your team will owe each month — per employee and aggregated across your headcount. State-wise PT slabs included.
FAQ
PF / ESI questions, answered.
How do I link a new employee's UAN in HelloTime?
Add the employee in HelloTime with their UAN and Aadhaar. HelloTime stores the UAN on the employee record and includes it in the monthly ECR file you upload to the Unified Member Portal. If the employee doesn't have a UAN yet, HelloTime generates a 'New Joiner' line so EPFO allocates one against your establishment ID.
What ECR file format does EPFO accept and does HelloTime match it?
EPFO's Unified Portal accepts a pipe-delimited (.txt) ECR file with 11 fields per member — UAN, name, gross wages, EPF wages, EPS wages, EDLI wages, EPF contribution, EPS contribution, EPF–EPS difference, NCP days and refund of advances. HelloTime generates this file directly from your attendance + salary master, ready to upload.
How does HelloTime generate an ESIC IP number for a new employee?
Inside HelloTime, you mark the new joiner as 'ESI applicable' (auto-flagged when gross ≤ ₹21,000). HelloTime then files an Insertion of New Joiner against your ESIC employer code — the IP number flows back into the employee record so the next monthly return references it correctly.
What are the penalties for late PF / ESI payment?
Late PF deposit attracts interest under section 7Q (12% p.a.) plus damages under section 14B (5–25% p.a. depending on delay). Late ESI deposit attracts interest of 12% p.a. and prosecution risk under the ESI Act. HelloTime's compliance dashboard flags filings 5 days before the 15th-of-month due date.
Can an employee opt for voluntary higher PF contribution?
Yes. The employee may contribute up to 100% of PF wages voluntarily — the employer's statutory share remains capped at 12% of ₹15,000 unless the employer explicitly elects to contribute on actual wages. HelloTime supports both modes per employee with an audit trail.
Who pays what — employer and employee shares?
PF: employee 12% + employer 12% (the 12% employer share splits into 8.33% EPS, balance EPF). EDLI 0.5% and admin charges 0.5% are paid by the employer only. ESI: employee 0.75% + employer 3.25%. Professional Tax is deducted from the employee only, per the state's slab.
Is PF / ESI applicable to a 10–20 employee organisation?
PF is mandatory once you have 20 or more employees (10+ in some sectors after notification). ESI is mandatory once you have 10 or more employees (20+ in some states) earning ≤ ₹21,000 gross. HelloTime applies these thresholds automatically — and on day one of crossing the threshold, switches your compliance dashboard from 'voluntary' to 'mandatory'.
We file PF and ESI manually today — how does the HelloTime transition work?
HelloTime imports your existing employee master, UAN, ESIC IP numbers and last six months of contribution history via CSV. Run one parallel month — your manual filing alongside HelloTime's auto-generated ECR/challan — to reconcile to the rupee. From month two onwards, HelloTime is the system of record.
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