HR Outsourcing Services in India for SMEs
HRTailor is a managed HR outsourcing service for Indian startups and SMEs with 5 to 100 employees. You get a dedicated HR Manager, a pod of 5 to 6 HR Executives and a Cloud HRMS that run onboarding, policies, leave, payroll, documentation, grievances, exits and statutory compliance in every state you hire in, fully online, from ₹10,000 a month.
Four numbers, zero asterisks .
What are HR outsourcing services?
HR outsourcing services mean a specialist firm runs your company's people function for a monthly fee, instead of you building an in-house HR team. For an Indian company with 5 to 100 employees, that usually covers four blocks: payroll and statutory compliance (PF, ESIC, Professional Tax, Labour Welfare Fund and TDS), the employee lifecycle from offer letter to full and final settlement, HR policies and employee relations, and the HRMS that holds it all. HRTailor delivers this as a managed service: one named HR Manager owns your account, a pod of 5 to 6 HR Executives does the daily work, and your team uses a Cloud HRMS for leave, attendance, payslips and documents. You approve payroll and make people decisions; we run the rest. Plans start at ₹10,000 a month plus GST for up to 15 employees, and you can be fully running in about three weeks.
The founder is doing HR
Offer letters, PF queries and leave disputes end up with the founder or the accountant, and growth work waits.
Compliance multiplies by state
Every new state adds its own Professional Tax, Labour Welfare Fund and Shops Act rules.
One hire is not a department
A single HR generalist costs ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 a month and still has no cover on leave.
What do you get every month?
Nine things you would otherwise stitch together yourself, run by one accountable team inside one HRMS:
Dedicated HR Manager
One named HR Manager owns your account, backed by a 5 to 6 person pod. A name and a number, not a ticket queue.
Employee onboarding
Offer and appointment letters, joining kits, document collection, background check coordination and HRMS setup.
HR policies
A handbook covering leave, attendance, IT use and conduct, written for your company and headcount.
Leave and attendance
A clear leave policy plus live HRMS workflows for requests, approvals, balances and attendance.
Payroll coordination
Inputs, computation, payslips, TDS and full and final settlements, run through the HRMS every month.
Employee documentation
Offer, appointment, increment, transfer and exit letters and statutory registers, version-controlled and audit-ready.
Statutory compliance
PF, ESIC and Professional Tax challans and filings on a compliance calendar, on the With Compliance plan.
Grievances and employee relations
Acknowledgement, documented resolution and everyday employee relations before issues escalate.
Cloud HRMS included
Employee records, leave, attendance, payroll inputs, payslips and documents in one secure place, at no extra cost.
Which HR functions can you outsource?
Almost all of them. Here is what each plan covers:
| HR function | What HRTailor does | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| HR Manager and HR pod | A named HR Manager plus 5 to 6 HR Executives run your HR every month. | Both plans |
| Onboarding and offboarding | Offer and appointment letters, joining kits, exit formalities and experience letters. | Both plans |
| HR policies and handbook | Leave, attendance, conduct and IT policies written for your headcount. | Both plans |
| Leave and attendance | Policies and HRMS workflows, including biometric integration. | Both plans |
| Payroll and TDS | Monthly payroll, payslips, TDS, Form 138 returns and Form 130 certificates. | Both plans |
| Grievances and queries | Employee questions, grievances and documented resolutions. | Both plans |
| PF, ESIC and Professional Tax | Registrations, monthly challans and filings in every state you operate in. | With Compliance |
| Registers and compliance calendar | Statutory registers, Labour Welfare Fund and deadline reminders, audit-ready. | With Compliance |
| POSH policy and Internal Committee support | POSH policy and Internal Committee secretariat. | Add-on |
| Recruitment and performance management | Talent acquisition and performance reviews when you need them. | Add-on |
Statutory compliance in detail: statutory compliance services. Payroll only: payroll outsourcing.
How does HR outsourcing work?
A dedicated HR Manager is assigned within days of signing. They take over whatever HR exists, even a spreadsheet and a shared folder, and run it from there, backed by a pod that handles payroll inputs, filings, documents and employee queries. You keep full oversight; we run the day to day.
From first call to monthly run (about 3 weeks)
- 1Discovery
We map your current HR setup, headcount, states, gaps and goals on a call.
- 2Setup
The HRMS is configured, policies drafted, salary structures checked and employee data migrated.
- 3Handover
Your HR Manager and pod take ownership; employees get logins and a single point of contact.
- 4Monthly run
Payroll, compliance, employee queries and documentation, every month, on a fixed calendar.
- 5Quarterly review
A report on headcount, leave liability and compliance status, and a plan for the next stage.
What you still do
- Approve each month's payroll summary before anything is paid
- Make hiring, promotion and exit decisions
- Share joiners, exits and pay changes, or let managers enter them in the HRMS
- Read the quarterly review and decide what comes next
Should you outsource HR, hire in-house or buy software?
A company with 5 to 100 employees has four realistic ways to run HR. Hiring one in-house HR Manager costs ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 a month plus benefits, takes 30 to 60 days to recruit, and leaves you with one generalist and no cover when they are on leave. HRMS or payroll software calculates salaries and stores records, but someone in your company still has to run it, file returns and handle employees. A PEO or employer of record suits foreign companies that employ people in India without an Indian entity, and a staffing firm suits putting workers on someone else's rolls. Managed HR outsourcing gives a growing Indian company the whole function: an HR Manager, a pod and the HRMS, on a monthly subscription that scales with headcount. For most SMEs between 5 and 100 people, that is the lowest-cost way to get complete, compliant HR.
| Option | Monthly cost | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-house HR hire | ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 a month plus benefits | One generalist; no cover on leave | Companies well past 100 employees |
| HRMS or payroll software | A software fee plus your team's time | Tools only; you still run payroll, filings and employee work | Teams with an experienced HR person |
| PEO or employer of record | Priced per employee, often in dollars | Legal employment for foreign companies | Companies without an Indian entity |
| Staffing firm | A fee on each worker's salary | Workers on the firm's rolls | Temporary or contract workforces |
| Managed HR (HRTailor) | From ₹10,000 a month + GST | HR Manager, 5 to 6 person pod and Cloud HRMS | SMEs with 5 to 100 employees |
More detail: HR outsourcing vs in-house HR · HR outsourcing vs PEO vs EOR.
How much does HR outsourcing cost in India?
HR outsourcing in India is usually priced per employee or as a fixed monthly retainer. HRTailor publishes its prices: the Without Compliance plan is ₹10,000 a month for up to 15 employees plus ₹400 for each extra employee, and the With Compliance plan, which adds PF, ESIC and Professional Tax challans, filings and registers, is ₹12,500 a month plus ₹500 for each extra employee. GST is extra, the minimum term is six months, and paying six months in advance saves 10%. So a 25-person company pays ₹14,000 or ₹17,500 a month, and a 50-person company ₹24,000 or ₹30,000. Compare that with ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 a month for one in-house HR Manager, before benefits, recruitment and software. The calculator below shows your exact figure for any team size up to 100; above 100 employees, we quote a custom price.
| Team size | Without Compliance, per month | With Compliance, per month |
|---|---|---|
| 10 employees | ₹10,000 | ₹12,500 |
| 15 employees | ₹10,000 | ₹12,500 |
| 25 employees | ₹14,000 | ₹17,500 |
| 50 employees | ₹24,000 | ₹30,000 |
| 75 employees | ₹34,000 | ₹42,500 |
| 100 employees | ₹44,000 | ₹55,000 |
Monthly prices before GST, billed three months in advance; six months in advance saves 10%. Above 100 employees, pricing is custom.
Transparent pricing.
No quotes, no haggling, no surprise invoices. Pricing scales with your team size and the support you need.
Without Compliance
Base ₹10,000/mo (up to 15 emp) · then ₹400/emp
₹20,000₹10,000 / month + GST
≈ ₹30,000 billed in advance
- Dedicated Online HR Manager
- 5 to 6 HR Executives backing your account
- Cloud HRMS (included)
- HR Setup: policies, letters, salary structure
- Monthly Payroll & TDS through HRMS
- Onboarding, grievance, queries, attendance
With Compliance
Base ₹12,500/mo (up to 15 emp) · then ₹500/emp
₹25,000₹12,500 / month + GST
≈ ₹37,500 billed in advance
- Everything in ‘Without Compliance’
- PF / ESIC / PT challan processing
- Statutory filings & registers
- Compliance calendar & reminders
- Audit-ready documentation
What to look for in an HR outsourcing partner
The right company gives you a named HR Manager, not a helpdesk ticket and a rotating support pool. They have India-specific compliance depth, not generic HRIS software with a PF module bolted on.
They price transparently, so you can plan costs as your headcount grows. And they give you real data, attendance, leave liability, headcount reports, compliance status, not a black box where you hand over HR and hope for the best.
HRTailor's managed HR service is built around those four things: one Manager, one pod, one HRMS, all-in pricing from ₹10,000/month.
When do Indian SMEs outsource HR?
Indian labour law adds a layer that makes small in-house HR hard to get right: PF, ESIC, Professional Tax in each state, Labour Welfare Fund where it applies, Shops and Establishments registration, the four Labour Codes, POSH and the DPDP Act. These are the moments companies call us:
Founder or ops lead doing HR
HR is eating time that should go to customers, product and growth.
Hiring in a second state
Each new state brings its own Professional Tax, Labour Welfare Fund and Shops Act rules.
Compliance notices or a fundraise
You need clean PF and ESIC records before an audit, a due diligence or an inspection.
High employee turnover
PF transfers, ESIC continuation and full and final settlements pile up every month.
Growing from 5 to 100
You need a full HR function now without building an HR department yet.
New labour codes
The Code on Wages, Code on Social Security and state rules are changing pay structures.
State rules we run, state by state
Each state page lists the current Professional Tax, Labour Welfare Fund, Shops Act and minimum wage rules we apply:
We also run payroll, PF, ESIC and state compliance for teams in every other state and union territory, including:
How do you choose an HR outsourcing company?
Choose an HR outsourcing company on four things. First, a named HR Manager rather than a helpdesk: ask who will answer your employees' questions and who is accountable when something goes wrong. Second, India-specific compliance depth: ask how they handle Professional Tax and the Labour Welfare Fund in each state you hire in, which forms they file for TDS since Form 138 replaced Form 24Q, and whether they apply the new PF wage ceiling. A provider that cannot answer these is selling software with a PF module bolted on. Third, transparent pricing: ask for the price at your headcount today and at double your headcount, and what the invoice looks like in month six. Fourth, real data: headcount, attendance, leave liability and compliance status you can see in the HRMS, not a black box. HRTailor is built around exactly these four: one HR Manager, one pod, one HRMS and published pricing from ₹10,000 a month.
Comparing providers? See our list of HR outsourcing companies in India and the complete guide to HR outsourcing for SMEs.
Why do Indian SMEs choose HRTailor?
A named HR Manager
One accountable person, backed by a 5 to 6 person pod.
Published prices
From ₹10,000 a month, with a calculator, not a sales call.
Every state covered
PT, LWF and Shops Act rules in all 11 major states.
HRMS included
Self-service for your team, no separate licence.
Live in 3 weeks
From first call to your first managed payroll.
HR outsourcing questions, honestly answered .
A dedicated HR Manager and a 5 to 6 person pod handling four blocks: payroll and statutory compliance (PF, ESIC, Professional Tax, TDS), the employee lifecycle (onboarding, exits, documentation), HR policies and grievance handling, and HRMS administration. POSH policy and Internal Committee support are available as an add-on.
A full-time in-house HR Manager costs ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 a month and covers one role. HRTailor gives you an HR Manager, a 5 to 6 person pod and the HRMS for a fixed monthly fee, with no headcount, no leave gaps and no single-person dependency.
From ₹10,000 a month (Without Compliance) or ₹12,500 a month (With Compliance) for up to 15 employees, plus ₹400 or ₹500 for each extra employee, plus GST. A 25-person team pays ₹14,000 or ₹17,500 a month.
About three weeks: discovery of your current setup, HRMS configuration and linking of your PF, ESIC and Professional Tax registrations, then your first managed monthly payroll cycle.
Payroll and TDS are included in both plans. PF and ESIC challans, Professional Tax in each state, statutory registers and the compliance calendar are included in the With Compliance plan.
With HR outsourcing, your company stays the employer and a specialist runs HR for you. A PEO shares employer responsibilities, and an employer of record becomes the legal employer, which suits foreign companies without an Indian entity. Indian SMEs with their own entity usually need HR outsourcing.
Yes. HRTailor is built for 5 to 100 employees, and the base plan covers up to 15. Small teams benefit most, because one compliance mistake or a badly handled exit costs more than a year of the service.
Six months, with three months billed in advance. Paying six months in advance saves 10%.
IT and SaaS companies, D2C brands, healthcare and diagnostics, manufacturing SMEs, retail and professional services firms, across every major Indian state.
Both are part of the same group. HRTailor is the online, fixed-price HR department for startups and SMEs with 5 to 100 people. TMS serves companies with more than 100 employees and handles employer of record, contract staffing and IT recruitment.
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