If you run a salon or spa in India and still track attendance on paper or calculate commissions in Excel, you already know how painful the 30th of every month gets. The best payroll software for salons and spas in India in 2026 is one that handles commission-based pay, rotating shifts, split duties, and PF/ESIC compliance in a single system. It should not charge you per employee either.
At a Glance: Top 6 Payroll Software for Salons and Spas in India
| Need | Best Pick |
|---|---|
| Hardware + software + flat pricing | Petpooja Payroll |
| Free tier for under 25 staff | greytHR |
| Deep HRMS for large chains | Keka |
| Already on Zoho ecosystem | Zoho Payroll |
| Salon management + payroll in one | Zenoti (enterprise) or Invoay (small) |
Petpooja Payroll, Keka, greytHR, Zoho Payroll, and salon-specific tools like Zenoti and Invoay all serve this space. Most salon owners with 10 to 60 staff need a system that pairs biometric hardware with payroll software and does not cost a fortune. That is where the comparison gets interesting.
This guide covers what salon and spa businesses actually need from payroll software. It compares the top options in India and helps you pick the right one based on your team size, budget, and pay structure.
Why Do Salons and Spas Need Specialised Payroll Software?
A salon is not a 9-to-5 office. Your payroll has moving parts that generic HR software was never built for.
Commission-heavy pay structures. Most Indian salons pay stylists a base salary plus a percentage of the services they perform. A senior stylist at a unisex salon in Koramangala might earn a fixed ₹18,000 plus 30% commission on all services above ₹40,000 in a month. Tracking this manually across 15 to 20 stylists is where errors start.
Rotating and split shifts. A split shift is when an employee works two or more separate blocks in a single day with a long unpaid gap in between. A spa therapist might work 10 AM to 2 PM, take a break, and return for 5 PM to 9 PM. Standard attendance systems that only record one check-in and one check-out cannot handle this. If you are unsure how shift tracking differs from basic attendance, this guide on shift management vs attendance tracking explains the distinction.
High staff turnover. India’s beauty and wellness sector employs roughly 5 million people, but faces a shortage of over 1.2 million trained professionals according to the same IBEF report. Because of this gap, staff move between salons frequently. Your payroll system needs to handle quick onboarding, full-and-final settlement, and exit processing without a three-day HR effort.
Mixed employee types. A single salon might have salaried receptionists, commission-based stylists, hourly-rate trainees, and freelance makeup artists who visit twice a week. One payroll system must handle all four.
Compliance is not optional. If your salon has 10 or more employees (20 in some states), you must register for ESIC. Once you cross 20 employees, EPF registration becomes mandatory too. A salon chain in Andheri West with 35 staff across two outlets cannot afford to get PF calculations wrong in March.
India’s salon and wellness sector employs roughly 5 million people but faces a shortage of over 1.2 million trained professionals, according to IBEF. This high turnover, combined with commission-heavy pay, split shifts, and ESIC/EPF compliance requirements for businesses with 10 to 20+ employees, makes generic payroll software inadequate for salon businesses.
What Should You Look for in Salon Payroll Software?
Before comparing products, know what features actually matter for a beauty business.
| Feature | Why It Matters for Salons |
|---|---|
| Commission tracking | Calculates variable pay based on service revenue per stylist |
| Split-shift support | Records multiple check-in/check-out pairs per day |
| Biometric or face attendance | Stops buddy punching in outlets where the owner is not always present |
| PF/ESIC/TDS compliance | Auto-calculates statutory deductions so you do not underpay or overpay |
| Multi-outlet dashboard | Lets you view attendance and payroll across all branches from one screen |
| Mobile app for staff | Stylists can check salary slips, apply for leave, and view schedules on their phone |
| Quick onboarding | Add a new joiner in under 2 minutes, not 2 days |
| Advance salary and deductions | Tracks cash advances given to staff and auto-deducts from next salary |
If a tool does not cover at least six of these eight, it is not built for salons.
Salon payroll software must handle at least six of eight features: commission tracking per stylist, split-shift attendance, biometric or face recognition to prevent buddy punching, PF/ESIC/TDS compliance, multi-outlet dashboards, employee mobile apps, quick onboarding, and salary advance tracking with auto-deductions.
Which Are the Top Payroll Software for Salons and Spas in India?
1. Petpooja Payroll
Petpooja Payroll is a full attendance-plus-payroll system that comes with its own biometric hardware (lifetime warranty included). It is not salon-specific software, but its feature set fits salon and spa businesses particularly well.
Core payroll and attendance features:
- Face recognition attendance device that plugs in at each outlet. Buddy punching is when one employee clocks in on behalf of an absent colleague. Face recognition eliminates this. A stylist cannot clock in for a colleague who is running late
- Flexible shift module that supports split shifts, rotating schedules, and outlet-wise shift assignments
- Salary advance tracking with auto-deductions. If a therapist takes ₹5,000 as an advance on the 15th, it gets deducted from the month-end salary on its own
- PF, ESIC, and TDS compliance baked into salary calculation. The system applies the correct brackets based on each employee’s gross salary
Convenience and pricing:
- WhatsApp salary slip delivery. Staff get their payslips on WhatsApp. This matters because most salon staff do not check email
- Multi-outlet visibility. A salon owner in Ahmedabad running three branches can view attendance, leave, and payroll for all outlets from a single dashboard
- Employee mobile app where staff can mark attendance (with geo-tagging if needed), apply for leave, and check salary breakup
- Flat annual pricing with no per-employee charges. Whether you have 12 employees or 60, the cost stays the same
Look Salon, a unisex salon in Delhi, runs its staff attendance and payroll on Petpooja Payroll.
Best for: Salon and spa businesses with 10 to 100+ staff across one or multiple outlets who want hardware plus software in one package.
Explore Petpooja Payroll features.
2. Keka
Keka is a cloud-based HRMS that covers payroll, attendance, leave, and performance management. It is popular with mid-sized companies and has a polished interface.
What works for salons:
- GPS and mobile-based attendance for staff who do not sit at a desk
- Payroll engine with PF/ESIC/TDS/PT compliance
- Employee self-service portal for leave requests and payslip access
- Custom pay components where you can add commission as a variable field
Best for: Salon chains with 50+ employees that already have an HR team managing performance reviews and employee engagement.
3. greytHR
greytHR is one of India’s most widely used payroll platforms, with a strong compliance engine and a free tier for very small teams.
What works for salons:
- Statutory compliance (PF, ESIC, PT, TDS) with auto-filing support
- Leave management with configurable policies
- Employee self-service for payslips and tax declarations
- Affordable entry-level pricing for small teams
Best for: Single-outlet salons with under 25 staff that want a low-cost payroll-only solution and can manage attendance separately.
4. Zoho Payroll
Zoho Payroll fits neatly into the Zoho ecosystem. If you already use Zoho Books or Zoho People, the integration is smooth.
What works for salons:
- Automatic PF, ESIC, and TDS calculations
- Direct salary disbursement via bank integration
- Employee portal for payslips and IT declarations
- Integrates with Zoho People for attendance and leave
Best for: Salon owners already invested in the Zoho ecosystem who want a unified software stack.
5. Zenoti
Zenoti is salon-and-spa-specific management software. It covers appointments, billing, inventory, and has a payroll module built in.
What works for salons:
- Commission and incentive tracking designed specifically for beauty businesses
- Appointment-linked revenue attribution. The system knows which stylist performed which service
- Tip management and pooling
- Built for multi-outlet chains
Best for: Premium salon and spa chains with 100+ staff that want an all-in-one salon management platform and can afford enterprise pricing.
6. Invoay
Invoay is an Indian salon management software that includes basic payroll features alongside billing, appointment booking, and inventory.
What works for salons:
- Built for Indian salons. GST billing, commission tracking, and staff scheduling in one platform
- Appointment and POS features alongside payroll
- Present in 110+ Indian cities
Best for: Small single-outlet salons that want salon management plus basic payroll in one tool.
The top six payroll software options for Indian salons and spas in 2026 are Petpooja Payroll (hardware bundled, flat pricing), Keka (deep HRMS), greytHR (free tier for small teams), Zoho Payroll (Zoho ecosystem integration), Zenoti (enterprise salon management), and Invoay (Indian salon-specific platform present in 110+ cities).
How Do These Payroll Tools Compare?
| Feature | Petpooja Payroll | Keka | greytHR | Zoho Payroll | Zenoti | Invoay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biometric hardware included | Yes (lifetime warranty) | No | No | No | No | No |
| Face recognition attendance | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Split-shift support | Yes | Limited | No | Via Zoho People | Yes | Basic |
| Commission tracking | Via custom components | Via custom fields | Manual setup | Custom component | Native | Native |
| PF/ESIC/TDS compliance | Full | Full | Full | Full | Limited | Basic |
| Multi-outlet dashboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| WhatsApp payslips | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Employee mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Flat annual fee | Per employee | Free tier + per employee | Per employee | Enterprise | Subscription |
| Salary advance tracking | Yes (auto-deduct) | No | No | No | No | No |
Among six payroll tools tested for Indian salons, only Petpooja Payroll bundles biometric hardware with lifetime warranty and offers face recognition attendance, WhatsApp payslip delivery, salary advance auto-deductions, and flat annual pricing. Zenoti and Invoay offer native commission tracking, while Keka, greytHR, and Zoho require custom setup for commissions.
How Do You Pick the Right One for Your Salon?
The decision depends on three things: your team size, your pay structure, and how many outlets you run.
Single-outlet salon with under 15 staff and simple fixed salaries. greytHR’s free plan or Invoay’s basic package will cover your needs. You do not need enterprise payroll software for a neighbourhood parlour in Pimpri with 8 employees on fixed monthly pay.
Single or multi-outlet salon with 15 to 60 staff, commission-based pay, and rotating shifts. This is where Petpooja Payroll fits best. You get biometric hardware, shift management, advance tracking, PF/ESIC compliance, and a flat annual fee that does not punish you for hiring more staff. A spa in Vastrapur, Ahmedabad running two outlets with 40 therapists and receptionists would pay far less than per-employee pricing models.
Large salon chain with 100+ staff and enterprise needs. Keka or Zenoti make sense here. Keka if you want deep HRMS features (performance management, engagement surveys). Zenoti if you want salon-specific management (appointments, retail, tips) with payroll built in.
Already using Zoho for accounting? Stick with Zoho Payroll for the integration. Adding a separate payroll tool when your books are on Zoho creates more work than it saves.
For single-outlet salons with under 15 staff on fixed salaries, greytHR or Invoay work well. Salons with 15 to 60 staff running commissions and rotating shifts benefit most from Petpooja Payroll’s flat-fee model with included hardware. Chains with 100+ staff should consider Keka for HRMS depth or Zenoti for all-in-one salon management.
How Do You Set Up Payroll for Your Salon?
If you are moving from manual payroll to software for the first time, here is what the first month typically looks like.
Week 1: Employee data entry. Add all staff with their joining date, designation, bank account, PAN, Aadhaar, and salary structure. With Petpooja Payroll, you can bulk-upload 50 employees in under 60 seconds instead of adding them one by one.
Week 1 to 2: Hardware installation. If your software includes a biometric device, install it at each outlet. Position it near the entrance so staff punch in as they arrive. Face recognition devices work better in salons than fingerprint scanners because stylists often have wet or chemical-coated hands.
Week 2 to 3: Shift configuration. Set up your shift patterns. Define each shift type (morning, evening, split, weekend-only) and assign employees to their default shift. Configure rules for overtime, late arrivals, and early departures.
Week 3 to 4: First payroll run. At month end, the system pulls attendance data, applies leave deductions, adds commissions (if configured), calculates PF/ESIC/TDS, and generates salary slips. Review the output before processing payment.
Most salon owners we work with at Petpooja complete setup within 10 working days for a team of 20 to 40 staff.
Setting up salon payroll software typically takes 10 working days for a team of 20 to 40 staff. The process covers four weeks: employee data entry with bulk upload, biometric hardware installation at each outlet, shift pattern configuration, and the first payroll run with attendance-linked salary calculation including PF/ESIC/TDS deductions.
Conclusion
The best payroll software for your salon or spa depends on your team size, pay structure, and how many outlets you manage. For most Indian salons with 10 to 60 staff running commission-based pay and rotating shifts, a system that bundles biometric hardware with payroll software and charges a flat fee works out cheaper and simpler than cobbling together separate attendance and payroll tools.
If you want to compare options further, check out this detailed comparison of top payroll software in India or read about how biometric attendance systems work with payroll.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but not all payroll tools support it natively. Salon-specific platforms like Zenoti and Invoay have built-in commission tracking. General payroll tools like Petpooja Payroll, Keka, and greytHR let you set up commission as a custom variable pay component. The key is whether the tool allows multiple commission slabs per employee, because a stylist’s commission on haircuts, colouring, and product sales may all differ.
EPF is mandatory once your salon has 20 or more employees (10 in some states). ESIC is mandatory with 10+ employees (20 in some states) for staff earning up to ₹21,000 gross per month. Most salons with 15 to 30 staff fall in this bracket and need to register. Non-compliance can result in penalties during labour department inspections.
Most payroll software lets you create different employee categories. You can set up freelance stylists as “consultants” with per-visit or per-service payments, part-time trainees on hourly wages, and full-time staff on monthly salary, all within the same system. The key is choosing software that supports multiple pay structures simultaneously.
Yes. Petpooja Payroll, Keka, greytHR, and Zoho Payroll all offer employee mobile apps where staff can view salary slips, apply for leave, and check attendance records. Petpooja Payroll also sends payslips via WhatsApp, which is more practical for salon staff who may not download a separate app.
