As India prepares to roll out its new Labour Codes in 2025, small and medium enterprises face a complex operational challenge: adapting payroll, wage structures, and statutory compliance while continuing to run daily operations.
Offrd, a payroll and HR platform used by over 4,000 Indian SMEs, has released a set of updates aimed at simplifying this transition. The enhancements are designed to surface potential compliance and operational issues earlier in payroll and documentation workflows, helping SMEs address them before they become costly errors.
Why SMEs Need a Practical Solution
The new Labour Codes place renewed emphasis on wage structuring, statutory components such as EPF and ESI, and employee settlements. For SMEs, where HR and payroll often coexist with core business tasks, these areas have historically been sources of confusion, manual corrections, and compliance risks.
Rather than imposing rigid enterprise-style processes, Offrd’s updates focus on:
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Practical defaults aligned with typical SME workflows
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Timely alerts to flag wage, settlement, or statutory discrepancies
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Workflow-level cues to guide HR teams during hiring, payroll, and exits
The platform is built around the realities of smaller teams, helping businesses operationalize Labour Code requirements without adding unnecessary complexity.
Leadership Perspective: Usability First
Ravi Balan, Chief Product Officer at Offrd, emphasized the platform’s design philosophy: “Labour Code changes are not abstract policy updates. They directly affect how salaries are structured and settlements are processed. We prioritized changes that make wage structures, statutory visibility, and settlements easier to manage, without forcing SMEs into enterprise-style processes. Customer convenience and real-world usability came first.”
The updates target the Code on Wages and the Social Security Code, particularly in areas operationally sensitive for smaller employers, like salary component visibility, statutory calculations, and final settlements.
Not Legal Certification—but Practical Guidance
Offrd is clear that its updates are not a substitute for legal compliance. Instead, they provide practical workflow tools that help SMEs navigate the transition with fewer surprises. As interpretations of the Labour Codes evolve, Offrd plans to continue refining payroll and HR workflows based on real-world SME usage.
The approach highlights a key trend in HR tech for emerging markets: platforms that prioritize usability and operational clarity over rigid compliance models are increasingly valuable for SMEs balancing limited resources with regulatory demands.
The Bigger Picture
For Indian SMEs, the 2025 Labour Codes will touch nearly every HR and payroll process, from hiring to final settlements. Platforms like Offrd, which translate complex legal requirements into actionable, practical workflows, may play a critical role in ensuring smooth operational transitions without overwhelming smaller teams.
By focusing on early visibility, accountability, and simplicity, Offrd positions itself as a key partner for SMEs preparing to navigate one of the biggest regulatory shifts in recent memory.
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