HR and payroll software that scales as fast as your startup does.
No HR team yet? Clan runs HR, payroll, and compliance for founders and ops leads who are also doing five other jobs. PF, ESI, and TDS calculated automatically the moment you're liable for them. Leave approved on WhatsApp. Free up to 10 employees, then pay only for who's actually active.
No credit card. Setup in 30 min. Free up to 10 employees.
Sound familiar?
Before Clan
- ✗ A co-founder runs payroll manually in Excel every month
- ✗ Nobody tracks when you cross the PF or ESI employee threshold
- ✗ New hires get an offer letter drafted from scratch each time
- ✗ Leave is approved (or forgotten) in a WhatsApp group
- ✗ No record of who has how many leave days left
- ✗ Hiring plans made without knowing the real fully-loaded cost
After Clan
- ✓ Payroll runs itself — PF, ESI, and TDS calculated automatically
- ✓ Compliance stays correct as headcount crosses statutory thresholds
- ✓ Offer letters and HR policies generated from a template in minutes
- ✓ Leave approved on WhatsApp in seconds, on record
- ✓ Leave balances tracked automatically, visible to every employee
- ✓ Hiring cost benchmarked before you make the offer
Compliance that keeps up as you grow.
EPF becomes mandatory once an establishment has 20 or more employees; ESI generally applies once you have 10 or more employees earning up to ₹21,000 a month gross (the state-level threshold can be lower). Most early-stage founders don't track this until an auditor or a co-founder asks — Clan flags it and calculates the right deductions automatically once you're liable, no CA follow-up needed for routine runs.
Built for how startups actually hire and grow.
- Active-employee billing — a startup's headcount moves fast in both directions. Clan bills only for employees active that month, not a fixed seat count, so a hiring freeze or a role you haven't backfilled yet doesn't cost you anything.
- Offer letters and HR policy in minutes — the HR policy template generator and onboarding workflow save a founder from drafting documents from scratch for every hire.
- One login, not five tools — HR, payroll, OKRs, and project tracking live in the same account your team already checks, instead of stitching together a payroll vendor, a spreadsheet, and a project tool.
- WhatsApp-first approvals — leave and expense approvals happen where your team already messages each other, so a manager doesn't need to open another app between fundraising calls.
What it costs as you grow
At 8 employees: Free (Launchpad plan, up to 10)
At 25 active employees: ₹2,225/mo (Growth, ₹89/active employee)
At 50 active employees: ₹4,450/mo (Growth)
No seat minimums, no annual contract required to start. See full pricing.
FAQ
Common questions about HR software for startups.
Do I need HR software if my startup has fewer than 10 employees?
You're not statutorily required to, but most founders running payroll by hand still lose hours every month and risk missing the point they cross the PF (20 employees) or ESI (10 employees in most states) threshold. Clan is free up to 10 employees, so there's no cost reason to wait.
When does a startup need to register for PF and ESI in India?
EPF registration becomes mandatory once an establishment has 20 or more employees. ESI generally applies once you have 10 or more employees (the threshold is 20 in a few states) earning up to ₹21,000 gross per month. Many first-time founders miss this until an auditor flags it — Clan tracks your active headcount and applies the right deductions automatically once you're liable.
Can Clan handle a startup that is hiring fast — say, 10 to 50 employees in a year?
Yes. Clan bills only active employees each month rather than a fixed seat count, so rapid hiring (or a hiring freeze) doesn't require a plan change or a renegotiated contract. Onboarding, offer letters, and payroll setup for a new hire take minutes, not a week.
Is there a free HR software option for early-stage startups?
Yes. Clan's Launchpad plan is free for up to 10 employees with no time limit — full HR, attendance, and leave management included. Payroll, OKRs, and project management are part of the paid Growth plan at ₹89 per active employee/month.
Does Clan work if we do not have a dedicated HR person yet?
Yes — that is who it's built for. A founder or ops lead can run payroll, approve leave, and onboard a new hire without HR training. PF, ESI, and TDS are calculated automatically, so routine payroll doesn't need a CA every cycle.
Does Clan integrate with Slack, since most startups don't use email internally?
Yes. Clan integrates with both Slack and WhatsApp — leave approvals, daily attendance summaries, and notifications can go wherever your team already talks, without forcing everyone onto a new app.
If you're closer to an established IT services or SaaS company than an early-stage startup, see Clan for IT companies. Founders can also try the founder salary benchmark tool and the hiring cost calculator, or compare Clan to Keka, the tool most startups outgrow first.
Start with a 15-minute demo.
We'll show you exactly how Clan runs HR, payroll, and compliance for a team your size — no sales pitch, just the product.