Payroll & HR built for boutique firms — CAs, lawyers, consultants, agencies.
Project-based attendance, billable-hour reports, partner-draw vs employee-payroll split, retainer payouts to associates u/s 194J, GST input credit on the HR service itself. Run by HR consultants who've worked with 50+ professional firms.
A 4-partner law firm · 22 employees + 8 associates
Partner draws + employee payroll
2 systems1 dashboard
Billable-hour reports
Manual ExcelAuto monthly per associate
TDS u/s 194J on retainer associates
Manual computationAuto, with Form 16A
Partner-meeting prep time
Half a dayOne report click
Client name withheld by policy.
Professional services payroll mixes 3 different rules.
Partners aren't employees. Associates may be on retainer u/s 194J. Junior staff are on payroll u/s 192. Each follows a different tax + statutory path. Generic software treats them all the same.
Profit-share distributions to partners — captured as 'partner draws' separate from employee payroll. No TDS u/s 192, no PF, no ESI. Tracked in the same dashboard so the firm has one financial view.
Senior associates on monthly retainers — TDS @ 10% u/s 194J auto-deducted. Form 16A quarterly. GST input credit if they're GST-registered (they bill you under SAC 998314).
Articled clerks, paralegals, account executives, designers, junior consultants — standard payroll with PF/ESI/PT/TDS u/s 192. Same dashboard as partners + retainer associates.
Hours logged against client/matter codes. Monthly report per associate: hours billed, write-offs, realisation rate. Plugs into salary review + bonus computation.
Our HR service is SAC 998314 — fully GST input-creditable for your firm. Invoices structured with proper line items + your GSTIN. Most HR vendors don't set this up cleanly.
Each project (legal matter, audit engagement, design retainer) gets a cost-centre allocation. Payroll cost auto-attributed by hours-logged. P&L by matter is one click — not a half-day in Excel.
7 working days to first payroll.
Call with senior partner + ops lead. We learn your partner/associate/staff mix, billable-hour expectations, retainer rates, GST setup, and current pain points.
Migrate from Excel/Tally. Configure partner draws as separate cost centre, retainer associates with 194J, junior staff on standard payroll. Billable-hour tracker rolled out.
Run all three categories in one cycle. Partner draws, retainer Form 16A, junior staff payslips. Our invoice (for the HR service) is GST-input-creditable. Partner gets summary email, approves.
Field-tested at scale
“Partner draws, retainer associates, junior staff — three different tax regimes in one firm. StafFixHR.com just handles it.”
— Managing Partner, 4-partner law firm (Mumbai)
Common questions from partners + practice heads
We're a partnership firm — partners take draws, not salary. Will this work?+
Yes. Partner draws live in a separate cost centre, marked as 'profit distribution', no TDS u/s 192. They show up in the dashboard alongside employee payroll for full financial visibility, but don't go into PF/ESI/Form 24Q.
Some senior consultants are on monthly retainer, GST-registered. They're not employees.+
Set them up as retainer associates. We auto-deduct TDS @ 10% u/s 194J on each retainer payout, file Form 16A quarterly. If they're GST-registered, they invoice you separately under SAC 998311 — you get GST input credit on their bills.
Can I see billable-hour utilisation per associate?+
Yes. Each associate logs hours against matter codes (or your project codes). Monthly report shows: hours billed, hours non-billable, realisation rate. Plugs into the quarterly review module.
GST input credit on YOUR invoices to us?+
Yes — our HR service invoices carry SAC 998314 (HR consulting service) with GSTIN + line items. Your CA can claim full input credit. We send 1 consolidated monthly invoice or per-payroll-run, your choice.
Articled clerks get a stipend + practice training agreement. Specific tax treatment?+
Stipend goes through regular payroll but flagged 'training stipend' for separate reporting. TDS u/s 192 applies above ₹50K/month. Practice agreement is stored against employee record.
Can my office manager (not a partner) approve regular payroll, but partner-draw changes need partner approval?+
Yes — approval engine supports object-type-specific policies. Regular payroll: HR_ADMIN approves. Partner draws: requires senior-partner approval. Two-step workflow if you want it.
Spend partner time on clients, not payroll.
30-min Zoom. We map your partner/associate/staff mix, GST setup, and billable structure. Fixed-price proposal in 24 hrs.
Book your demoNo credit card. No commitment. Direct chat with Priyanka, our founder.