Udyamo HRMS — User Guide

Welcome to the official user guide for Udyamo HRMS, a cloud-based human resource management system built for small and medium businesses in India.

Who This Guide Is For

This guide serves three audiences:

What Udyamo HRMS Covers

Udyamo HRMS provides end-to-end HR management across these modules:

• Organization Setup — departments, designations, offices, roles, and permissions
• Employee Management — profiles, bank details, bulk import, and self-service onboarding
• Shifts & Attendance — shift scheduling, daily check-in/check-out, face recognition, location tracking, and overtime
• Leave Management — leave categories, policies, accrual rules, holidays, and year-end processing
• Payroll — salary components, salary structures, payrun processing, payslips, and bank advice
• Statutory Compliance — EPF, ESIC, Professional Tax, TDS, bonus, and gratuity (India-specific)
• Loans & Reimbursements — employee loans, expense reimbursements, and salary advances
• Employee Lifecycle — resignations, notice period, offboarding, full-and-final settlement, and document management
• Communication — announcements and notifications
• Reports — attendance, leave, payroll, and compliance reports
• Security — two-factor authentication, SSO (Azure AD, Google), and MS Teams integration
• Subscriptions — license and plan management

How This Guide Is Organized

The guide is divided into 12 parts with 47 chapters, arranged in the order you would typically set up and use the system:

1. Getting Started — sign up, first login, and initial setup
2. Organization Setup — configure your company structure
3. Employee Management — add and manage employees
4. Shifts & Attendance — track work hours
5. Leave Management — configure and manage time off
6. Payroll — run payroll and generate payslips
7. Statutory Compliance — meet Indian regulatory requirements
8. Loans & Reimbursements — manage financial requests
9. Employee Lifecycle — handle exits and documents
10. Communication & Reports — announcements and analytics
11. Security & Integrations — protect your data and connect tools
12. Subscriptions — manage your Udyamo license

Conventions Used

Throughout this guide:

• Bold text indicates UI elements — buttons, menu items, and field labels
• Navigation paths use the format Menu > Submenu > Action
• Callout boxes highlight important information:

Tip: Practical advice for getting the most out of a feature.

Warning: Common mistakes to avoid.

Required: Prerequisites you must complete before proceeding.

Getting Help

If you need assistance beyond this guide:

• Support: Contact Udyamo support through the in-app chat widget
• Website: Visit udyamo.com/hrms for the latest information

Ready to begin? Start with What is Udyamo HRMS?

What is Udyamo HRMS?

Udyamo HRMS is a cloud-based Human Resource Management System designed specifically for Indian small and medium businesses (SMBs) with 10 to 1,000+ employees. It consolidates every aspect of workforce management — from hiring and attendance tracking to payroll processing and statutory compliance — into a single, unified platform.

This chapter introduces the platform, its core modules, the people who use it, and the system requirements for getting started.

What You Will Learn

• What Udyamo HRMS does and who it serves
• The core modules available in the platform
• Who the different user roles are and how they interact with the system
• System requirements for running Udyamo HRMS
• How this guide is organized

Platform Overview

Udyamo HRMS is a multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application. Each organization that signs up receives its own isolated workspace where employee data, payroll records, and policy configurations are kept completely separate from other organizations.

Key characteristics of the platform:

• Cloud-hosted — No installation required. Access from any modern web browser.
• Multi-organization support — A single user account can belong to multiple organizations and switch between them seamlessly.
• India-first compliance — Built-in support for EPF, ESIC, Professional Tax, TDS, and other Indian statutory requirements.
• Feature toggles — Enable only the modules you need. Turn on payroll, leave, attendance, loans, advances, and reimbursements independently.
• MS Teams integration — Receive notifications and perform quick actions directly within Microsoft Teams.

Core Modules

Udyamo HRMS is organized into distinct modules, each addressing a specific area of HR operations. You can enable or disable these modules based on your organization's needs using feature toggles in Settings.

Module Overview Table

Tip: Start with Employee Management and Attendance, then enable additional modules as your organization's processes mature. You can always turn modules on or off later without losing data.

Who Uses Udyamo HRMS?

The platform serves four primary user roles, each with a different perspective and set of capabilities.

Administrators

Administrators have full control over the organization's configuration. They set up departments, designations, offices, salary structures, leave policies, and manage all employee records. Administrators also control role assignments and feature toggles.

Typical tasks:

• Configure organization settings (work week, timezone, fiscal year)
• Create and manage departments, designations, and offices
• Define salary components and structures
• Run payroll and generate compliance reports
• Manage user roles and permissions

HR Managers

HR managers handle day-to-day workforce operations. They process leave requests, review attendance records, manage onboarding and offboarding, and generate reports.

Typical tasks:

• Add new employees and send invitation links
• Approve or reject leave requests
• Review and correct attendance records
• Process reimbursement claims
• Generate HR reports

Team Managers

Team managers oversee their direct reports. They can view their team's attendance, approve leave requests for their team members, and review team-level reports.

Typical tasks:

• Approve or reject leave requests from team members
• View team attendance summaries
• Review team-level reports

Employees

Employees use the self-service portal to manage their own records. They can check in and out, apply for leave, view payslips, submit reimbursement claims, and update personal details.

Typical tasks:

• Mark daily attendance (check-in / check-out)
• Apply for leave
• View payslips and tax declarations
• Submit reimbursement claims
• Update personal and bank details

Architecture and Technology

Udyamo HRMS is built on a modern web application stack:

Note: You do not need to understand the underlying technology to use Udyamo HRMS. This information is provided for IT administrators who may need it for security assessments or integration planning.

System Requirements

Udyamo HRMS is a web application that runs entirely in your browser. There is no software to install on your computer or server.

Browser Requirements

Additional Requirements

Warning: Udyamo HRMS is not optimized for Internet Explorer. Please use one of the supported browsers listed above.

Mobile Access

Udyamo HRMS is accessible from mobile browsers on smartphones and tablets. The interface adapts to smaller screens, allowing employees to check in, apply for leave, and view payslips on the go.

For organizations using Microsoft Teams, the Udyamo HRMS Teams integration provides additional mobile convenience through the Teams mobile app.

How This Guide Is Organized

This user guide is divided into twelve parts, progressing from initial setup through advanced administration.

Tip: If you are setting up Udyamo HRMS for the first time, read Parts 1 and 2 in order. After that, you can jump to any part that addresses your immediate needs.

Quick Reference

Signing Up & First Login

Before you can use Udyamo HRMS, you need an account. This chapter covers every path into the platform — signing up as a new organization, accepting an employee invitation, logging in with a password or OTP, connecting through Google or Azure AD single sign-on, and recovering a forgotten password.

What You Will Learn

• How to create a new organization account on Udyamo HRMS
• How to verify your email and complete registration
• How to log in with email/password, OTP, Google OAuth2, or Azure AD SSO
• How to accept an employee invitation link
• How to reset a forgotten password
• Password requirements and security recommendations

Prerequisites

Required: A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari) and a stable internet connection. See Chapter 1 for detailed system requirements.

Creating a New Organization Account

If you are the first person from your company to use Udyamo HRMS, you will create a new organization account. This makes you the initial administrator of that organization.

Step-by-Step: Sign Up

1. Open your browser and navigate to udyamo.com/hrms.
2. Click the Sign Up or Get Started button on the landing page.
3. Fill in the registration form:

4. Review and accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
5. Click Create Account.

Tip: Use your official work email address rather than a personal email. This ensures your organization's domain is associated with the account from the start.

Password Requirements

Udyamo HRMS enforces the following password policy:

Warning: Avoid using common passwords such as "password123" or your company name. A compromised administrator account can expose your entire organization's data.

Email Verification

After submitting the registration form, Udyamo HRMS sends a confirmation email to the address you provided.

Step-by-Step: Verify Your Email

1. Check your inbox for an email from Udyamo HRMS with the subject line "Confirmation Instructions" (or similar).
2. Click the Confirm My Account link in the email.
3. You will be redirected to the Udyamo HRMS login page with a confirmation success message.

Tip: If you do not see the confirmation email within a few minutes, check your spam or junk folder. You can also click Resend Confirmation Email on the login page.

Warning: The confirmation link expires after a set period (typically 24 hours). If it expires, visit the login page and request a new confirmation email.

Logging In

Udyamo HRMS supports multiple authentication methods. Choose the one that suits your organization's security policy.

Method 1: Email and Password

This is the standard login method available to all users.

1. Navigate to the Udyamo HRMS login page.
2. Enter your Email address.
3. Enter your Password.
4. Click Log In.
5. If two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled on your account, you will be prompted to enter your TOTP code from your authenticator app. Enter the 6-digit code and click Verify.

Method 2: OTP Login

For users who prefer passwordless authentication, Udyamo HRMS supports one-time password (OTP) login.

1. Navigate to the login page.
2. Click Login with OTP (or the equivalent link).
3. Enter your registered Email address or Mobile Number.
4. Click Send OTP.
5. Check your email or phone for the one-time code.
6. Enter the OTP in the verification field.
7. Click Verify & Log In.

Tip: OTP codes are typically valid for 5-10 minutes. If the code expires, click Resend OTP to receive a new one.

Note: OTP login must be enabled by your organization's administrator. If you do not see the OTP login option, contact your HR admin.

Method 3: Google OAuth2 (Sign in with Google)

If your organization uses Google Workspace, you can log in with your Google account.

1. Navigate to the login page.
2. Click the Sign in with Google button.
3. Select your Google Workspace account (or enter your Google email).
4. Grant the requested permissions if prompted (first-time only).
5. You will be redirected to your Udyamo HRMS dashboard.

Note: Google OAuth2 login must be configured by your organization's administrator. The email address on your Google account must match the email registered in Udyamo HRMS.

Method 4: Azure AD Single Sign-On (SSO)

For organizations using Microsoft 365 / Azure Active Directory, Udyamo HRMS supports Azure AD SSO.

1. Navigate to the login page.
2. Click the Sign in with Microsoft button.
3. Enter your Microsoft 365 credentials if prompted.
4. Complete any multi-factor authentication required by your Azure AD policy.
5. You will be redirected to your Udyamo HRMS dashboard.

Note: Azure AD SSO requires configuration by both your Udyamo HRMS administrator and your Azure AD administrator. See Chapter 45: Single Sign-On for setup instructions.

Login Methods Comparison

Accepting an Employee Invitation

If your organization already uses Udyamo HRMS, an administrator or HR manager can invite you by email. You will receive a token-based invitation link.

Step-by-Step: Accept an Invitation

1. Check your inbox for an email from Udyamo HRMS with the subject "Invitation Instructions" (or similar).
2. Click the Accept Invitation link in the email.
3. You will be taken to a setup page where you need to create your password.

4. Click Set My Password (or the equivalent button).
5. You will be logged in and redirected to your dashboard.

Warning: Invitation links are single-use and time-limited. If your link has expired, ask your HR admin to resend the invitation from Settings > Employees.

Tip: After accepting your invitation, you can also set up Google or Azure AD login if your organization has configured these options. Go to your profile settings to link your account.

Resetting a Forgotten Password

If you forget your password, you can reset it through the self-service password recovery flow.

Step-by-Step: Reset Password

1. Navigate to the Udyamo HRMS login page.
2. Click the Forgot Your Password? link below the login form.
3. Enter your registered Email address.
4. Click Send Reset Instructions.
5. Check your inbox for a password reset email.
6. Click the Change My Password link in the email.
7. Enter your new password and confirm it.
8. Click Change Password.
9. You will be redirected to the login page. Log in with your new password.

Warning: The password reset link expires after a limited time (typically 6 hours). If it expires, repeat the process to request a new link.

Tip: If you use Google OAuth2 or Azure AD SSO, you typically do not need a Udyamo HRMS password. However, having one set serves as a fallback in case SSO is temporarily unavailable.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Udyamo HRMS supports Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) two-factor authentication for an additional layer of security.

How 2FA Works

When 2FA is enabled on your account:

1. You log in with your email and password as usual.
2. After entering valid credentials, you are prompted for a 6-digit TOTP code.
3. Open your authenticator app (such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or Authy) and enter the current code.
4. Click Verify to complete login.

Note: 2FA setup and enforcement are covered in detail in Chapter 44: Two-Factor Authentication & OTP.

First Login: What to Expect

After your first successful login, what you see depends on your role:

For Organization Creators (Admins)

• You land on the Dashboard at the root path /.
• A setup wizard or checklist may appear to guide you through initial configuration.
• Your first task should be completing the First-Time Setup Checklist.

For Invited Employees

• You land on the Dashboard showing your personal summary.
• You may see prompts to complete your profile (personal details, bank information, emergency contacts).
• Review your assigned department, designation, and reporting manager.

Troubleshooting Login Issues

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Bookmark the Udyamo HRMS login page in your browser for quick access. If your organization uses SSO, bookmark the SSO-enabled login URL.

Tip: Enable two-factor authentication as soon as possible, especially for administrator accounts. This significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access.

Warning: Never share your password or OTP codes with anyone, including people claiming to be from Udyamo support. Legitimate support staff will never ask for your password.

Tip: If your organization has multiple entities, you may belong to more than one Udyamo HRMS organization. After logging in, use the organization switcher in the top navigation to move between them. See Chapter 3: Your Dashboard for details.

Quick Reference

Your Dashboard

The dashboard is the first screen you see after logging in to Udyamo HRMS. Accessible at the root path /, it provides a real-time summary of your organization's HR activity — pending approvals, attendance snapshots, upcoming holidays, and recent announcements. This chapter walks you through every element of the dashboard, the navigation sidebar, and how to move efficiently between modules.

What You Will Learn

• How to read and interpret dashboard widgets and metrics
• How to navigate the sidebar menu to access different modules
• How to use the top menu bar, notification bell, and profile menu
• How to switch between organizations (for multi-org users)
• How to perform quick actions from the dashboard

Prerequisites

Required: A valid Udyamo HRMS account and successful login. See Chapter 2: Signing Up & First Login if you have not logged in yet.

Dashboard Overview

The dashboard is divided into several regions, each serving a specific purpose.

Top Menu Bar

The top menu bar is always visible, regardless of which page you are on. It contains global controls that apply across the entire application.

Organization Switcher

If your account is associated with more than one organization, the organization switcher appears in the top-left area of the menu bar.

1. Click the current organization name in the top menu bar.
2. A dropdown list appears showing all organizations you belong to.
3. Click the organization you want to switch to.
4. The page reloads with the selected organization's data.

Tip: The organization switcher uses the org_selects mechanism. If you only belong to one organization, the switcher may not appear or may display your organization name without a dropdown.

Warning: Switching organizations changes all data displayed across the application. Any unsaved work on the current page will be lost when you switch.

Search Bar

The search bar in the top menu allows you to quickly find employees, settings, or pages.

1. Click the Search icon or field in the top menu bar.
2. Type a name, employee ID, or keyword.
3. Results appear as you type. Click a result to navigate directly to that page.

Notification Bell

The notification bell icon displays a count of unread notifications.

1. Click the bell icon in the top menu bar.
2. A dropdown panel shows recent notifications, such as:
   • Leave requests submitted or approved
   • Attendance anomalies
   • Payroll processing updates
   • Announcement postings
3. Click a notification to navigate to the relevant page.
4. Click Mark All as Read to clear the unread count.

Tip: Configure your notification preferences in your profile settings to control which events generate notifications. This prevents notification overload.

Profile Menu

The profile menu is located at the far right of the top menu bar, typically showing your avatar or initials.

1. Click your profile icon or name.
2. A dropdown menu appears with options:

Navigation Sidebar

The sidebar is the primary navigation element in Udyamo HRMS. It appears on the left side of the screen and provides access to all modules and settings.

Sidebar Structure

The sidebar is organized into logical groups based on functionality. The exact items visible depend on your role and which feature toggles are enabled for your organization.

Note: The sidebar color can be customized by your administrator through Settings > Organization > Sidebar Color. This is useful for visually distinguishing between multiple organizations.

Collapsing and Expanding the Sidebar

• Click the hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the top of the sidebar to collapse it into an icon-only view.
• Click the icon again to expand the sidebar back to its full width.
• On mobile devices, the sidebar is hidden by default and can be opened by tapping the hamburger icon.

Dashboard Widgets and Metrics

The main content area of the dashboard displays a collection of widgets. Each widget provides a summary or snapshot of a specific area. The widgets visible to you depend on your role.

Administrator / HR Dashboard Widgets

Employee Count Widget

Displays the total number of active employees in the organization.

Attendance Summary Widget

Shows today's attendance snapshot at a glance.

Tip: Click on any attendance metric to drill down into the detailed attendance list for today.

Leave Requests Pending Widget

Displays the count of leave requests awaiting approval, broken down by urgency.

Click View All to navigate to the full Leave Requests approval page.

Upcoming Holidays Widget

Lists the next few holidays on the organization's holiday calendar.

Recent Announcements Widget

Shows the most recent announcements posted by administrators or HR.

• Displays the announcement title, date, and a preview of the content.
• Click an announcement to read the full text.

Birthdays & Work Anniversaries Widget

Highlights employees celebrating birthdays or work anniversaries this week or month.

Employee Dashboard Widgets

Employees see a personalized dashboard focused on their own data.

Quick Actions

Quick action buttons on the dashboard allow you to perform common tasks without navigating through menus.

Common Quick Actions

Tip: Quick actions save time on repetitive tasks. The most commonly used quick action for employees is the Check In button, which may also appear as a prominent button on the dashboard.

Navigating Between Modules

There are several ways to move between different areas of Udyamo HRMS.

Using the Sidebar

Click any item in the sidebar to navigate to that module. Sub-items expand when you click a parent section.

Using Breadcrumbs

Most pages display breadcrumb navigation below the top menu bar, showing your current location in the application hierarchy.

Dashboard > Employees > John Smith > Leave History

Click any breadcrumb segment to navigate back to that level.

Using the Browser

You can use your browser's back and forward buttons to navigate between previously visited pages. You can also bookmark frequently used pages.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Udyamo HRMS may support keyboard shortcuts for power users.

Customizing Your Dashboard

Setting Your Preferred Landing Page

By default, the dashboard at / is your landing page after login. If your administrator has configured a different default, you may land on a different page.

Sidebar Color

Administrators can change the sidebar color to match the organization's brand or to visually distinguish between multiple organizations.

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Find the Sidebar Color setting.
3. Select a color from the palette or enter a hex color code.
4. Click Save.

The sidebar color updates immediately for all users in the organization.

Multi-Organization Usage

If you are a member of multiple organizations in Udyamo HRMS, here is how to manage them effectively.

Switching Organizations

1. Click the organization name in the top menu bar.
2. Select the target organization from the dropdown.
3. The entire application context switches to the selected organization.

Visual Differentiation

Tip: Ask each organization's administrator to set a different sidebar color. This provides an immediate visual cue indicating which organization you are currently viewing, reducing the risk of performing actions in the wrong workspace.

Independent Data

Each organization maintains completely independent data. Employees, payroll records, leave balances, and all settings are separate. Actions in one organization do not affect another.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Check your dashboard each morning for pending approvals, attendance anomalies, and new announcements. The dashboard is designed to surface the most important items first.

Tip: If the dashboard feels cluttered, ask your administrator about role-based widget visibility. Employees typically see fewer widgets than administrators, which keeps the interface focused.

Warning: The dashboard data refreshes when the page loads. If you leave the dashboard tab open for an extended period, refresh the page to see the latest data.

Tip: Use the notification bell to stay informed about events that require your attention without constantly checking each module individually.

Quick Reference

First-Time Setup Checklist

After creating your organization account and logging in for the first time, you need to configure several foundational settings before your team can begin using Udyamo HRMS effectively. This chapter provides an ordered checklist of tasks, explains why each step matters, and links to the detailed chapter for every item.

Completing these steps in order ensures that dependent features — such as payroll calculations that rely on salary components, or leave accruals that depend on the fiscal year — work correctly from the start.

What You Will Learn

• The recommended order for setting up a new Udyamo HRMS organization
• What each setup step accomplishes and why it matters
• Where to find detailed instructions for every step
• How to track your setup progress

Prerequisites

Required: You must be logged in as an Administrator of the organization. Standard employees and managers do not have access to most configuration settings.

Required: Complete Chapter 2: Signing Up & First Login before proceeding.

The Setup Checklist

Follow these steps in order. Each step builds on the one before it.

Tip: Plan approximately 2-3 hours for the complete initial setup. You do not have to finish everything in one session — your progress is saved automatically. However, try to complete Steps 1-6 before adding employees.

Step 1: Complete Organization Profile

Navigation: Settings > Organization

Your organization profile establishes the identity of your company within Udyamo HRMS. This information appears on payslips, reports, and employee-facing pages.

What to Configure

Why It Matters

• The organization name appears on all official documents (payslips, offer letters, reports).
• The logo provides brand identity across the platform.
• The sidebar color helps users visually distinguish between organizations if they belong to more than one.

Action: Go to Settings > Organization, fill in all fields, upload your logo, and click Save. See Chapter 5: Organization Profile & Branding for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Set Work Week, Timezone & Date Format

Navigation: Settings > Organization

These settings define how Udyamo HRMS interprets dates, calculates working days, and displays times.

What to Configure

Why It Matters

• The work week determines which days are counted for attendance, leave calculations, and payroll.
• An incorrect timezone causes check-in/check-out times to appear wrong.
• The date format ensures consistency across all reports and employee-facing screens.

Warning: Set the timezone before adding any attendance records. Changing the timezone after employees have started checking in can cause data inconsistencies.

Action: Go to Settings > Organization, configure the work week, timezone, and date format, then click Save. See Chapter 8: Work Week, Timezone & Fiscal Year.

Step 3: Set Fiscal Year Start Month

Navigation: Settings > Organization

The fiscal year start month determines the annual cycle for leave accruals, payroll summaries, tax calculations, and financial reports.

What to Configure

Why It Matters

• Leave balances reset based on the fiscal year.
• Tax calculations (TDS) follow the fiscal year cycle.
• Payroll summaries and reports are grouped by fiscal year.

Warning: If you set this incorrectly, leave accrual calculations and tax reports will generate wrong data. Indian organizations almost always use April as the fiscal start month.

Action: Go to Settings > Organization, set the Fiscal Start Month to the appropriate month, and click Save. See Chapter 8.

Step 4: Create Departments & Designations

Navigation: Settings > Departments and Settings > Designations

Departments and designations form the organizational structure that every employee record references.

What to Configure

Departments — Create all departments in your organization:

Designations — Create all job titles used in your company:

Why It Matters

• Every employee must be assigned to a department and designation.
• Reports can be filtered and grouped by department and designation.
• Leave policies and salary structures can be targeted to specific departments.

Tip: Start with your current organizational structure. You can always add more departments and designations later.

Action: Go to Settings > Departments, add all departments. Then go to Settings > Designations and add all designations. See Chapter 6: Departments & Designations.

Step 5: Add Offices & Locations

Navigation: Settings > Offices

If your organization operates from multiple locations, each office should be created in the system.

What to Configure

Why It Matters

• Employees are assigned to offices, which determines applicable Professional Tax rules.
• GPS coordinates enable geo-fenced attendance (employees can only check in when near the office).
• Office-specific holidays can be configured per location.

Tip: Even if you have only one office, create it in the system. It is required for several downstream features, including attendance geo-tracking and Professional Tax.

Action: Go to Settings > Offices and add each office location. See Chapter 7: Offices & Locations.

Step 6: Configure Roles & Permissions

Navigation: Settings > Roles

Roles determine what each user can see and do within Udyamo HRMS. The system ships with default roles, but you may need to customize them.

Default Roles

What to Configure

• Review default role permissions and adjust as needed.
• Create custom roles if your organization requires different access levels (e.g., "Finance Manager" with payroll access but no employee editing rights).
• Plan which employees will receive which roles.

Why It Matters

• Proper role configuration protects sensitive data (e.g., salary information).
• Approval workflows depend on roles and reporting relationships.
• The principle of least privilege ensures employees only access what they need.

Warning: Do not give Admin access to users who do not need it. Create specific roles for specific job functions.

Action: Go to Settings > Roles, review and customize roles as needed. See Chapter 9: Roles & Permissions.

Step 7: Set Up Leave Categories & Policies

Navigation: Settings > Leave Categories (and related leave settings)

Before employees can apply for leave, you need to define the types of leave available and the rules governing them.

What to Configure

Why It Matters

• Leave categories define what types of leave employees can request.
• Policies control accrual rates, carry-over limits, and encashment rules.
• Misconfigured leave policies cause payroll errors (incorrect LOP deductions).

Action: Configure leave categories and policies before adding employees. This ensures new employees receive correct starting balances. See Chapter 21: Setting Up Leave Categories and Chapter 22: Leave Policies.

Step 8: Configure Salary Components

Navigation: Settings > Salary Components

If you plan to use the Payroll module, salary components must be defined before you can assign salary structures to employees.

What to Configure

Earnings:

Deductions:

Why It Matters

• Salary components are the building blocks of salary structures.
• Incorrect component configuration leads to wrong payslip amounts and compliance violations.
• Statutory components (EPF, ESIC, PT, TDS) must be configured correctly for legal compliance.

Warning: Review Indian statutory requirements carefully when setting up EPF, ESIC, Professional Tax, and TDS components. Incorrect configuration can result in compliance penalties.

Action: Go to Settings > Salary Components and define all earnings and deductions. See Chapter 26: Salary Components.

Step 9: Add Employees

Navigation: Employees > Add Employee

With the organizational foundation in place, you can now add your employees to the system.

Options for Adding Employees

Minimum Required Information per Employee

Why This Step Comes Last

Each employee record references departments, designations, offices, roles, leave policies, and salary components. If these are not set up first, you will have to go back and update every employee record after configuring the missing items.

Tip: For initial setup with many employees, use the bulk import feature to save time. Prepare a CSV file with all employee details and upload it in one operation.

Action: Add employees individually or via bulk import. Then send invitation emails so employees can set up their own passwords and begin using the system. See Chapter 10: Adding Your First Employee.

Step 10: Enable/Disable Feature Toggles

Navigation: Settings > Organization (or Settings > Features)

Udyamo HRMS uses feature toggles to let you activate only the modules your organization needs.

Available Feature Toggles

How to Enable or Disable a Feature

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization (or the dedicated Features section).
2. Find the feature toggles section.
3. Toggle each feature on or off as needed.
4. Click Save.

What Happens When a Feature Is Disabled

• The corresponding menu items disappear from the sidebar.
• Employees cannot access that module.
• Existing data is preserved — if you re-enable the feature later, all previous data is still available.

Tip: If you are not ready to use payroll yet, keep it disabled until you have fully configured salary components and structures. This prevents employees from seeing incomplete payroll data.

Warning: Disabling a feature does not delete its data, but it does hide it from all users. Make sure to inform your team before toggling off a feature they are actively using.

Action: Review each feature toggle and enable the modules you plan to use. You can change these settings at any time.

Setup Progress Tracking

Recommended Progress Approach

Since Udyamo HRMS saves your settings as you go, you can track your progress manually.

Tip: Print this checklist or copy it into a document. Check off each item as you complete it. Share the checklist with your co-admin if multiple people are setting up the system.

What to Do After Setup

Once you have completed all ten steps, your organization is ready for daily operations.

Recommended Next Steps

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Complete the entire setup before inviting employees to the platform. This ensures a polished first impression — employees will see correct departments, office names, and leave balances from day one.

Tip: Document your configuration decisions (e.g., which salary components you created and why, how many leave days each category provides) in an internal reference document. This helps future administrators understand the rationale behind your setup.

Warning: Do not skip the fiscal year and timezone settings. These are foundational to payroll and leave calculations. Getting them wrong requires significant rework later.

Tip: If your organization has complex requirements (e.g., multiple pay structures, state-specific Professional Tax rules, or varied shift schedules), consider setting up a test organization first to validate your configuration before rolling it out to employees.

Quick Reference

Organization Profile & Branding

Your organization profile is the identity of your company within Udyamo HRMS. It determines the name displayed on payslips and reports, the logo shown across the platform, and the visual theme of the navigation sidebar. This chapter covers how to configure and update your organization's profile, upload a logo, customize the sidebar color, and manage multi-organization setups.

What You Will Learn

• How to access and update your organization profile
• How to upload and manage your company logo
• How to customize the sidebar color for branding
• How multi-organization support works and how to switch between organizations

Prerequisites

Required: You must be logged in with an Administrator role to modify organization settings.

Required: Complete Chapter 2: Signing Up & First Login before proceeding.

Accessing Organization Settings

1. Log in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar.
3. Click Organization from the settings menu.

The Organization settings page displays all configurable fields related to your company's identity and operational parameters.

Organization Name

The organization name is the official name of your company as it will appear throughout Udyamo HRMS.

Where the Organization Name Appears

Updating the Organization Name

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Locate the Organization Name field.
3. Enter or update the name.
4. Click Save.

Tip: Use your full legal business name including entity type (e.g., "Pvt. Ltd.", "LLP", "Inc."). This ensures official documents like payslips carry the correct legal entity name.

Warning: Changing the organization name updates it everywhere in the system, including on previously generated reports that are viewed online. However, already-downloaded PDF payslips will retain the old name.

Industry

The industry field categorizes your organization's business sector.

Updating the Industry

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Locate the Industry field.
3. Select your industry from the dropdown list or type it in.
4. Click Save.

Common Industry Options

Note: The industry setting is primarily informational and does not affect system behavior or calculations.

Company Logo

The company logo adds brand identity to the Udyamo HRMS interface and official documents.

Logo Requirements

Uploading a Logo

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Locate the Logo section.
3. Click the Upload button or drag and drop your logo file onto the upload area.
4. Preview the logo to ensure it displays correctly.
5. Click Save.

Replacing an Existing Logo

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. In the Logo section, click the Change or Remove button next to the current logo.
3. Upload the new logo file.
4. Click Save.

Tip: Test your logo at small sizes (e.g., 32x32 pixels) to ensure it remains recognizable. The logo appears as a small icon in some areas of the interface.

Warning: Very large image files may slow down page loading for all users. Optimize your logo file size before uploading (aim for under 500 KB).

Where the Logo Appears

Sidebar Color Theme

The sidebar color customization lets you apply your organization's brand color to the navigation sidebar. This is especially useful for organizations managing multiple entities — each can have a distinct sidebar color for quick visual identification.

Changing the Sidebar Color

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Locate the Sidebar Color setting.
3. Choose a color using one of these methods:
   • Click a color from the preset palette.
   • Enter a hex color code (e.g., #1a73e8 for a blue, #34a853 for a green).
   • Use the color picker tool if available.
4. Preview the sidebar color change.
5. Click Save.

The sidebar color updates immediately for all users in the organization.

Recommended Sidebar Colors

Tip: Choose a color with sufficient contrast against white text. Very light colors will make sidebar menu items difficult to read.

Tip: If you manage multiple organizations, assign a unique sidebar color to each one. This prevents accidental data entry in the wrong organization.

Multi-Organization Support

Udyamo HRMS supports multi-tenant architecture, meaning a single platform instance hosts multiple independent organizations. A user account can belong to more than one organization.

Common Multi-Organization Scenarios

How Multi-Organization Works

• Each organization has its own isolated data — employees, payroll, leave policies, and settings are completely separate.
• A user's email address is the common identifier across organizations.
• Roles and permissions are assigned per organization — an Admin in one organization may be a regular Employee in another.
• Feature toggles are independent per organization.

Switching Between Organizations

The organization switcher is located in the top menu bar and uses the org_selects component.

1. Click the current organization name displayed in the top menu bar.
2. A dropdown appears listing all organizations associated with your account.
3. Click the organization you want to switch to.
4. The page reloads, and all data now reflects the selected organization.

Warning: Always verify the current organization name in the top menu bar before performing sensitive operations like running payroll or modifying salary structures. Working in the wrong organization is a common and costly mistake.

Adding a User to Multiple Organizations

To add an existing Udyamo HRMS user to a new organization:

1. Log in to the target organization as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to Employees > Add Employee.
3. Enter the user's email address (the same email they use for their other organization).
4. Complete the employee profile for this organization.
5. Send an invitation. The user will receive an email linking them to this additional organization.

After accepting, the user will see the new organization in their organization switcher.

Organization Profile Field Reference

The following table summarizes all fields available on the Organization settings page. Some fields are covered in this chapter; others (work week, timezone, fiscal year) are covered in Chapter 8: Work Week, Timezone & Fiscal Year.

Updating Organization Details

All organization profile changes follow the same workflow:

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Modify the desired field(s).
3. Click Save at the bottom of the form.
4. A success notification confirms the changes.

Audit Considerations

Note: Changes to organization settings may be logged in the system audit trail (if available). This helps track who changed what and when, which is useful for compliance and troubleshooting.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Set up your organization profile completely before inviting employees. The logo and organization name create a professional first impression when employees receive their invitation emails and log in for the first time.

Tip: Export or screenshot your current organization settings before making significant changes. This gives you a reference point if you need to revert.

Warning: The organization name should match your legal entity name exactly. Mismatches between the HRMS organization name and official documents can cause confusion during audits.

Tip: When choosing a sidebar color, test it on both desktop and mobile browsers to ensure readability. Some colors that look good on a large screen may be harder to read on smaller devices.

Tip: If you operate in multiple states in India, consider using the organization profile to represent your primary registered office. Individual office locations with state-specific settings (like Professional Tax numbers) are managed separately in Chapter 7: Offices & Locations.

Quick Reference

Departments & Designations

Departments and designations form the organizational structure within Udyamo HRMS. Every employee must be assigned to a department and a designation. These assignments drive reporting hierarchies, enable filtered views across the platform, and support targeted policy application. This chapter covers how to create, edit, and manage departments and designations.

What You Will Learn

• How to create, edit, and delete departments
• How to create, edit, and delete designations
• How to assign employees to departments and designations
• Best practices for naming conventions
• How departments and designations affect reporting and filtering

Prerequisites

Required: You must be logged in with an Administrator role to create or modify departments and designations.

Required: Complete Chapter 5: Organization Profile & Branding before proceeding. Your organization profile should be configured first.

Understanding Departments and Designations

Before creating them, it helps to understand how departments and designations differ and relate to each other.

• A department groups people by function (what the team does).
• A designation describes the individual role (what the person does).
• Departments and designations are independent — any designation can exist in any department.
• One employee has exactly one department and one designation at any given time.

Managing Departments

Navigating to Departments

1. Log in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar.
3. Click Departments.

The Departments page displays a list of all departments in your organization.

Creating a New Department

1. Navigate to Settings > Departments.
2. Click the Add Department button.
3. Fill in the department form:

4. Click Save or Create.

The new department appears in the department list and is immediately available for assignment to employees.

Tip: Keep department names concise and consistent. Use title case (e.g., "Human Resources" instead of "human resources" or "HUMAN RESOURCES").

Editing a Department

1. Navigate to Settings > Departments.
2. Find the department you want to edit in the list.
3. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to the department name.
4. Update the Department Name field.
5. Click Save or Update.

Warning: Renaming a department updates the name everywhere in the system, including on existing employee records and historical reports. All employees currently assigned to this department will reflect the new name.

Deleting a Department

1. Navigate to Settings > Departments.
2. Find the department you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button (trash icon) next to the department.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Warning: You cannot delete a department that has employees assigned to it. You must first reassign all employees to a different department, then delete the empty department.

Warning: Deleting a department is permanent and cannot be undone. If you are unsure, consider renaming the department instead.

Department List Columns

Managing Designations

Navigating to Designations

1. Log in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar.
3. Click Designations.

The Designations page displays a list of all designations (job titles) in your organization.

Creating a New Designation

1. Navigate to Settings > Designations.
2. Click the Add Designation button.
3. Fill in the designation form:

4. Click Save or Create.

The new designation appears in the designation list and is immediately available for assignment to employees.

Editing a Designation

1. Navigate to Settings > Designations.
2. Find the designation you want to edit in the list.
3. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to the designation name.
4. Update the Designation Name field.
5. Click Save or Update.

Warning: Renaming a designation updates the name on all employee records that reference it. Review the impact before renaming a designation used by many employees.

Deleting a Designation

1. Navigate to Settings > Designations.
2. Find the designation you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button (trash icon) next to the designation.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Warning: You cannot delete a designation that has employees assigned to it. Reassign all employees to a different designation first.

Designation List Columns

Assigning Employees to Departments and Designations

Departments and designations are assigned to employees during employee creation or by editing an existing employee profile.

During Employee Creation

1. Navigate to Employees > Add Employee.
2. In the employee form, locate the Department and Designation dropdown fields.
3. Select the appropriate department from the Department dropdown.
4. Select the appropriate designation from the Designation dropdown.
5. Complete the rest of the employee form and click Save.

Updating an Existing Employee

1. Navigate to Employees and find the employee.
2. Click on the employee's name to open their profile.
3. Click Edit on the employment details section.
4. Change the Department and/or Designation dropdown selections.
5. Click Save or Update.

Note: When you change an employee's department or designation, the change takes effect immediately. Historical records (such as past payslips) retain the department and designation that were active at the time they were generated.

Bulk Updates

If you need to move multiple employees to a new department or designation (e.g., during a reorganization), consider using the bulk import/update feature described in Chapter 12: Bulk Import.

Impact on Reporting and Filtering

Departments and designations are used extensively throughout Udyamo HRMS for filtering, grouping, and reporting.

Where Departments and Designations Are Used

Department-Level Reports

When generating reports in Udyamo HRMS, you can typically filter by department. This allows you to produce reports such as:

• Total salary expenditure for the Engineering department
• Attendance percentage for the Sales team
• Leave balance summary for the Finance department
• Headcount trends by department over time

Tip: Consistent and well-structured department names make reports more readable and useful. If you later need to change department names, all historical report data will reflect the updated names when viewed online.

Planning Your Department Structure

Before creating departments, plan your structure based on your organization's actual operating model.

Example: Small Organization (10-50 employees)

Example: Medium Organization (50-200 employees)

Example: Large Organization (200+ employees)

Consider a hierarchical approach with parent and sub-departments if your organization grows beyond the simple flat list. While Udyamo HRMS uses a flat department structure, you can simulate hierarchy through naming conventions:

Planning Your Designation Structure

Designations should reflect your organization's actual job titles and career ladder.

Example Designation Hierarchy

Tip: Standardize designation names across departments. For example, use "Manager" consistently instead of mixing "Manager," "Head," and "Lead" for equivalent levels.

Naming Conventions

Consistent naming helps keep data clean and reports readable.

Recommended Practices

Avoid These Common Mistakes

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Create all departments and designations before adding employees. This ensures the dropdowns are populated when you fill in employee forms, saving time and reducing errors.

Tip: Periodically review your department and designation lists to remove unused entries and consolidate duplicates. This keeps your data clean and reports accurate.

Warning: If you rename a department or designation, communicate the change to your team. Employees may be confused if their department name changes without notice.

Tip: Use a spreadsheet to plan your department and designation structure before entering them into the system. This helps you spot gaps and inconsistencies before they become part of your HRMS data.

Tip: When your organization restructures, update departments and designations in Udyamo HRMS at the same time. Delaying the update causes reports to show outdated organizational structure.

Warning: Avoid creating temporary or "test" departments/designations in your production organization. Use a test organization instead if you need to experiment with configuration.

Quick Reference

Offices & Locations

If your organization operates from one or more physical locations, each office needs to be registered in Udyamo HRMS. Office records determine which Professional Tax rules apply to employees, enable geo-fenced attendance tracking, and allow location-specific holiday calendars. This chapter covers how to create, configure, and manage offices in the system.

What You Will Learn

• How to create, edit, and delete offices
• What each office field means and how it affects other modules
• How to set up GPS coordinates for attendance geo-tracking
• How to assign employees to offices
• How multi-office support works with holidays and Professional Tax

Prerequisites

Required: You must be logged in with an Administrator role to create or modify offices.

Required: Complete Chapter 5: Organization Profile & Branding and Chapter 6: Departments & Designations before proceeding.

Why Offices Matter

Offices are not just an address book entry. They connect to several functional areas of Udyamo HRMS.

Tip: Even if your organization has only one office, create it in the system. Several features — especially Professional Tax and attendance geo-tracking — require an office record to function.

Navigating to Offices

1. Log in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar.
3. Click Offices.

The Offices page displays a list of all registered offices with their key details.

Creating a New Office

Step-by-Step: Add an Office

1. Navigate to Settings > Offices.
2. Click the Add Office button.
3. Fill in the office form (see field reference below).
4. Click Save or Create.

Office Form Fields

Field Details

Office Name

Choose a name that clearly identifies the location. If you have multiple offices in the same city, include distinguishing details.

City and Address

Enter the full address as it would appear in official correspondence. The city field is used for display and filtering purposes.

State

The state is critically important because Professional Tax rates vary by state in India. Selecting the correct state ensures that employees at this office have the right PT slab applied to their payroll.

Note: For the complete state-wise Professional Tax breakdown, see Chapter 33: Professional Tax.

Warning: Selecting the wrong state for an office can result in incorrect Professional Tax deductions for all employees at that location. Double-check this field before saving.

Latitude and Longitude (GPS Coordinates)

GPS coordinates are used for attendance geo-tracking. When these are set, employees using the mobile check-in feature must be within a configurable radius of the office coordinates to successfully mark their attendance.

How to Find GPS Coordinates

1. Open Google Maps in your browser.
2. Search for your office address.
3. Right-click on the exact location of your office on the map.
4. The latitude and longitude are displayed in the context menu. Click to copy them.
5. Enter the Latitude and Longitude values in the office form.

Tip: Place the pin on the exact building or entrance of your office, not just the general area. A more precise location means the geo-fence works more accurately.

Note: If you do not set GPS coordinates, the geo-fencing feature will not be active for this office. Employees will be able to check in from any location. You can always add coordinates later.

PT Number (Professional Tax Registration Number)

If your organization is registered for Professional Tax in the state where this office is located, enter the PT registration number.

• This number appears on PT-related compliance reports.
• Each office in a different state may have a different PT registration number.
• If your organization is not required to deduct PT (e.g., office in Tamil Nadu), leave this field blank.

Editing an Office

1. Navigate to Settings > Offices.
2. Find the office you want to edit in the list.
3. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to the office.
4. Update the desired fields.
5. Click Save or Update.

Warning: If you change an office's state, review the Professional Tax implications. Employees at this office may now fall under a different PT slab. Verify payroll configurations after changing the state.

Deleting an Office

1. Navigate to Settings > Offices.
2. Find the office you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button (trash icon) next to the office.
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Warning: You cannot delete an office that has employees assigned to it. Reassign all employees to a different office first, then delete the empty office.

Warning: Deleting an office is permanent. If you are closing an office but want to retain its historical data, consider renaming it to indicate closure (e.g., "Mumbai Office [Closed]") rather than deleting it.

Assigning Employees to Offices

Each employee is assigned to one primary office.

During Employee Creation

1. Navigate to Employees > Add Employee.
2. In the employee form, locate the Office dropdown field.
3. Select the appropriate office.
4. Complete the rest of the form and click Save.

Updating an Existing Employee's Office

1. Navigate to Employees and find the employee.
2. Click on the employee's name to open their profile.
3. Click Edit on the employment details section.
4. Change the Office dropdown selection.
5. Click Save or Update.

Note: When an employee transfers to a different office (especially in a different state), review and update their Professional Tax configuration. The new office's state may have different PT slabs.

Bulk Office Assignment

For bulk reassignment (e.g., when closing or opening an office), use the bulk import/update feature described in Chapter 12: Bulk Import.

Multi-Office Features

Office-Specific Holidays

Different offices may observe different regional holidays. Udyamo HRMS allows you to assign holidays to specific offices.

1. Navigate to Settings > Holidays (or the holiday management section).
2. When adding or editing a holiday, look for the Applicable Offices field.
3. Select which offices observe this holiday.
4. Click Save.

Note: National holidays typically apply to all offices. Regional and state holidays should be assigned only to offices in the relevant region. See Chapter 23: Holidays for detailed holiday management.

Attendance Geo-Fencing by Office

When GPS coordinates are configured for an office, you can enable geo-fenced attendance.

How it works:

1. An employee attempts to check in using the mobile browser or app.
2. The system reads the employee's current GPS position.
3. The system compares the employee's position with their assigned office's coordinates.
4. If the employee is within the configured radius (e.g., 200 meters), check-in succeeds.
5. If the employee is outside the radius, check-in is blocked or flagged.

Tip: For offices in large campuses or multi-building complexes, set a wider geo-fence radius to accommodate the actual area employees may be working from.

See Chapter 19: Location Tracking for detailed configuration of geo-fenced attendance.

Professional Tax by Office State

Professional Tax deductions are determined by the state of the employee's assigned office.

Note: PT rates and slabs change from time to time based on state government notifications. See Chapter 33: Professional Tax for current rates and configuration details.

Office List Reference

The Offices list page displays the following information for each office.

Example Office Setup

Here is an example multi-office setup for an organization with offices across India.

Note: Delhi does not have Professional Tax. Tamil Nadu also does not levy Professional Tax. The PT Number field is left blank for these offices.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Create all office locations before adding employees. This ensures the Office dropdown is populated when you fill in employee forms.

Tip: Name offices clearly enough that employees can identify their location from the name alone. Include city and area or building name if you have multiple offices.

Warning: GPS coordinates must be accurate for geo-fencing to work correctly. An error of even a few hundred meters in latitude/longitude can place the geo-fence boundary in the wrong location. Always verify coordinates using a mapping service.

Tip: If your organization opens a new office, create the office record in Udyamo HRMS before employees begin working there. This ensures attendance and payroll records are correct from day one.

Warning: When closing an office, reassign all employees to their new office before deleting the old one. This ensures a smooth transition with no data gaps in payroll or attendance.

Tip: For organizations with remote or work-from-home employees who do not report to a physical office, consider creating a virtual office record (e.g., "Remote - Work From Home") so these employees still have an office assignment. Set the state to the employee's home state for Professional Tax purposes.

Quick Reference

Work Week, Timezone & Fiscal Year

These foundational settings determine how Udyamo HRMS calculates working days, interprets timestamps, processes payroll cycles, and organizes financial data. Getting them right at the outset prevents cascading errors in attendance records, leave calculations, and payroll processing. This chapter covers work week configuration, timezone selection, date format preferences, pay schedule settings, and the fiscal year start month.

What You Will Learn

• How to configure the work week (working days and weekly offs)
• How to set your organization's timezone
• How to choose a date display format
• How to configure the pay schedule (pay day)
• How to set the fiscal year start month
• How each setting impacts payroll, leave, and attendance

Prerequisites

Required: You must be logged in with an Administrator role.

Required: Complete Chapter 5: Organization Profile & Branding before proceeding. The Organization settings page is where most of these configurations live.

Accessing These Settings

All settings covered in this chapter are on the Organization settings page.

1. Log in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar.
3. Click Organization.
4. Scroll to the relevant section for each setting.

Work Week Configuration

The work week defines which days of the week are working days and which are weekly offs (non-working days). This is one of the most important settings in the system.

What the Work Week Affects

Configuring the Work Week

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Find the Work Week section.
3. You will see a row of seven days: Monday through Sunday.
4. For each day, mark it as a Working Day or Weekly Off.
5. Click Save.

Common Work Week Patterns in India

Note: For the 5.5-day or alternate Saturday patterns, mark Saturday as a working day in the work week configuration. Manage the half-day or alternate pattern through shift and attendance policies. See Chapter 14: Creating & Assigning Shifts for more details.

Example Configuration

5-day work week:

6-day work week:

Warning: Changing the work week after employees have started recording attendance or taking leave can cause inconsistencies. The change applies going forward, but historical records are not recalculated. Plan your work week carefully before going live.

Tip: If different departments or offices follow different work week patterns (e.g., the factory works 6 days but the head office works 5 days), you may need to manage this through shift configurations rather than the global work week setting.

Timezone

The timezone setting ensures that all timestamps in Udyamo HRMS — check-in/check-out times, leave application dates, payroll processing dates — are interpreted correctly.

Setting the Timezone

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Find the Timezone field.
3. Select your timezone from the dropdown list.
4. Click Save.

Common Timezones for Indian Organizations

Warning: Almost all Indian organizations should select Asia/Kolkata (Indian Standard Time). Selecting the wrong timezone causes every timestamp in the system to be offset, making attendance records, leave dates, and payroll calculations incorrect.

What the Timezone Affects

Warning: Set the timezone before any employee records attendance or applies for leave. Changing the timezone after data has been recorded does not retroactively adjust existing timestamps, which can cause confusion.

Date Format

The date format setting controls how dates are displayed across the entire Udyamo HRMS interface, including reports, payslips, and employee-facing screens.

Selecting the Date Format

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Find the Date Format field.
3. Select your preferred format from the dropdown.
4. Click Save.

Available Date Formats

Tip: For Indian organizations, DD/MM/YYYY or DD-MMM-YYYY are the most natural choices. The DD-MMM-YYYY format is particularly useful because it eliminates the day/month ambiguity that occurs with purely numeric formats.

What the Date Format Affects

• All date fields displayed in the user interface
• Dates shown on payslips (PDF and on-screen)
• Report headers and date columns
• Leave application and approval dates
• Employee profile dates (date of birth, date of joining)

Note: The date format is a display setting only. It does not affect how dates are stored internally. You can change it at any time without affecting existing data.

Pay Schedule

The pay schedule determines the day of the month on which employees are paid. This setting is used by the payroll module to determine pay period boundaries and payment dates.

Configuring the Pay Schedule

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Find the Pay Schedule or Pay Day field.
3. Enter the day of the month (1-30) on which salaries are typically disbursed.
4. Click Save.

Pay Day Options

How the Pay Schedule Affects Payroll

Tip: Choose a pay day that gives your finance team enough time to process attendance, calculate deductions, and run the payroll after the month ends. A pay day of the 5th or 7th of the following month is a practical choice for most organizations.

Warning: If you change the pay day mid-cycle, communicate the change to all employees well in advance. Unexpected changes to salary payment dates can cause financial hardship for employees.

Fiscal Year Start Month

The fiscal year start month defines the beginning of your organization's financial year cycle. This is a critical setting that affects leave accruals, payroll summaries, tax calculations, and all financial reports.

Setting the Fiscal Year Start Month

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization.
2. Find the Fiscal Start Month field.
3. Select the appropriate month from the dropdown.
4. Click Save.

Common Fiscal Year Configurations

Warning: For Indian statutory compliance (income tax, EPF, ESIC), the fiscal year is April to March. Even if your internal reporting uses a different cycle, ensure that statutory reports align with the Indian financial year. Set the fiscal start month to April unless you have a specific reason not to.

What the Fiscal Year Affects

Warning: Changing the fiscal year start month after the system has been in use for a full year can cause significant complications with leave balances, tax calculations, and compliance reports. Set this correctly during initial setup and avoid changing it.

Fiscal Year and Leave Balance Example

If the fiscal year starts in April and an employee's annual Earned Leave entitlement is 18 days:

At the start of the next fiscal year (April), the leave balance is either carried over (up to the carry-over limit) or reset, depending on the leave policy configuration.

Settings Summary

All settings covered in this chapter are found on the same Organization settings page. Here is a consolidated view.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Configure all five settings in this chapter during your first session. They take only a few minutes to set and are foundational to everything else in the system.

Tip: If your organization follows Indian labor law and tax regulations, use these values: Work Week per your actual schedule, Timezone = Asia/Kolkata, Date Format = DD/MM/YYYY or DD-MMM-YYYY, Fiscal Start Month = April.

Warning: Do not experiment with these settings in your production organization. If you need to test different configurations, create a separate test organization.

Tip: Document your chosen settings and the rationale behind them. When a new administrator takes over, they will need to understand why the system is configured the way it is.

Warning: The work week, timezone, and fiscal year settings are best configured once and left unchanged. If business requirements force a change, plan the transition carefully and communicate it to all stakeholders.

Tip: After saving these settings, verify them by checking a few areas of the system: open the attendance calendar to confirm working days are marked correctly, check that dates display in the expected format, and confirm the fiscal year period in any available report.

Quick Reference

Roles & Permissions

Roles and permissions control who can see what and who can do what within Udyamo HRMS. A well-designed role structure protects sensitive data such as salary information, limits accidental changes, and ensures that approval workflows function correctly. This chapter covers default roles, custom role creation, permission categories, and best practices for access control.

What You Will Learn

• How the role and permission system works in Udyamo HRMS
• What default roles are available and what each can do
• How to create custom roles with specific permissions
• How to assign roles to employees
• How to design a permission matrix for your organization
• Best practices for role management and the principle of least privilege

Prerequisites

Required: You must be logged in with an Administrator role to create, edit, or assign roles.

Required: Complete Chapter 6: Departments & Designations and Chapter 7: Offices & Locations before configuring roles. Understanding your organizational structure helps you design appropriate access levels.

How Roles and Permissions Work

Udyamo HRMS uses a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) model. Here is how the components relate:

An employee can be assigned one or more roles. The effective permissions are the union of all permissions from all assigned roles.

Navigating to Roles

1. Log in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Click Settings in the navigation sidebar.
3. Click Roles.

The Roles page displays a list of all roles in your organization, both default and custom.

Default Roles

Udyamo HRMS ships with four default roles that cover the most common organizational structures. These roles are pre-configured with sensible permissions.

Admin

The Admin role provides unrestricted access to all features and settings.

Warning: The Admin role should be assigned sparingly. Only organization owners and senior IT/HR personnel should have Admin access. Every additional admin increases the risk of accidental misconfiguration.

HR

The HR role provides broad access to employee management and HR operations, but excludes system configuration that belongs to administrators.

Manager

The Manager role provides access to team-level data. Managers can view and approve requests from their direct reports but cannot access data from other teams.

Employee

The Employee role is the default self-service role with access only to the user's own data.

Permission Categories

Permissions in Udyamo HRMS are organized by module. Within each module, permissions are broken down by action type.

Module-Based Permission Categories

Action-Based Permissions

Within each module, the following action types are available:

Creating a Custom Role

When the default roles do not match your organization's needs, create custom roles.

Step-by-Step: Create a Custom Role

1. Navigate to Settings > Roles.
2. Click the Add Role button.
3. Enter a Role Name (e.g., "Finance Manager", "Shift Supervisor", "Department Head").
4. In the permissions section, you will see a matrix of modules and actions.
5. Check or uncheck each permission as needed.
6. Click Save or Create.

Role Name Guidelines

Example Custom Roles

Here are common custom roles that organizations create.

Finance Manager

Access to payroll and financial reports, but not employee personal data.

Shift Supervisor

Manages attendance for a team but has no access to leave, payroll, or employee management.

Department Head

Extended manager permissions with access to department-level reports.

Recruiter

Access to add new employees and send invitations, but no access to payroll or attendance.

Editing a Role

1. Navigate to Settings > Roles.
2. Find the role you want to edit in the list.
3. Click the Edit button (pencil icon).
4. Modify the role name or adjust permissions.
5. Click Save or Update.

Warning: Editing a role's permissions affects all employees currently assigned to that role. The changes take effect immediately. Review the employee list for the role before making changes.

Note: Default roles (Admin, HR, Manager, Employee) may have restrictions on editing. Some core permissions on default roles cannot be removed to ensure system stability.

Deleting a Role

1. Navigate to Settings > Roles.
2. Find the role you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button (trash icon).
4. Confirm the deletion.

Warning: You cannot delete a role that has employees assigned to it. Reassign those employees to a different role first.

Warning: Default roles cannot be deleted. Only custom roles can be removed.

Assigning Roles to Employees

Roles are assigned to employees through the employee profile. This creates an EmployeeRole record linking the employee to the role.

Assigning a Role During Employee Creation

1. Navigate to Employees > Add Employee.
2. In the employee form, locate the Role field.
3. Select the appropriate role from the dropdown.
4. Complete the rest of the form and click Save.

Changing an Employee's Role

1. Navigate to Employees and find the employee.
2. Click on the employee's name to open their profile.
3. Click Edit on the role or access section.
4. Change the Role dropdown selection.
5. Click Save or Update.

Assigning Multiple Roles

An employee can hold multiple roles simultaneously. The effective permissions are the combination (union) of all assigned roles.

Tip: Use multiple roles when an employee's responsibilities span two distinct areas. This is cleaner than creating a new combined role for every unique combination.

Warning: Be careful when assigning multiple roles. Permissions are additive — there is no way to explicitly deny a permission through a second role. If one role grants "View all employee salaries" and another grants limited access, the broader permission takes effect.

Permission Matrix

The following table shows a typical permission matrix for default roles. Use this as a starting point and adjust for your organization.

Employee Management Permissions

Attendance Permissions

Leave Permissions

Payroll Permissions

Settings Permissions

Designing Roles for Your Organization

The Principle of Least Privilege

Grant each role only the permissions it needs to perform its function. No more, no less.

Separation of Duties Examples

Role Design Process

1. List all job functions in your organization that interact with HRMS.
2. Map each function to required permissions (what does this person need to see and do?).
3. Check if a default role matches. If yes, use the default role.
4. Create custom roles for functions that do not match any default role.
5. Assign roles to employees based on their job function, not their seniority.
6. Test each role by logging in as an employee with that role and verifying access.

Auditing Role Assignments

Periodically review who has which roles to ensure the access structure remains correct.

When to Audit

Audit Checklist

Troubleshooting Permission Issues

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Start with the default roles and customize only when necessary. The four default roles cover the needs of most small and medium organizations.

Tip: Name custom roles after job functions, not people. "Payroll Manager" is better than "Priya's Role" because the role persists even if the person changes.

Warning: Avoid creating an excessive number of custom roles. Each additional role increases administrative complexity. If you find yourself creating more than 8-10 roles, consider whether some can be consolidated.

Tip: Test custom roles before assigning them to employees in production. Log in as a user with the new role (or use a test account) and verify that the permissions work as expected.

Warning: Never grant Admin access as a quick fix for a permission issue. Instead, identify the specific permission the user needs and add it to their role.

Tip: Document your role structure — which roles exist, what each is for, and who holds each role. Store this documentation outside of Udyamo HRMS (e.g., in a shared internal document) so it is accessible even if HRMS access is disrupted.

Tip: When an employee changes departments or positions, review their role assignment. A developer promoted to engineering manager may need the Manager role in addition to (or instead of) the Employee role.

Quick Reference

Adding Your First Employee

Once your organization structure is in place — departments, designations, offices, and roles — you are ready to add employees to Udyamo HRMS. This chapter walks through creating an employee record, understanding each required field, and what happens after you save.

Prerequisites

Required: Before adding employees, complete the following setup steps:

• At least one department exists (see Departments & Designations)
• At least one designation exists within that department
• At least one office exists (see Offices & Locations)
• Your work week and timezone are configured (see Work Week, Timezone & Fiscal Year)

Navigating to the Add Employee Form

1. From the sidebar, click Employees.
2. On the Employees list page, click the Add New button in the top-right corner.
3. The Add Employee form opens.

Required Fields

The Add Employee form contains several sections. The table below lists every required field and what to enter.

Tip: The Employee ID field does not auto-generate. Establish a consistent naming convention (for example, EMP-001, ENG-042, or 2025-0001) before you start adding employees in bulk.

Understanding Worker Type

Udyamo HRMS supports two worker types through the worker_type field on the OrganizationEmployee model:

Warning: Changing worker type after payroll has been processed for an employee may cause discrepancies. Set the correct type at the time of creation.

Understanding Employee Status

The Status field controls whether an employee appears in active lists, payroll runs, and attendance tracking.

Tip: New employees should always be added with the Active status. Other statuses are typically set during the employee lifecycle (resignation, termination, etc.).

Filling Out the Form — Step by Step

Step 1: Enter Basic Information

1. Type the employee's First Name and Last Name.
2. Enter their Email address. This must be a valid, unique email.
3. Enter the Employee ID following your organization's convention.

Step 2: Assign Department and Designation

1. From the Department dropdown, select the appropriate department.
2. The Designation dropdown will filter to show only designations under that department. Select one.

Tip: If the department or designation you need does not exist, open Settings > Organization > Departments in a new tab to create it, then return to this form and refresh the dropdown.

Step 3: Assign Office

1. From the Office dropdown, select the employee's primary office location.
2. If the employee works across multiple offices, you can assign additional offices later through the employee profile (using the OfficeEmployee association).

Step 4: Set Employment Details

1. Select the Date of Joining using the date picker.
2. Choose the Worker Type — Employee or Contractor.
3. Enter the Annual CTC in INR (whole numbers, no decimals needed).
4. Confirm the Status is set to Active.

Step 5: Save the Record

1. Review all fields for accuracy.
2. Click the Save button.
3. A success message confirms the employee has been created.

What Happens After You Save

When you save a new employee record, Udyamo HRMS performs several actions:

1. Employee Record Created — The employee appears in the Employees list with the status you selected.
2. OrganizationEmployee Association — The system creates the link between the employee and your organization, storing the employee ID, date of joining, CTC, worker type, and status.
3. OfficeEmployee Assignment — The employee is assigned to the selected office.
4. Invitation Email Queued — If the employee has a valid email, an invitation is automatically queued. The employee will receive an email with a secure, token-based link to set up their password and access the self-service portal.

Tip: The invitation uses the Devise Invitable gem. The invitation token has an expiration period. If the employee does not accept in time, you can resend the invitation from their profile. See Inviting Employees & Self-Service for details.

Admin-Created vs. Self-Registered Employees

Warning: Self-registration, if enabled, requires careful follow-up to ensure all employment details (department, designation, CTC, statutory numbers) are completed by an administrator.

Verifying the New Employee

After saving, verify the employee record:

1. Navigate to Employees from the sidebar.
2. Locate the new employee in the list. Use the search bar or filter by department.
3. Click the employee's name to open their profile.
4. Confirm all details are correct: name, email, employee ID, department, designation, office, date of joining, worker type, CTC, and status.

Adding Statutory Details

After creating the employee, you should add their statutory identifiers. Navigate to the employee's profile and enter:

These fields are stored on the OrganizationEmployee model and are required for statutory compliance and payroll processing. See Employee Profiles for full details.

Common Errors and Solutions

Next Steps

After adding your first employee:

• Complete their profile with personal details, bank information, and documents — see Employee Profiles
• Add more employees individually or use Bulk Import for large teams
• Send invitations so employees can access the self-service portal — see Inviting Employees & Self-Service

Employee Profiles — Personal & Bank Details

Every employee in Udyamo HRMS has a comprehensive profile that consolidates personal information, bank details, statutory identifiers, and uploaded documents. This chapter covers viewing, editing, and managing employee profiles from both the administrator and employee perspectives.

Prerequisites

Required: The employee record must already exist in the system. See Adding Your First Employee if you have not yet created an employee.

Navigating to an Employee Profile

1. From the sidebar, click Employees.
2. On the Employees list page, locate the employee using the search bar or department filter.
3. Click the employee's name to open their profile.

The profile page is organized into multiple sections, each accessible via tabs or scrollable sections on the page.

Profile Sections Overview

Personal Details

The PersonalDetail model stores all personal and demographic information for an employee.

Viewing Personal Details

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Navigate to the Personal Details tab or section.
3. All filled fields are displayed in a read-only format.

Editing Personal Details

1. On the Personal Details section, click the Edit button.
2. Update the relevant fields.
3. Click Save.

Personal Details Fields

Warning: The Aadhar Number is stored as an encrypted field on the Employee model for security. Ensure you enter the correct 12-digit number, as it is used for statutory filings.

Address Information

Current Address

Permanent Address

The same set of fields is available for the permanent address. A checkbox option "Same as current address" copies the current address fields to the permanent address fields.

Tip: Accurate address information is required for statutory documents like Form 16 and EPF nomination forms. Ensure employees verify their addresses.

Emergency Contact

Tip: Encourage all employees to fill in emergency contact details during onboarding. This information is critical for workplace safety compliance.

Bank Details

Bank details are stored in the BankDetail model and are essential for salary disbursement.

Viewing Bank Details

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Navigate to the Bank Details tab or section.

Editing Bank Details

1. Click the Edit button on the Bank Details section.
2. Fill in or update the fields.
3. Click Save.

Bank Details Fields

Warning: Incorrect bank details will cause salary transfer failures. Always verify the IFSC Code and Account Number before running payroll. The IFSC code can be validated at https://ifsc.bankifsccode.com.

Statutory Details

Statutory identifiers are stored on the OrganizationEmployee model and are required for Indian statutory compliance.

Statutory Fields

When to Enter Statutory Details

• New employees with existing UAN — Enter the UAN immediately so EPF contributions are linked to their existing account.
• New employees without UAN — Leave blank initially. After registering the employee with EPFO, enter the allotted UAN.
• ESIC — Required only if the employee's gross salary is at or below the ESIC wage ceiling (currently INR 21,000/month).

Tip: EPF and ESIC numbers are critical for payroll processing. Incomplete statutory details will generate warnings during the payrun. See EPF and ESIC for detailed compliance setup.

Profile Photo

Uploading a Profile Photo

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Click the photo placeholder or the Upload Photo button near the employee's name.
3. Select an image file (JPG, PNG). Recommended size: 400x400 pixels, maximum 2 MB.
4. The photo uploads and displays immediately.

Tip: Profile photos are also used in the attendance calendar view and organizational charts, making it easier for managers to identify team members.

Document Uploads

Udyamo HRMS allows attaching documents to an employee's profile for record-keeping.

Supported Document Types

Uploading a Document

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Navigate to the Documents section.
3. Click Upload Document.
4. Select the Document Type from the dropdown.
5. Choose the file from your computer. Supported formats: PDF, JPG, PNG. Maximum size: 5 MB per file.
6. Click Upload.

Warning: Documents may contain sensitive personal information. Access to employee documents is restricted based on the role and permissions configured in Roles & Permissions. Only administrators and the employee themselves can view uploaded documents by default.

Self-Service: Employees Updating Their Own Details

Employees who have accepted their invitation and logged in to the self-service portal can update certain profile fields themselves.

What Employees Can Edit

How Self-Service Editing Works

1. The employee logs in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. Clicks their profile icon or navigates to My Profile.
3. Edits the allowed fields.
4. Clicks Save.
5. For bank detail changes, the update is flagged for admin review before it takes effect in payroll.

Tip: Encouraging employees to maintain their own profiles reduces the administrative burden on HR teams and ensures data accuracy.

Multi-Office Assignment

An employee can be assigned to multiple offices through the OfficeEmployee association.

Assigning Additional Offices

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Navigate to the Office Assignment section.
3. Click Add Office.
4. Select the additional office from the dropdown.
5. Click Save.

The employee's primary office remains the one set during creation. Additional offices allow the employee to check in from those locations when location tracking is enabled.

Viewing Profile Change History

Udyamo HRMS logs changes to critical employee fields for audit purposes.

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Navigate to the Activity Log or Change History section.
3. View a chronological list of changes with timestamps, the field changed, old value, new value, and who made the change.

This is particularly useful for tracking salary revisions, status changes, and bank detail updates.

Common Errors and Solutions

Next Steps

• Add employees in bulk if you have many employees to onboard — see Bulk Import
• Send invitations so employees can access self-service — see Inviting Employees & Self-Service
• Configure salary structures using the CTC entered here — see Salary Structures

Bulk Import

Adding employees one at a time is practical for small teams, but organizations onboarding dozens or hundreds of employees need a faster method. Udyamo HRMS provides a bulk import feature through the ImportsController that supports CSV and Excel file uploads with preview, validation, and error handling. This chapter covers importing employees, attendance records, and leave data.

Prerequisites

Required: Before importing employees in bulk, ensure the following are configured:

• Departments and Designations exist and match the values you will use in the import file
• Offices are set up with correct names
• Your import file uses the exact department, designation, and office names as configured in the system

Navigating to the Import Screen

1. From the sidebar, click Employees.
2. Click the Import button in the top-right area of the Employees list page.
3. The Import page opens, displaying options for downloading templates and uploading files.

Import Types

Udyamo HRMS supports importing several types of data:

Employee Import — Step by Step

Step 1: Download the Import Template

1. On the Import page, select Employee Import as the import type.
2. Click Download Template.
3. A CSV or Excel file downloads to your computer with pre-defined column headers.

Tip: Always use the downloaded template rather than creating your own file. The template contains the exact column headers the system expects, and using different headers will cause the import to fail.

Step 2: Understanding the Template Columns

The employee import template contains the following columns:

Step 3: Fill In Employee Data

1. Open the downloaded template in a spreadsheet application (Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc).
2. Enter one employee per row.
3. Ensure all required fields are filled.
4. Save the file in CSV (.csv) or Excel (.xlsx) format.

Warning: Do not modify, rename, or delete the header row. The system uses the exact column headers to map data to fields.

Step 4: Upload the File

1. On the Import page, click Choose File or drag and drop the file into the upload area.
2. Select your prepared CSV or Excel file.
3. Click Upload.

Step 5: Preview Before Import

After uploading, the ImportsController parses the file and presents a preview screen. This is a critical step that shows you exactly what will be imported.

The preview displays:

Tip: Review the preview carefully. Pay special attention to rows highlighted with errors. This is your last chance to catch issues before records are created.

Step 6: Review and Resolve Errors

If any rows have errors, the preview screen displays the specific error for each problematic row.

Common validation errors:

You have two options:

1. Proceed with valid rows only — Click Import to import all valid rows and skip error rows.
2. Fix and re-upload — Download the error report, correct the issues in your file, and upload again.

Step 7: Confirm and Execute Import

1. After reviewing the preview, click the Import or Confirm Import button.
2. The system processes the import in a batch.
3. A progress indicator shows the import status.
4. Upon completion, a summary displays:
   • Number of employees successfully created
   • Number of rows skipped due to errors
   • Link to download the error report (if any errors occurred)

Warning: The import process creates employee records and queues invitation emails for each new employee. Ensure you are ready for employees to receive invitations before importing.

Attendance Import

When to Use Attendance Import

• Migrating historical attendance data from a previous system
• Correcting attendance records in bulk
• Uploading attendance from an external time-tracking device that does not integrate directly

Attendance Import Template Columns

Steps

1. On the Import page, select Attendance Import.
2. Click Download Template to get the attendance import template.
3. Fill in attendance records — one row per employee per date.
4. Upload the file.
5. Review the preview. The system validates that each emp_id exists and dates are valid.
6. Confirm the import.

Warning: Importing attendance for a date that already has a record for the same employee will either update the existing record or create a duplicate, depending on your system settings. Verify the behavior before importing to avoid duplicates.

Leave Import

When to Use Leave Import

• Migrating leave balances from a previous system at the start of a fiscal year
• Importing historical leave records for reporting continuity

Leave Import Template Columns

Steps

1. On the Import page, select Leave Import.
2. Download the template.
3. Fill in leave records.
4. Upload and preview.
5. Resolve any errors (e.g., leave category name mismatches, invalid employee IDs).
6. Confirm the import.

Tips for Clean Data

Following these practices minimizes errors during import:

1. Use exact names — Department, designation, office, and leave category names must match the system configuration exactly, including capitalization and spacing.
2. Consistent date format — Always use YYYY-MM-DD. Avoid regional date formats like DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY.
3. No commas in numbers — Enter 600000, not 6,00,000 or 600,000.
4. Trim whitespace — Remove leading and trailing spaces from all cells.
5. Validate emails — Ensure all email addresses are properly formatted and unique.
6. Check for duplicates — Remove duplicate rows before uploading. The system will flag duplicates, but it is faster to clean them beforehand.
7. Test with a small batch first — Before importing hundreds of records, test with 5-10 records to ensure your template is correctly formatted.
8. Save as CSV UTF-8 — If your data contains non-English characters (Hindi names, for example), save the file as CSV with UTF-8 encoding.

Tip: Keep a backup of your import file and the error report. If you need to re-import or investigate discrepancies later, these files serve as your audit trail.

Batch Processing and Performance

For large imports (500+ records), the system processes records in batches to maintain performance.

Tip: You can navigate away from the import page while a large batch is processing. The import continues in the background, and you will see a notification when it completes.

Downloading Error Reports

If your import had errors:

1. After the import completes, click Download Error Report.
2. The report is a CSV file listing only the rows that failed, with an additional column showing the error message for each row.
3. Correct the errors in the report file.
4. Re-upload only the corrected rows.

Next Steps

• Send invitations to the newly imported employees — see Inviting Employees & Self-Service
• Complete employee profiles with additional details — see Employee Profiles
• Set up attendance tracking for imported employees — see Creating & Assigning Shifts

Inviting Employees & Self-Service

Udyamo HRMS uses a token-based invitation system (powered by the Devise Invitable gem) to onboard employees into the platform. When an administrator creates an employee record, the employee receives an invitation email with a secure link to set up their account. This chapter covers the invitation workflow, employee acceptance, self-service features, and troubleshooting.

Prerequisites

Required: The employee record must exist in the system with a valid email address. See Adding Your First Employee.

How Invitations Work

The invitation system follows this sequence:

1. Admin creates employee — When an employee record is saved, Udyamo HRMS generates a unique, time-limited invitation token.
2. Invitation email sent — The system sends an email to the employee's registered email address containing a secure link with the token.
3. Employee clicks the link — The link opens a page where the employee sets their password.
4. Account activated — Once the employee sets their password, their account is active and they can log in to the self-service portal.

Tip: The invitation token is cryptographically secure and unique to each employee. It cannot be guessed or reused.

Sending an Invitation

Automatic Invitation on Employee Creation

When you save a new employee record through Employees > Add New, an invitation email is automatically sent to the employee's email address. No additional action is required.

Manual Invitation from Employee Profile

If the automatic invitation was not sent (for example, the email address was added after initial creation), or if you need to resend:

1. Navigate to Employees from the sidebar.
2. Click the employee's name to open their profile.
3. Locate the Invitation Status section or the Actions menu.
4. Click Send Invitation or Resend Invitation.
5. A confirmation message appears, and the invitation email is sent.

Invitation Status

Each employee's invitation has one of the following statuses:

You can view invitation status in the Employees list. Filter by Invitation Status to find employees who have not yet accepted.

What Employees See

The Invitation Email

The employee receives an email with:

• A welcome message from the organization
• The organization name
• A Set Up Your Account button or link
• Instructions to click the link within the validity period

The Acceptance Page

When the employee clicks the invitation link:

1. Their browser opens the Udyamo HRMS acceptance page.
2. The page displays the organization name and the employee's email (pre-filled).
3. The employee enters a new password and confirms the password.
4. Clicks Accept Invitation or Set Password.
5. The system validates the token, sets the password (stored as encrypted_password on the Employee model), and activates the account.
6. The employee is redirected to the dashboard.

Warning: If the employee sees a "Token is invalid or expired" message, the invitation has expired and needs to be resent by an administrator.

Resending Invitations

Invitations may need to be resent in several situations:

Steps to Resend

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Click Resend Invitation from the Actions menu or Invitation Status section.
3. A new token is generated and a fresh email is sent.
4. The previous token is invalidated.

Tip: If multiple employees have not accepted their invitations, you can select them from the Employees list and use the Bulk Resend Invitations action (if available) to resend all at once.

Invitation Token Expiry

The invitation token has a configurable expiry period. By default, tokens are valid for a set number of days after they are generated.

After expiry:

• The employee can no longer use the old link.
• An administrator must resend the invitation to generate a new, valid token.
• The previous token is permanently invalidated.

Self-Service Portal Features

Once an employee accepts the invitation and logs in, they have access to the self-service portal. This portal allows employees to perform common HR tasks without involving the HR team.

Self-Service Dashboard

After logging in, the employee sees a personalized dashboard showing:

• Today's attendance status (checked in, checked out, not yet checked in)
• Leave balance summary (available days for each leave category)
• Pending requests (leave applications, reimbursement claims awaiting approval)
• Recent payslips (quick link to the latest payslip)
• Announcements from the organization

Available Self-Service Features

Employee vs. Administrator Capabilities

The table below summarizes what employees can and cannot do compared to administrators.

Tip: Managers occupy a middle ground — they can approve leave, overtime, and reimbursement requests for their direct reports. Manager capabilities are controlled through Roles & Permissions.

Two-Factor Authentication for Employees

Employees can enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for additional security. Udyamo HRMS supports OTP-based 2FA using the otp_secret_key field on the Employee model.

1. After accepting the invitation and logging in, the employee navigates to My Profile > Security.
2. Clicks Enable Two-Factor Authentication.
3. Scans the QR code with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.).
4. Enters the OTP to confirm setup.
5. From the next login onwards, the employee must enter the OTP after their password.

See Two-Factor Authentication & OTP for detailed setup instructions.

Troubleshooting Invitations

Warning: Each time you resend an invitation, the previous token is invalidated. If an employee has multiple invitation emails, only the most recent link will work.

Best Practices for Employee Onboarding

1. Batch your invitations — If importing employees in bulk, schedule the import during business hours so employees receive invitations when they are likely to act on them.
2. Communicate beforehand — Send a separate announcement (email, Slack, or in person) informing employees that they will receive an invitation from Udyamo HRMS and should look for it.
3. Set a deadline — Ask employees to accept invitations within a specific number of days. Follow up with employees who have not accepted.
4. Prepare a quick-start guide — Provide employees with a brief overview of what they can do in the self-service portal (check attendance, apply for leave, view payslips).
5. Monitor invitation status — Regularly check the Employees list filtered by invitation status to identify employees who have not accepted.

Next Steps

• Set up shifts for your employees to begin attendance tracking — see Creating & Assigning Shifts
• Configure leave categories for leave applications — see Setting Up Leave Categories
• Complete employee profiles — see Employee Profiles

Creating & Assigning Shifts

Shifts define the expected working hours for employees. Udyamo HRMS uses the Shift model to configure one or more shift patterns, assign them to employees, and use them as the basis for attendance calculations, late-marking, and payroll. This chapter covers creating shifts, setting a default shift, assigning shifts to employees, and managing rotating shift patterns.

Prerequisites

Required: Before configuring shifts, ensure:

• At least one office exists (see Offices & Locations)
• Your work week is configured with the correct working days (see Work Week, Timezone & Fiscal Year)
• Employees have been added to the system (see Adding Your First Employee)

Navigating to Shift Management

1. From the sidebar, click Attendance.
2. Click Shifts from the submenu.
3. The Shifts list page displays all configured shifts.

Understanding the Shift Model

Each shift in Udyamo HRMS has the following attributes:

Creating a New Shift

Step 1: Open the Create Form

1. On the Shifts list page, click Add Shift or Create New Shift.
2. The shift creation form opens.

Step 2: Enter Shift Details

1. Name — Enter a descriptive name. Use names that clearly indicate the shift pattern (e.g., "Morning Shift", "Evening Shift", "Night Shift", "General 9-6").
2. Start Time — Select the shift start time using the time picker. Use 24-hour format.
3. End Time — Select the shift end time. For overnight shifts, the end time will be earlier than the start time (e.g., start 22:00, end 06:00).
4. Grace Period — Enter the number of minutes after the start time that an employee can check in without being marked late. For example, a 15-minute grace period on a 09:00 shift means check-ins up to 09:15 are considered on time.
5. Break Duration — Enter the total break time in minutes. This is deducted from the gross working hours to calculate net working hours.

Step 3: Configure Applicable Days

1. Select the days of the week this shift applies to.
2. Typically, this matches your work week configuration (e.g., Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday).
3. Deselect any days that should not use this shift.

Step 4: Save the Shift

1. Review all fields.
2. Click Save.
3. The shift appears in the Shifts list.

Setting a Default Shift

The default shift is automatically assigned to newly added employees who do not have a specific shift assignment. Only one shift can be the default at a time.

To Set a Default Shift

1. Navigate to Attendance > Shifts.
2. Locate the shift you want to make the default.
3. Click the Actions menu (three dots or gear icon) for that shift.
4. Select Set as Default.
5. The shift is now marked with a "Default" badge.

Alternatively, when creating or editing a shift:

1. Check the Is Default checkbox.
2. Save the shift.

Tip: Set your most common shift as the default. For most Indian organizations, a 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM shift with a 60-minute lunch break is standard. Setting this as default saves time when adding new employees.

Warning: If you change the default shift, existing employee assignments are not affected. Only newly created employees (who are not explicitly assigned a shift) will receive the new default.

Common Shift Configurations

Here are typical shift configurations for Indian organizations:

Tip: For organizations with flexible timings, set a wide start-to-end window and a large grace period. The system calculates actual working hours from check-in and check-out times regardless of the shift window.

Assigning Shifts to Employees

Individual Assignment

1. Navigate to Employees and open the employee's profile.
2. Go to the Attendance or Shift section of the profile.
3. Click Assign Shift or Edit Shift.
4. Select the desired shift from the dropdown.
5. Optionally, set an Effective Date from which this shift assignment begins.
6. Click Save.

Bulk Assignment

To assign a shift to multiple employees at once:

1. Navigate to Attendance > Shifts.
2. Click the shift you want to assign.
3. On the shift detail page, click Assign Employees or Manage Assignments.
4. A list of all employees appears. Use checkboxes to select employees.
5. Use filters (department, office, designation) to narrow the list.
6. Click Assign to apply the shift to all selected employees.

Tip: When onboarding a new department, use bulk assignment to assign the correct shift to all department members at once.

Multiple Shifts

Organizations that operate across multiple time zones or run 24-hour operations often need multiple shifts.

Managing Multiple Shifts

• Create each shift with a distinct name and time range.
• Assign different shifts to different employee groups based on their role, department, or office.
• Each employee can have only one active shift at a time.

Shift Change Process

When an employee's shift changes (e.g., rotation from morning to evening):

1. Open the employee's profile.
2. Navigate to the Shift section.
3. Change the shift assignment to the new shift.
4. Set the Effective Date to the date the new shift starts.
5. Save.

The system retains historical shift data, so attendance calculations for past dates use the shift that was active at that time.

Rotating Shift Patterns

Some organizations rotate employees through different shifts on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Setting Up Rotation

1. Create all the shifts that are part of the rotation (e.g., Morning Shift, Afternoon Shift, Night Shift).
2. Assign the initial shift to each employee.
3. At the rotation interval, update the shift assignment for each employee to the next shift in the rotation.

Tip: For frequent rotations, maintain a shift rotation calendar (outside Udyamo HRMS or as a reference) and update assignments at the beginning of each rotation period. The bulk assignment feature can speed up this process.

Rotation Example

Impact on Attendance Calculations

The shift configuration directly affects how attendance is evaluated:

Warning: Changes to a shift's start time, end time, or break duration affect all future attendance calculations for employees on that shift. Review the impact before modifying an existing shift that has active assignments.

Editing an Existing Shift

1. Navigate to Attendance > Shifts.
2. Click the shift name to open its details.
3. Click Edit.
4. Modify the desired fields.
5. Click Save.

Warning: Editing a shift does not retroactively change past attendance records. Changes apply to attendance records from the current date forward.

Deleting a Shift

1. Navigate to Attendance > Shifts.
2. Click the Actions menu for the shift.
3. Select Delete.
4. Confirm the deletion.

Warning: You cannot delete a shift that is currently assigned to employees or is set as the default. Reassign all employees to a different shift and remove the default status before deleting.

Common Errors and Solutions

Next Steps

• Configure daily check-in and check-out for employees — see Daily Check-In & Check-Out
• Set up attendance policies for late-marking and absence rules — see Attendance Policies & Rules
• Connect attendance devices for biometric check-in — see Attendance Devices & Face Recognition

Daily Check-In & Check-Out

Attendance tracking in Udyamo HRMS is built on the Attendance model, which records each employee's daily check-in time, check-out time, and calculated working hours. This chapter covers every aspect of the daily attendance workflow — from employee check-in to administrator corrections.

Prerequisites

Required: Before employees can check in:

• At least one shift must be created and assigned to employees (see Creating & Assigning Shifts)
• Employees must have active status
• For web-based check-in, employees must have accepted their invitation and have login credentials

Attendance Model Overview

Each attendance record in Udyamo HRMS stores the following data:

Additional data is captured through related models: shift, attendance events, break logs, and location coordinates.

Employee Check-In Process

Check-In via Web Portal

1. The employee logs in to Udyamo HRMS.
2. On the Dashboard, a prominent Check In button is displayed (if the employee has not yet checked in for the day).
3. The employee clicks Check In.
4. The system records:
   • The current timestamp as check_in_time
   • The current date as the date
   • The employee's location (if location tracking is enabled)
5. The button changes to Check Out (or the status updates to "Checked In").
6. A confirmation message displays the check-in time.

Check-In via Mobile

1. Open Udyamo HRMS on the mobile browser or app.
2. Tap the Check In button on the dashboard.
3. If location tracking is enabled, the app requests location permission. Grant it.
4. The check-in is recorded with the location.

Check-In via Attendance Device

Biometric devices and face recognition terminals can also record check-ins. The device communicates with Udyamo HRMS via the AttendanceDevice API using token-based authentication. See Attendance Devices & Face Recognition for setup.

Employee Check-Out Process

1. At the end of the work day, the employee navigates to the Dashboard or Attendance section.
2. Clicks the Check Out button.
3. The system records the current timestamp as check_out_time.
4. Working hours are automatically calculated: check_out_time - check_in_time - break_duration.
5. The attendance status updates to "Completed" for the day.

Warning: If an employee forgets to check out, the attendance record for that day will show a check-in but no check-out, resulting in incomplete working hours. Administrators can correct this manually (see below) or configure auto-checkout policies.

Multiple Check-In Support

Udyamo HRMS supports multiple check-ins within a single day. This is useful for employees who leave and return during the day (e.g., client meetings, errands).

How It Works

1. After checking out mid-day, the employee can click Check In again.
2. The system creates a new check-in entry for the same date.
3. Working hours are calculated as the sum of all check-in/check-out intervals.

Configurable Maximum Limit

Administrators can configure the maximum number of check-ins allowed per day.

1. Navigate to Attendance > Settings.
2. Locate the Multiple Check-In section.
3. Set the Maximum Check-Ins Per Day value (e.g., 4).
4. Save.