Built for India, or Built for Nepal
Keka is a capable HR platform designed first for Indian businesses. NepalHRM is built from the ground up for Nepal's tax, calendar, and banking. Here's an honest, side-by-side look.
- Free up to 10 employees
- Free onboarding support
- Set up in one day
NepalHRM at a glance
Statutory payroll compliance
Built for Nepal (PF, CIT, SSF, eTDS - IRD eTDS format)
Fiscal calendar
Bikram Sambat + AD, Nepal FY (Shrawan-Ashad)
Pricing & billing
Priced in NPR, billed locally in Nepal
Bank transfer files
NIC Asia, Nabil, Global IME, NBL & more
Free forever up to 10 employees
What a Nepali buyer is actually checking for
- eTDS
- Generated in the IRD format
- BS + AD
- Bikram Sambat fiscal year
- NPR 0
- Free forever up to 10 employees
- 60–99
- NPR per active employee after that
NepalHRM vs Keka
Looking for a Keka alternative built for Nepal? Keka is a well-regarded HR and payroll platform - designed first for Indian businesses and their statutory rules (PF, ESI, PT, Indian TDS). NepalHRM is built from the ground up for Nepal: IRD-compliant payroll with PF, CIT, SSF and eTDS, the Bikram Sambat fiscal calendar, NPR pricing, and a Kathmandu-based support team. If your obligations are Nepali rather than Indian, here is how the two compare.
| Capability | Keka | NepalHRM |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory payroll compliance | Built for India (PF, ESI, PT, Indian TDS) | Built for Nepal (PF, CIT, SSF, eTDS - IRD eTDS format) |
| Fiscal calendar | Gregorian / India FY (Apr-Mar) | Bikram Sambat + AD, Nepal FY (Shrawan-Ashad) |
| Pricing & billing | Priced in INR for the Indian market | Priced in NPR, billed locally in Nepal |
| Bank transfer files | Optimised for its home-market banks | NIC Asia, Nabil, Global IME, NBL & more |
| Payslip language | English-first | Bilingual Nepali + English |
| Local support | Remote, India business hours | Kathmandu team, Nepal time zone |
| Biometric devices common in Nepal | Depends on integration | ZKTeco and Hikvision (push/pull) |
| Free plan for small teams | Subscription-based | Free forever up to 10 employees |
Comparison based on each platform's publicly available information and stated market focus as of mid-2026. Product details change - please verify current features, pricing, and compliance coverage directly with each vendor before deciding.
Built for Nepal, End to End
Four things NepalHRM puts in writing that a buyer usually has to ask a salesperson for.
Nepal compliance, not adapted
PF, CIT, SSF and eTDS are first-class, not bolted onto a foreign payroll engine. Your eTDS exports in the exact format the IRD expects.
Runs on the Nepali calendar
Payroll, leave and reports respect the Bikram Sambat fiscal year (Shrawan-Ashad), so finance never maintains a parallel calendar.
Priced and supported locally
Transparent NPR pricing, local billing, and a Kathmandu support team that works in your time zone.
Free to start
Free forever for up to 10 employees - switch a small team at no cost as the new fiscal year begins.
Switching HR Software Is Where the Pain Actually Is
Feature lists are the easy part of the decision. What decides whether a switch goes well is the migration itself, and almost none of it is about which platform has more modules.
- Moving mid-year means recalculating tax that has already been deducted
- Leave and CIT opening balances get rebuilt by hand in a spreadsheet
- Employee data leaves the old system in one shape and the new one expects another
- The old system stays open for months because nobody trusts the new numbers yet
Move at the Fiscal-Year Changeover
Ashad to Shrawan is the cleanest moment to switch. You start the new year with clean opening balances and skip the mid-year tax recalculation entirely.
What you get on the way in
- Free onboarding support imports employees and configures Nepal tax defaults
- One click reinstalls the Nepal tax slabs, so the first run starts from correct rates
- Most teams complete their first payroll run within their first cycle
- Free forever up to 10 employees, so a small team can move at no cost
From Sign-Up to Your First Payroll Run
The same four steps whichever system you are leaving. Free onboarding support runs alongside all of them.
- Day 1
Set up the company
Sign up, add your company details, and reinstall Nepal tax defaults so the slabs, PF and SSF rates start from the current IRD figures.
- Week 1
Bring your people across
Free onboarding support helps import employees, salary structures and leave balances from whatever you are running today.
- First cycle
Run one period in parallel
Process a full payroll period alongside your current system and reconcile the two before you switch the old one off.
- Ongoing
Close the year in one place
The eTDS file in IRD format, bilingual payslips, and bank transfer files for NIC Asia, Nabil, Global IME, NBL and more.
Simple, Transparent Pricing
No Hidden Fees
Free forever up to 10 employees, then NPR 60 (Essential) and NPR 99 (Business) per active employee. No minimum commitment and no per-module charges.
- All core HR modules
- Nepal payroll compliance
- PF, SSF, CIT & eTDS
- Biometric integration
- Free onboarding support
- Regular feature updates
- Multi-company support
- BS + AD calendar
Free trial available, no card required · No setup fees · Cancel anytime
What You Are Actually Switching To
Every module runs on the same employee record, so attendance, leave and payroll never need reconciling against each other.
Nepal payroll
PF, CIT, SSF and the eTDS file in IRD format, on Bikram Sambat periods.
Biometric attendance
ZKTeco and Hikvision devices, plus GPS punch from the mobile app.
Leave management
Policies, accruals and multi-level approvals on the Nepali calendar.
Recruitment
Jobs, candidate pipeline and interview scheduling in the same system.
Transparent NPR pricing
Every plan and what it includes, published in Nepali rupees.
Current offer
What switching costs this fiscal year, and what is included free.
Switching for the new fiscal year? Read the fiscal-year switching guide for the order the migration should happen in.
Your Team Gets It on Every Device
Employees check in, apply for leave, submit claims and download payslips from the app. Managers approve from the same place, which is usually what decides whether an HR system still gets used after month one.
NepalHRM vs Keka, Answered
The questions buyers ask before they move, answered without a sales call.
Yes. If your statutory obligations are Nepali (PF, CIT, SSF, eTDS) rather than Indian, NepalHRM handles them natively, prices in NPR, and runs on the Bikram Sambat fiscal calendar - areas where an India-first platform typically needs workarounds.
Yes. NepalHRM auto-calculates income tax, PF, SSF, and CIT and generates eTDS reports in the exact format required by Nepal's IRD.
Yes. Free online onboarding support helps you import employees and configure Nepal tax defaults. Most teams complete their first payroll run within their first cycle, and the fiscal-year changeover is the cleanest time to switch.
NepalHRM is free for up to 10 employees, then transparent per-employee plans in NPR. See the pricing page for current NPR rates.
Looking at Other Options Too
Every comparison on this site states what NepalHRM delivers and points you at the vendor for theirs.
Start the New Fiscal Year on NepalHRM
Free for up to 10 employees, with free onboarding support. The fiscal-year changeover is the cleanest time to switch.
- No credit card
- Free onboarding
- Nepal IRD compliant
- Cancel anytime