Team, Co-founders & Legal

What tools does a 5 to 20 person startup actually need, and what am I overspending on?

A starting point

You need far less than the SaaS ads suggest: one chat tool, one docs/wiki, one project tracker, one place for files, and one for money (accounting plus payroll). Resist buying an HRIS, a fancy OKR platform, or a data warehouse before you have the people to feed them. In India, Google Workspace plus a homegrown Notion/Slack stack and a local payroll provider (RazorpayX, Zoho Payroll) covers most of it. Audit every recurring subscription quarterly and kill anything with under three active users.

Go deeper

Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time.

3 resources 3 link-checked

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📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it This is the anti-overspend stack argued out loud: Google Workspace, Notion free, Google Chat, Canva free, one accounting tool, one AI seat, everything else nothing, at roughly 60 a month for a team of five. Its rule (install the minimum, start free everywhere, only add a tool when its absence physically stops you from doing something) is exactly the discipline that keeps a 5 to 20 person team from buying an HRIS and a data warehouse it cannot feed yet.

The SaaS Tools I'd Give Every New Startup on Day One

From Medium by Jackki Ashgrove 9 min read

  • The whole day-one stack fits in about six tools and one paid AI seat, not the twenty the SaaS ads push
  • Default to free tiers; a paid upgrade is only justified when the free tier is actively blocking work, usually around 12 to 15 people
  • Google Workspace plus one accounting tool covers email, docs, chat, and money, which is most of what a small team touches
Open mrsproductivity.medium.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

Why we picked it This is the India-specific answer to which HR and payroll tools founders actually run: it names Keka, Zoho People, and Darwinbox as the real HRMS choices and puts the software step where it belongs (after you have written policies, not before). It also flags the statutory triggers that force a tool on you (PF, ESIC, gratuity, the POSH Act at 10-plus people) so you buy for a legal reason, not for a dashboard.

HR Policies: Best Practices For Start-Ups In India

From Razorpay Rize by Razorpay Rize 14 min read

  • Keka, Zoho People, and Darwinbox are the Indian HRMS names to know; pick one only once policies exist and headcount justifies it
  • POSH compliance becomes mandatory at 10-plus employees, and PF/ESIC/gratuity obligations are what actually pull you into payroll software
  • The setup order is define goals, draft policies, set up payroll and compliance, then buy software, not the reverse
Open razorpay.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Intermediate

Why we picked it Before you shop for a payroll provider, this tells you which compliance obligations that provider has to cover: PF at 20-plus employees, ESI at 10-plus (state-varying), TDS and Professional Tax, plus a monthly/quarterly/annual filing calendar. It is the buyer's checklist for choosing between RazorpayX Payroll, Zoho Payroll, or Keka, because the only payroll tool worth paying for is the one that files all of these on time.

Labour Laws in India for Private Companies

From Razorpay Rize by Razorpay Rize 16 min read

  • PF kicks in at 20 employees and ESI at 10 (state-dependent), so your payroll tool must handle both thresholds automatically
  • Payroll and wages are the most audited and litigated area of Indian labour law, so timely PF/ESI/TDS filings matter more than any feature
  • Two offices in different states can carry very different obligations, which is a real reason to run one compliant payroll system rather than spreadsheets
Open razorpay.com →

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