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