ZoZoHCM
Release notes

What's new in ZoHCM

Recent changes, newest first. Statutory rules change often, so anything that affects a payslip or a filing is marked, and we say so when a treatment should be confirmed with your CA.

13 October 2026

ESIC switch, EPF return unpaid days, and tighter input checks

  • PayrollESIC switch in Settings. ESIC applies only in Government-notified areas, and the list keeps growing. It is on by default; turn it off for a company whose area is not covered and payroll stops deducting ESIC and the employer share.
  • ComplianceThe EPF return (ECR) now fills the NCP days column with the days pay was deducted for, in both the spreadsheet and the upload file. It carries values when absent-day deduction is on.
  • ComplianceThe in-app compliance matrix now notes the Income-tax Act, 2025 names for salary TDS (Section 392) and the Form 16 and 24Q equivalents (Form 130 and Form 138), and the new Maharashtra professional-tax due date.
  • Payslips can now be opened for any month, not only the current pay cycle.
  • A joining date more than a year ahead, or before 1950, is refused when adding, editing or importing an employee, so a typo no longer drops someone out of payroll.
  • Assigning a shift to an Employee ID that is not in the company is refused and names the ID.
  • Pay grades can be edited one field at a time, and the minimum-below-maximum check uses the values the grade will end up with.

13 October 2026

September EPF corrected, West Bengal tax slabs, fixed-term gratuity

  • PayrollSeptember 2026 EPF is worked out per period: the first 16 days use the ₹15,000 ceiling and the last 14 days use ₹25,000, averaged by days. Anyone earning ₹25,000 or more is unchanged. For someone earning ₹20,000, the EPF wage is ₹17,333 and EPF is ₹2,080.
  • PayrollWest Bengal professional tax changes from the October 2026 wage month: nothing up to ₹20,000 a month, then ₹100, ₹140, ₹170 and ₹208 up the slabs. Earlier months keep the old slabs.
  • Fixed-term employees: add a contract end date and gratuity becomes payable after one year of service instead of five, as under the Code on Social Security. The exit page shows the years needed.
  • The EPF Wage Ceiling Guide is updated with the per-period treatment and worked September figures. The treatment follows published summaries of EPFO guidance, so confirm it with your CA before filing.

13 October 2026

Safer first sign-in for new companies, setup guides refreshed

  • Sign-inThe starting password for a new company admin must meet the same rules as everyone else's: at least 10 characters, upper and lower case, a number, a symbol, and not a known-breached password.
  • Sign-inAnyone given a starting password now chooses their own at first sign-in, before they can use anything.
  • Holidays: only one per date. Pay grades with a minimum above the maximum are refused.
  • CompliancePOSH Internal Committee: re-adding a current member in a different role is refused rather than silently changing their role, which could leave the committee without a Presiding Officer.
  • Letter templates: a misspelt placeholder such as {{employeName}} is caught when you save, and named.
  • Company Setup Guide, fourth edition (48 pages), and a new Zoledger guide (9 pages).

12 October 2026

Zoledger books, appraisal rating windows, attendance safeguards

  • Zoledger (optional): connect your company in Settings, and after a payroll cycle is disbursed, send it to your books once. Held salaries and contractor invoices are left out.
  • Appraisal rating windows: choose how many days after a month closes managers can still rate it (default 10), and how long managers wait for the employee's self-assessment (default 5). A Company Admin can always reopen a locked review.
  • PayrollMarking your own attendance: you can mark only today, and you can no longer overwrite a day that is Absent, On leave, or set by an admin or a fingerprint terminal.
  • AccessStaff granted access to the punch log are held to their team's scope, and the browser-notification sign-up accepts only the real browser push services.
  • Sign-inSigning out also removes that browser's notification subscription.
  • Fingerprint terminals reject a punch from someone not enrolled on that terminal, and flag a punch with no match score for review.
  • The audit log can be filtered by route, failed requests and date range, and downloaded as a CSV.

11 October 2026

Search finds every page

  • Ctrl+K search finds every page you may open, including ones not in the sidebar, and understands words like “payslip” and “TDS”.
  • If you can see the employee list, you can also search employees by name, Employee ID, email or phone.

8 October 2026

Shifts, and the ₹25,000 EPF ceiling

  • PayrollThe EPF/EPS wage ceiling rises from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 from 17 September 2026. The switch to apply the ceiling is on by default for new companies; EPS and EDLI are always capped.
  • Shifts: define Morning, Night and similar shifts and assign people. Late-marking follows each person's own shift, and overnight shifts count the morning check-out toward the day the shift started.
  • Owner announcements: platform owners can send an in-app notification to all Company Admins.

6–7 October 2026

Home profile card, monthly appraisal scores

  • Home has a profile card with your manager, shift and office, plus a Present this month tile.
  • Monthly appraisals now store a score and grade at their final stage, scored on work only.
  • The back of the ID card no longer cuts off long addresses and instructions.