Features
Everything HR runs, in one place
From the first interview to the last payslip. Every module works together, so nobody types the same thing twice.
Only in Athena
Things we built because other HR tools didn't
Each of these came from a real problem in running outlets, offices and payroll across several companies.
A check-in QR that can't be forwarded
The outlet tablet shows a QR code that changes every 15 minutes, so a photo of it shared on WhatsApp stops working. Each check-in photo is compared with the employee's face on your own server, and mismatches are flagged for HR.
Approve from the email, no login
Leave, claims, loans, advances, payroll and exit handovers reach the approver by email. They tap Approve or Reject and confirm with a one-time code. Approvers who are away can hand over to a delegate.
An AI second look before salaries go out
Before the CEO approves, Athena compares the run with last month and flags big pay changes, extra unpaid days, claim spikes, adjustments and holds. AI explains it in plain English. Employee names are never sent to the AI.
Never too many people off at once
Set the share of a team that can be off on any day. A leave that would break the limit can't be approved, unless the manager asks the CEO, who can override it from an email.
Working Saturdays that fill themselves
Set one compulsory Saturday a month, and employees pick the rest of their quota. If a Saturday is short of people, Athena assigns whoever has worked the fewest. A working Saturday needs a work log, or it counts as unpaid.
Every sensitive change, in one evening email
Salary revisions, payroll adjustments, final settlements, loans and claim payouts are collected into one email at 5 PM. The founder approves, flags or comments on each, confirmed with a code. No changes, no email.
Attendance
Know who came in, at every outlet
Employees check in and out with one button on their phone. Your rules handle the rest.
- Phone check-in by scanning the outlet tablet's QR code, or walk up to the tablet and be recognised by face.
- Late policy with your cutoff time, a few free late marks, then half a day for each one after.
- Flagged check-ins where the face didn't match, for HR to look at with the photo.
- Field staff log client meetings; managers have 24 hours to reject a log.
- Travel days with a location check-in as proof, and reminders when it's missing.
- Company WFH days and biometric punch imports, counted correctly in payroll.
The employee app, in a phone's browser. Tap to enlarge.
Leave & holidays
Your leave policy, applied the same way every time
Employees apply from their phone and see their balance. Approvers get an email.
- Leave types and balances set up the way your company works.
- Comp-offs for extra days worked, which expire after 90 days.
- Convert unpaid leave to paid leave on request, with approval.
- Team limits so too many people from one team can't be off at once.
- Delegates approve on a manager's behalf while they're away.
- Holiday calendar and working-Saturday schedules in the same place.
Pending approvals in Athena, and the same request as the manager's email.
Payroll
Payroll that builds itself from the month
Attendance, leave, loans and claims flow in. Finance reviews, the CEO approves, and everyone gets paid.
- Loss of pay worked out from attendance, leave and late marks.
- TDS on the new regime and professional tax by slab.
- Adjustments and arrears added with a note, and every change is on record.
- Salary holds for one employee, released later without re-running payroll.
- CEO approval by email with an AI summary and a one-time code.
- Payslips emailed as PDFs, plus a Tally file, a bank upload file and a salary sheet.
- Google Sheets sync for your salary tracker, professional tax and TDS sheets.
Reimbursements
Claims with the bill attached, paid with salary
No more envelopes of bills. Employees claim from their phone and the money comes with their next salary.
- Claim types and categories that match how you spend.
- Bills attached to every claim, for finance to check.
- Approval from email by the manager, with nothing to log in to.
- Paid with payroll once approved, so finance makes one payment.
- Monthly digest and reports by category, employee and company.
Loans & salary advances
Advances approved by the CEO, recovered on their own
Employees ask from the app. The CEO approves from email. Salary does the rest.
- CEO approval for every loan and advance, confirmed with a one-time code.
- EMIs deducted from salary automatically until the loan is repaid.
- Early closure when an employee wants to pay off the rest.
- Full history of what was lent, repaid and still due.
Recruitment & onboarding
From CV to signed offer, with AI doing the reading
Every opening, candidate and interview in one pipeline, with AI to save HR hours of reading.
- AI reads CVs and fills in the candidate's details for HR to confirm.
- AI fit review of each candidate against the role, with names and contacts removed.
- Interview stages where each interviewer gets a link to leave feedback.
- AI summary for the CEO of all the interview feedback before the final call.
- Offer letters the candidate accepts online, then appointment letters.
- KYC collected through a Google Sheet and pulled in automatically.
Interns
Decide who to hire from your interns, on the record
A proper review at the end of every internship, instead of a hallway conversation.
- Self-review by the intern and a review by the manager, both from a link.
- AI summary of both reviews for the CEO.
- CEO approval to convert to an employee, then HR finalises.
- Extend or end an internship, with daily reminders for anyone who hasn't replied.
Exit & assets
Clean exits, with every laptop and handover accounted for
The final settlement waits until the handover is signed off, so nothing walks out the door.
- Assets assigned, moved and returned, with bulk import to get started.
- Handover approval by the manager, from email, with daily reminders.
- Full and final held until the handover is approved, then marked complete.
- Relieving and experience letters from your own templates.
HR letters
The letter HR writes every week, in one click
Pick the employee and the letter. Athena fills in their details and the right signatory.
- Ready templates for offer, appointment, probation confirmation, increment, transfer, salary certificate, warning, experience and relieving letters.
- Your own wording with custom templates for offers and exits.
- Authorised signatures kept in one library and picked per letter.
- Sent by email, with a record of every letter that went out.
Employee self-service
Fewer "can you send me…" messages to HR
Employees find their own answers, and raise a ticket when they can't.
- Helpdesk tickets for salary, attendance corrections, documents, letters and IT.
- Payslips to download any time.
- Company policies to read and acknowledge, with reminders for anyone who hasn't.
- Announcements, and birthday and work-anniversary wishes sent automatically.
- Alerts to HR before probation ends or a document expires.
Reports & dashboards
The whole group, on one screen
Headcount, payroll and attendance across every company, without asking anyone for a spreadsheet.
- Founder dashboard with headcount, six months of payroll and unpaid-leave trends, and who's at risk.
- Group dashboard that adds up every company.
- Reports for payroll, attendance, leave and claims, exported to Excel.
- Quarterly payout report shared by a link you can switch off at any time.
Security
Your employee data, protected
Role-based access
Employees, managers, HR, finance and admins each see only what their role allows.
One-time codes on approvals
Payroll, loans, advances and leave approvals are confirmed with a code sent to the approver.
A record of every change
Sensitive changes are logged with who made them and when.
A daily digest for the founder
Salary revisions, payroll adjustments, loans and payouts are sent for review every evening.
Your data kept separate
Every customer's data is kept apart from every other customer's.
Nightly backups
Your data is backed up automatically every night.
Face data stays private
Face matching runs on our own servers, never a third-party service.
AI without names
When AI reviews a payroll run or a candidate's fit, names and contact details are left out.
Integrations & switching
Works with your books, your bank and your spreadsheets
- Tally salary vouchers from every approved payroll run.
- Your bank: a salary upload file for the bank's portal.
- Google Sheets: salary tracker, professional tax and TDS sheets kept in sync.
- Biometric machines: import punch records from the machines you already have.
- API and webhooks to connect your other systems.
- Bring your Excel: we import your employees and past payroll history for you.
See it for yourself
Want to see these with your own team?
We'll walk you through Athena set up with your own policies.
Book a demo