WORKFORCE
Contract Labour Billing Automation: From 5 Days to 4 Hours
Amey Kadle
6 February 2026
6 min read
Most Indian plants run contract labour as a trust-based system masquerading as a finance process. The agency submits hours. The plant questions. Excel reconciliation begins. Five days later, somebody signs the invoice in protest.
The Clean Model
- Every contract worker is enrolled biometrically at agency onboarding.
- Badge + biometric two-factor at every gate-in / gate-out.
- System applies shift rules, OT caps, statutory limits, cost centre allocation.
- Weekly invoice run auto-generates per-agency bills with attached evidence (worker x date x hours).
- Plant finance signs off in 4 hours, not 5 days.
Statutory Hooks
- Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act registers auto-maintained.
- EPF / ESIC contribution snapshots per agency per worker.
- Form 25 contract labour register continuously valid.
- Audit pack one-click exportable.
Practitioner note
In a 12,000-worker steel plant deployment, contract labour billing went from a 5-day month-end fire-fight to a 4-hour weekly cadence. Invoice disputes dropped 80%.
Frequently asked
How do I prevent ghost workers?
Mandatory biometric / face enrolment at agency onboarding, with badge + biometric two-factor at gate. Eliminates ~99% of ghost worker fraud.
Amey Kadle
Founder & CEO, Ajinkya Technologies. 20+ years of building MES, ERP and AI systems for India’s most demanding manufacturing plants.