Muster roll format for restaurants in India — free Excel + PDF (Form 25)
Free muster roll format for Indian restaurants — Form 25 Excel + printable PDF templates. Daily attendance, OT hours, statutory layout that passes labour audit.
Last updated 12 May 2026
About this piece. The muster roll is the single most-asked-for document in a labour inspection. Most Indian restaurants don't keep one because nobody told them they had to. The Factories Act and every state Shops & Establishment Act require it, in a specific format. This piece gives you the format, the fields, and the daily discipline that turns the register from a once-a-year scramble into a 3-minute closing routine.
What the muster roll is, in 3 lines
A daily attendance register, signed each day by every worker, showing presence, hours worked, and overtime. Under the Factories Act, Form 25 is the prescribed format. State S&E acts use variations of the same structure (Karnataka — Form L, Maharashtra — Form II, Delhi — Form A, etc.).
Whether you fall under Factories Act or your state's S&E Act, the fields are functionally identical. The format below works as a Factories Act Form 25 substitute for restaurants in every state.
Who must keep one
| Outlet shape | Applicable law | Muster roll required |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant with kitchen machinery, ≥10 staff with power | Factories Act, 1948 | Yes — Form 25 |
| Restaurant / café / dhaba — non-factory | State Shops & Establishment Act | Yes — state-specific form |
| Cloud kitchen / commissary | Often Factories Act | Yes — Form 25 |
| Single-owner dhaba, < 10 staff | State S&E Act applies once you register | Yes if registered |
The threshold to register under S&E Act varies by state — Maharashtra requires it from day one of operation, Delhi from any commercial establishment. Once registered, the muster roll is mandatory regardless of headcount.
The fields that must be present
A defensible muster roll captures:
| # | Field | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worker name | Identification |
| 2 | Worker ID / serial | Cross-reference to wage register |
| 3 | Father's / spouse's name | Statutory requirement |
| 4 | Designation | Skill-category mapping |
| 5 | Date of joining | Tenure tracking |
| 6 | Date (column per day, 31 columns per month) | Daily attendance |
| 7 | Time in / Time out | Hours worked |
| 8 | OT hours (separate row or column) | Form 4 / OT register cross-ref |
| 9 | Worker signature each day | Personal acknowledgment |
| 10 | Authorized officer signature each day | Employer attestation |
A 10-staff restaurant's muster roll for one month fits on one A3 sheet, double-sided. A 30-staff outlet needs an A3 spread per worker-block.
The format (Excel layout — copy this)
| Sl | Name | Father's name | Designation | DOJ | 1 | 2 | 3 | … | 31 | Total days | OT hrs | Signature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ramesh K. | Mahesh K. | Cook | 12-Mar-25 | P | P | P | … | P | 26 | 14 | (sig) |
| 2 | Priya S. | Suresh S. | Captain | 02-Jan-26 | P | P | A | … | P | 24 | 8 | (sig) |
| 3 | Anand T. | Vinod T. | Helper | 18-Apr-26 | P | A | P | … | P | 25 | 0 | (sig) |
Marks used in the daily columns:
P = Present
A = Absent
WO = Weekly Off
PH = Public Holiday (paid)
LP = Leave with Pay
LWP = Leave without Pay
M = Medical leave (with certificate)
HD = Half day
The single-letter convention is what every labour inspector reads. Don't invent your own — it slows the inspection and raises questions.
The daily 3-minute discipline
The muster roll fails not because the format is wrong but because it gets filled at month-end as a reconstruction. Build the 3-minute morning routine:
- Before the morning shift starts — open the muster roll for today's column.
- As each worker arrives — they mark their time-in and sign the date-column.
- At end of shift — they mark time-out, OT hours if any.
- The supervisor signs across the column — once at end of day.
The signature in real time is what makes the document defensible. A reconstructed muster roll where every signature is visibly the same pen on the same day fools nobody. Inspectors trained in this spot it within the first 30 seconds.
OT hours — connecting to the OT register
The muster roll's OT column is a summary. The detailed working lives in the OT register (Form 4 under Factories Act), which holds daily OT hours, hourly rate, and OT pay computed.
The cross-check the inspector runs:
Sum of OT hours in muster roll for worker X, month M
= Sum of OT hours in OT register for worker X, month M
If they don't match, both documents are suspect. Reconcile monthly — at the same time you close the muster roll for the month.
Retention — how long to keep
| Document | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Muster roll | 3 years from end of year (Factories Act); 5 years (most state S&E Acts) |
| OT register | 3 years (Factories Act) |
| Wage register | 3 years (Factories Act); 8 years (Income Tax Act) |
| Form 16 / TDS records | 7 years (Income Tax) |
Take the longest of any applicable retention. For most restaurants, that's 8 years for anything wage-related (Income Tax requirement). Cardboard storage box per year, sealed and dated, in a dry corner of the office.
Where the Excel template fits
Excel works for ≤ 30 staff. Above that, the column-per-day grid becomes unmanageable. Two options:
- Daily PDF print — print today's column, get signatures, scan/file. End of month: collate.
- Digital muster roll — most restaurant payroll tools (Petpooja Payroll, Restaurant Daily, GreytHR) ship a digital muster roll with thumbprint or PIN-based attendance. Print monthly for the file.
The digital path solves the "signature was reconstructed" problem because the timestamp is captured at clock-in. The Excel/paper path is cheaper and works fine if the discipline holds.
What inspectors look for first
In order of likelihood during an inspection:
- Is there a muster roll at all? 30% of small restaurants fail this first check.
- Is it current — does today's column have entries? 50% of those who pass #1 fail this.
- Do worker signatures vary genuinely day-to-day? Reconstruction tell.
- Does it reconcile to the wage register? Sum of P-days × daily rate ≈ gross wages.
- Is OT shown separately and reconciling to Form 4?
A restaurant that passes all 5 has a clean labour file. The setup cost is one Excel template + the morning discipline.
Related on Restaurant Daily
One operator playbook a week, in your inbox.
Cash close, petty cash, payroll, compliance, unit economics — sent every Monday morning. No spam, no upsell drip. Unsubscribe in one click.
Sent from noreply@restaurantdaily.ai. We never share your address.
Related reading
PF and ESI eligibility for restaurant staff — India 2026
PF and ESI eligibility for Indian restaurant staff in 2026. Headcount thresholds, wage ceilings, voluntary registration, and the cost of getting the timing wrong.
Attendance register PDF for restaurants — daily, weekly, monthly templates
Free attendance register PDF templates for Indian restaurants — daily, weekly, monthly formats. Print-ready, S&E Act-compliant, with the discipline that keeps it current.
Tip pool distribution in Indian restaurants — fair models + CCPA rules
How Indian restaurants should distribute tips and service charge in 2026: 4 pool models compared, CCPA 2022 service-charge rules, and a defensible per-staff formula.
Salary advance format India — letter + ledger template (restaurant)
Free salary advance format for Indian restaurant staff. Request letter, owner ledger, recovery schedule, and the labour-law cap that stops the cycle going wrong.
Restaurant payroll software India — 7 tools compared (2026)
Restaurant payroll software India compared: KekaHR, GreytHR, RazorpayX Payroll, Zoho People, Petpooja Payroll, Restaurant Daily, manual. Pricing, fit, gaps.