Hiring a Software Company in India: A Guide for UK, US and UAE Buyers

How to Hire a Software Company in India: A Buyer’s Guide for the UK, US and UAE

India is the world’s largest offshore software market, and quality varies as much as price. If you are looking to hire a software company in India from the UK, US, UAE, Germany or Malaysia, the hourly rate is the least useful number on the proposal. These are the checks that actually protect you.

This guide covers company verification, IP ownership, invoicing, timezones and red flags. It is written for the person signing the contract, not for developers.

1. Verify the company exists as it claims

Before you compare quotes, confirm you are dealing with a real, registered business.

• CIN (Corporate Identification Number): ask for it and check it on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal. It is public and free.
• GSTIN: ask for it and verify it on the GST portal.
• Registered address: confirm it matches the office named in the proposal.
• Team structure: ask how many people are on payroll and how many are contracted per project.

A significant share of “companies” are individuals subcontracting work onward. That is not automatically bad, but you should know before you sign, because it changes who is accountable when something breaks.

2. Get intellectual property in writing

In India, IP ownership follows the contract. If the contract is silent, a dispute becomes slow and expensive.

Make sure your agreement includes:

• Written assignment of IP on payment, covering source code, designs and documentation.
• Scope and duration of the assignment. Under the Indian Copyright Act, an assignment that does not state its term or territory can default to a limited period and to India only. Have your lawyer confirm the wording.
• A third-party component clause. Open-source and bought-in components should be permissively licensed and listed.
• Account ownership. Source code, hosting, domain, analytics and ad accounts should be registered in your name from day one, not the vendor’s.

3. Understand payment and invoicing

Services exported from India are zero-rated for GST, so you should receive an export invoice with no Indian GST on it. Exporters normally operate under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for this, so ask your vendor whether they have one.

• Payment is normally by international bank transfer. Expect to supply a purpose code for the remittance.
• Invoices should be raised in your currency (USD, GBP, EUR, AED or MYR) so you are not exposed to exchange-rate surprises.
• Milestone-based payment protects both sides better than monthly retainers on a fixed-scope build. A common structure is 40% to start, 40% at a review milestone and 20% on handover.

4. Plan for the timezone

India is GMT+5:30.

For US buyers, do not assume availability. Insist on a named contact with a committed response window, and agree meeting times in your morning before the project starts.

5. Check local compliance, not just code

An ERP or billing system that cannot produce a compliant invoice is not finished. Ask whether the vendor has built for your market’s tax and reporting rules, such as UK VAT and Making Tax Digital, UAE VAT, US state sales tax, or German GoBD record-keeping.

ORVIA Claude Solutions works across these markets. See how we work in the UK, UAE, USA and Germany.

6. Red flags to watch for

• A quote produced in under an hour for a complex brief.
• Reluctance to name the people who will do the work.
• Portfolio sites that are offline, or that they cannot name.
• No written scope, only a proposal deck.
• Pressure to pay a large upfront percentage before any scoping.

A quick vendor checklist

Before you sign, make sure you have:

1. CIN and GSTIN verified on the official portals
2. A written scope and a fixed price (or a clearly capped estimate)
3. IP assignment on payment, with term and territory stated
4. A named project manager and a response-time commitment
5. An NDA signed before sensitive material is shared
6. Milestone-based payments and an export invoice in your currency
7. Source code and accounts registered in your name

How ORVIA approaches this

We built our process around the failures we have seen most often in projects we were asked to rescue: unclear scope, no single owner and no honest number. You get a written scope and fixed price within 24 hours, one named project manager, free support for the first twelve months and full ownership of your code and accounts. We have delivered 500+ projects over 11+ years, and around a third of our work is for clients outside India.

Whether you need custom ERP software, a business website or a mobile app, you can review our recent projects and security and NDA policy before you speak to us.

Get a written proposal in 24 hours →

Frequently asked questions

How do I verify an Indian software company is legitimate?

Ask for the CIN and check it on the MCA portal, then verify the GSTIN on the GST portal. Confirm the registered address matches the proposal, and ask how many people are on payroll versus contracted.

Do I pay GST when hiring an Indian software company from the UK, US or UAE?

Services exported from India are zero-rated, so you should receive an export invoice with no Indian GST. Your own local VAT or sales-tax treatment depends on your country, so confirm it with your accountant.

Who owns the code when I outsource software development to India?

Whoever your contract says. Indian law follows the contract, so get a written IP assignment on payment covering source code, designs and documentation, with the term and territory stated.

How do I pay an Indian software company?

Usually by international bank transfer in your own currency, and you may need to supply a purpose code for the remittance. Milestone-based payments are safer than open-ended retainers for fixed-scope projects.

Is the time difference a problem for US clients?

Expect two to three hours of genuine overlap with the US. It works well if you agree a named contact, a committed response window and fixed meeting slots up front.