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Contractor of Record for India.

Engage Indian contractors on compliant agreements without opening an entity and without EOR overhead. We hold the contracts, deposit TDS, issue Form 16A and pay out in INR every month. $19 per contractor per month, and a straight upgrade path to employment when a contractor stops looking like one.

Compliant agreements, TDS deposited, Form 16A issued, INR payouts on schedule. $19 per contractor per month, upgrade to EOR employment whenever you choose.

Speak to sales EOR vs entity, in detail

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing teams in India through us.

Teams building in India. First hire to full team.

Everything contractor, one page deep.

The three working parts of the service, each with its own page, plus the benefits-only track for teams that already employ directly.

Running contractors yourself versus a Contractor of Record.

Most teams start with a template agreement and an international wire. That works until a tax officer, an investor's counsel or the contractor's own CA starts asking questions. Here is what changes with a COR in the middle.

Direct engagement

Versatile Contractor of Record

Agreement
Template contract, often borrowed from a US form
India-law agreement with IP assignment and clean contractor scoping
Tax withholding
TDS under Section 194J often missed on foreign remittances
10% TDS deducted, deposited, Form 16A issued each quarter
Payment
International wire, FX spread, arrival date unknown
INR payout from our account on a fixed monthly date
Misclassification
Nobody is watching the working pattern drift
We flag employee-like patterns and offer the EOR upgrade
Paper trail
Invoices in inboxes, proofs scattered
Invoices, challans and Form 16A archived per contractor
Monthly cost
Wire fees plus FX spread plus your admin hours
$19 per contractor per month, flat

Direct engagement
Agreement Template contract, often borrowed from a US form
Tax withholding TDS under Section 194J often missed on foreign remittances
Payment International wire, FX spread, arrival date unknown
Misclassification Nobody is watching the working pattern drift
Paper trail Invoices in inboxes, proofs scattered
Monthly cost Wire fees plus FX spread plus your admin hours

Versatile Contractor of Record
Agreement India-law agreement with IP assignment and clean contractor scoping
Tax withholding 10% TDS deducted, deposited, Form 16A issued each quarter
Payment INR payout from our account on a fixed monthly date
Misclassification We flag employee-like patterns and offer the EOR upgrade
Paper trail Invoices, challans and Form 16A archived per contractor
Monthly cost $19 per contractor per month, flat
Day 1
You share the contractor's scope, rate and start date
Day 2
India-law agreement drafted with IP assignment clauses
Day 3
Contractor signs, KYC and bank details verified
Day 5
First invoice cycle configured, USD billing to you set up
Month 1
INR payout lands, TDS deposited against the contractor's PAN
Quarterly
Form 16A issued, documentation archived for audit

Misclassification is a bill that arrives years later.

When an Indian contractor works fixed hours, uses your equipment, reports to your managers and serves only you, authorities can treat the relationship as employment from its start date. Back PF, gratuity and interest are then computed from that first day, not from the day anyone noticed.

A COR does not make a genuine employee into a contractor. What it does is keep genuine contractor relationships clean, and tell you plainly when a relationship needs to move to employment on our entity.

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Illustrative reclassification exposure over time Back PF, gratuity accrual and interest from day one
₹1,9 lakh Year 1
₹4,2 lakh Year 2
₹7,1 lakh Year 3
₹10,4 lakh Year 4
Illustration for one mid-level contractor reclassified as an employee. Actual exposure depends on compensation, tenure and the authority's computation.
Who answers when the relationship is questioned
Direct engagement, employee-like working pattern You, as the deemed employer
COR with clean scoping, or EOR employment with us Liability sits where it should

Plenty of genuine contractor relationships need nothing more than this page. The trouble is knowing which ones have quietly become employment. If a contractor is really full time for you, compare the honest cost of employing them with our EOR versus entity calculator before the decision is made for you.

What we take off your plate per contractor.

You keep the working relationship and the deliverables. We keep the agreement, the tax mechanics and the payment rail on our side of the line.

You run

  • Scope, deliverables and deadlines
  • Rate negotiation and renewals
  • The decision to convert to employment

We handle

  • India-law agreements with IP assignment
  • TDS deduction, deposit and Form 16A
  • Monthly INR payouts on a fixed date
  • Misclassification pattern monitoring

You run
  • Set the deliverables
  • Agree the rate
  • Review the work
  • Decide on conversion

We handle
  • Hold the agreements
  • Deduct and deposit TDS
  • Issue Form 16A quarterly
  • Pay out in INR on time
  • Archive every proof
  • Flag drift toward employment

When something happens in India, it is ours.
Contractor agreement and IP assignment Versatile drafts and holds
TDS deposit against the contractor's PAN Versatile executes
Conversion to employment on our entity You decide, we run it in 5 days

A named compliance manager owns your account. Not a queue, not a chatbot, one person who already knows your headcount and your last filing.

Account managerMedian first reply 4 to 6 hours
Recruitment coordinatorBrief to shortlist 9 days
Finance associateFilings on time 8 / 8

One flat fee, no FX games

$19 per contractor per month is the whole service charge. You are billed in USD, the contractor is paid in INR, and the conversion happens at transparent rates rather than inside a padded spread.

Form 16A actually issued

Many foreign companies remit to Indian contractors with no TDS at all, which leaves the contractor to reconcile the gap at filing time. We deduct at 10% under Section 194J, deposit it, and issue the certificate that proves it.

An honest line on misclassification

We monitor working patterns and tell you when a contractor looks like an employee. The fix is a 5-day conversion onto our Bengaluru entity at $149 per month, with the relationship and the person kept intact.

Same team as our EOR

The people running contractor payouts are the same people running payroll for employees on Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd. Nothing about India compliance is outsourced or white-labelled.

One flat fee, no FX games

$19 per contractor per month is the whole service charge. You are billed in USD, the contractor is paid in INR, and the conversion happens at transparent rates rather than inside a padded spread.

The invoice reads the same every month.

Form 16A actually issued

Many foreign companies remit to Indian contractors with no TDS at all, which leaves the contractor to reconcile the gap at filing time. We deduct at 10% under Section 194J, deposit it, and issue the certificate that proves it.

Your contractors' CAs will notice the difference.

An honest line on misclassification

We monitor working patterns and tell you when a contractor looks like an employee. The fix is a 5-day conversion onto our Bengaluru entity at $149 per month, with the relationship and the person kept intact.

The upgrade path is the product.

Moving someone across

When a contractor becomes an employee.

Conversion is the point of having both services under one roof. The agreement moves from contractor to employment, statutory registrations begin, and the person's working life does not skip a beat.

Working relationship Kept
Rate, restated as CTC Kept
Compliance coverage Continuous
Gap between engagements 0 days

Most conversions complete inside one invoice cycle.

Supporting evidence

Verify us before you route money through us.

The entity behind this service is Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru company incorporated in 2022. GST and MCA records are public and we will send you the extracts unprompted.

  • Incorporation
  • GST
  • EPFO code
  • ESIC
  • Shops and Establishments
  • PAN and TAN
  • Udyam MSME
What we verify
  • Incorporation Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • GST Goods and Services Tax
  • EPFO code Employees Provident Fund Organisation
  • ESIC Ministry of Labour and Employment
  • Shops and Establishments Government of Karnataka
  • PAN and TAN Income Tax Department
  • Udyam MSME Government of India

Every TDS deposit comes back to you as a challan reference.

200

people moved onto our entity in a single cycle

33

clients' worth of India payroll and payouts run monthly

5 days

from conversion decision to employed on our entity

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing teams in India through us.

G2 4.8 / 5 on G2, from companies employing through us.

Teams that pay India through us.

Founders and finance leads on what changed when contractor payouts stopped being a monthly project.

Video
Bharath Rasoi KS Rajeshwari Founder, Bharath Rasoi
Video
Open Theatre Anand Raj Founder, Open Theatre
Abid Hassan Verified client
Sensibull
“They moved fast and took the whole compliance side off my plate. For a founder making an early India hire, that is exactly what you want.”
Abid Hassan Founder and CEO, Sensibull
Via G2
Moonshot
“Every option was either 'set up your own entity' or a platform that quotes a great price then hits you with add-ons. Versatile was the one that actually made it simple. First payroll ran on time. No scramble.”
Angad S. Co-Founder, Moonshot
Via G2
Digital Marketing Agency
“Contracts, PF, ESI, TDS and payroll all in one place. Invoicing in USD meant zero exchange rate surprises. The compliance rigour is genuinely reassuring.”
Vedant T. Founder, Digital Marketing Agency
Via G2
Design Studio
“Setting up in a new country can get messy fast, but their India EOR made onboarding feel easy. The team is responsive, clear, and great to work with.”
Setu C. Studio Owner, Design Studio
Via G2
US Startup
“We used Versatile to hire our first employee in India after months of putting it off because the compliance side seemed like a mess. They walked us through it and now we don't think about it.”
Verified US Founder First-time Founder, US Startup
Via G2
Mid-Market Tech Co.
“Versatile consistently delivered work that was both strategically sharp and execution-ready. Their turnaround times are impressive, and they think about problems the way an in-house team would.”
Shivani K. Senior Manager, Tech TA
Via G2
Growth-stage Startup
“Their team was highly responsive, professional, and easy to work with. They made a complex process feel simple.”
Mukul S. Core Team, Growth-stage Startup

Case studies.

Largest food delivery app in India, decacorn View case study The world's largest professional network, part of Microsoft View case study Legacy US software company, publishing platforms View case study

Two prices, one decision per person.

$19 per contractor per month while the relationship is genuinely contract work. $149 per employee per month when it is employment. We help you pick per person, not per pitch.

Contractor of Record

Genuine contract relationships
$19 /contractor/mo

USD invoicing to you, INR payouts to the contractor, TDS and Form 16A handled. Pro-rated for partial months.

Start with one contractor
  • India-law agreement with IP assignment
  • Monthly INR payout, fixed date
  • 10% TDS deposit under Section 194J
  • Form 16A issued quarterly
  • USD invoice, transparent FX
  • KYC and bank verification
  • Invoice and challan archive
  • Misclassification monitoring
  • India-law agreement with IP assignment
  • Monthly INR payout, fixed date
  • 10% TDS deposit under Section 194J
  • Form 16A issued quarterly
Plus four more inclusions
  • USD invoice, transparent FX
  • KYC and bank verification
  • Invoice and challan archive
  • Misclassification monitoring

No setup fee and no minimum contractor count.

Employer of Record

Full-time, employee-like roles
$149 /employee/mo

$129 per employee per month past twenty heads. Employment on our Bengaluru entity with PF, ESI, gratuity and Form 16.

Convert to employment
  • Employment on Foo Falcon Technologies
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS filings
  • Gratuity accrual from day one
  • Group health insurance via partner
  • Payslips and Form 16
  • 5-day onboarding or conversion
  • Named payroll lead
  • Full and final settlement at exit
  • Employment on Foo Falcon Technologies
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS filings
  • Gratuity accrual from day one
  • Group health insurance via partner
Plus four more inclusions
  • Payslips and Form 16
  • 5-day onboarding or conversion
  • Named payroll lead
  • Full and final settlement at exit

The upgrade path when a contractor's working pattern says employee.

Past twenty employees

$149 $129 /employee/mo

The EOR rate steps down once converted and hired heads cross twenty. Contractor pricing stays $19 flat at any count.

Inside the contractor fee

  • Agreement drafting and renewals
  • IP assignment language
  • Monthly INR disbursement
  • TDS deduction and deposit
  • Quarterly Form 16A
  • USD billing, single invoice
  • Document archive per contractor
  • Conversion support to EOR

Volume pricing

$149 $129 /employee/mo

EOR drops to $129 past twenty employees. COR stays $19 at any scale.

Inside the contractor fee

  • Agreement drafting and renewals
  • IP assignment language
  • Monthly INR disbursement
  • TDS deduction and deposit
  • Quarterly Form 16A
  • USD billing, single invoice
  • Document archive per contractor
  • Conversion support to EOR

Contractor gross fees pass through without markup. If you are weighing conversion for a full-timer in contractor clothing, put the numbers through the EOR versus entity calculator and see both structures priced honestly.

Contractor of Record, asked directly.

The questions founders and controllers ask before routing contractor payments through us.

What exactly does a Contractor of Record do?

We sit between you and your Indian contractors as the contracting and paying party. The agreement is India-law with IP assignment to you, we deduct TDS at 10% under Section 194J, deposit it against the contractor's PAN, issue Form 16A quarterly, and pay the contractor in INR on a fixed monthly date. You get one USD invoice covering everyone.

Is this the same as an Employer of Record?

No. A COR engages contractors on service agreements at $19 per contractor per month. An EOR employs people on our Bengaluru entity with PF, ESI, gratuity and full statutory cover at $149 per employee per month. Genuine contractors belong on the first. Full-time, directed, exclusive workers belong on the second.

How do I know if my contractor is misclassified?

Indian authorities look at substance over labels: fixed working hours, your equipment, integration into your team, exclusivity and ongoing direction all point toward employment. No single factor decides it. We review working patterns on request and tell you honestly which side of the line each person sits on.

What happens if I ignore misclassification?

If the relationship is later deemed employment, back PF contributions, gratuity accrual and interest can be computed from the relationship's start date. The exposure grows with every year the pattern continues. Converting early onto an EOR is nearly always cheaper than a reclassification order.

Can contractors invoice in USD and keep GST simple?

Contractors bill our Indian entity in INR, which keeps their GST position domestic and straightforward. Export-of-services complexity, LUT filings and foreign remittance paperwork stop being their problem or yours. The GST detail lives on our GST and income tax compliance page.

How fast can we convert a contractor to an employee?

Five days, the same onboarding window as any EOR hire. The service agreement ends, an employment contract on Foo Falcon Technologies begins, statutory registrations start, and pay continues without a gap. Rate converts to CTC with the contractor's agreement.

What does the $19 cover, and what is extra?

The $19 per contractor per month covers agreements, payouts, TDS, Form 16A and the archive. The contractor's own fees pass through at cost. There is no setup fee, no minimum count, and the fee pro-rates for partial months.

Longer reading: Compliant contractor contracts · GST and income tax for contractors · EOR India, the full playbook

Tell us where you are on the decision.

A role you want to hire, a team you want moved, or just the two routes to compare. A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours.

A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours, not an autoresponder.

We use these details to respond to your enquiry.

A named person replies in 4 to 6 hours, not an autoresponder. We use these details to respond to your enquiry.

What the first call covers

30 minutes

A cost comparison for your headcount, on your numbers, both routes.

  • A written cost breakdown
  • Entity documents before the call
  • PF, ESI, TDS, termination law
  • No follow-up sequence
Book a call →

You pick the time, we send a Meet link. Any timezone.

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