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For legal teams: India hiring with the risk drawn out of it.

Counsel do not need convincing that India talent is valuable. They need the permanent establishment analysis, the IP assignment chain, the DPDP posture and the employment paper to hold up. This page is written for that review: our entity employs, our contracts assign, our filings evidence, and your company signs one services agreement.

Written for counsel: PE analysis, IP chain, DPDP posture and employment paper, all sitting on our Indian entity, not yours.

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.

Improvised India arrangements versus a defensible structure.

The typical pre-legal-review setup, side by side with what survives one.

Contractor patchwork

Versatile EOR structure

Worker status
Contractors under de facto control
Employees of a registered Indian company
PE exposure
Unanalysed and accumulating
Structured against, documented
IP chain
Freelance terms of uncertain force
Statutory employment assignment plus MSA
Data protection
DPDP obligations unassigned
Processing roles defined in contract
Dispute posture
Cross-border enforcement puzzles
Indian employer handles Indian claims
Paper trail
Emails and invoice PDFs
Contracts, registers, challans, filings

Contractor patchwork
Worker status Contractors under de facto control
PE exposure Unanalysed and accumulating
IP chain Freelance terms of uncertain force
Data protection DPDP obligations unassigned
Dispute posture Cross-border enforcement puzzles
Paper trail Emails and invoice PDFs

Versatile EOR structure
Worker status Employees of a registered Indian company
PE exposure Structured against, documented
IP chain Statutory employment assignment plus MSA
Data protection Processing roles defined in contract
Dispute posture Indian employer handles Indian claims
Paper trail Contracts, registers, challans, filings
Day 1
Structure pack shared for counsel review
Week 1
MSA negotiated; DPA and IP terms settled
Week 2
Employment contract template approved by you
Week 3
Hires or conversions signed on our entity
Month 1
Registers and challans begin accruing as evidence
Quarter 2
First compliance evidence pack delivered

How misclassification exposure compounds while unaddressed.

A contractor working under your direction, on your tools, for your hours, accrues employer-obligation exposure every month: provident fund arrears, interest, damages and TDS questions, each computed retroactively from the start of the arrangement.

Conversion onto a real employer stops the clock. The prior period does not vanish, but the accrual ends and the forward structure becomes defensible on paper you can produce.

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Illustrative exposure accrual on one misclassified role Cumulative notional arrears and interest over two years
$2,400 Month 6
$5,600 Year 1
$9,100 Month 18
$12,500 Year 2
Illustration of notional PF arrears, interest and damages on a single mid-level role. Actual exposure depends on compensation, duration and the authority's approach.
Where employment claims land
Contractor model, de facto control Your company defends it
EOR employment structure Our entity is the employer

Most India legal risk is not exotic. It is ordinary employment and tax law applied to arrangements that pretended not to be employment. Quantify the commercial side of the analysis with the EOR versus entity calculator while the structure review runs.

The allocation of obligations, in counsel's terms.

Direction of work sits with you under a services agreement. Employment, statutory and payroll obligations sit with our Indian entity.

You run

  • Work direction under the MSA
  • Confidentiality perimeter and access
  • Approval of contract templates

We handle

  • Employment relationships and claims
  • Statutory registrations and filings
  • Payroll and withholding compliance
  • Lawful terminations and settlements

You run
  • Direct the work
  • Set the perimeter
  • Approve templates
  • Audit at will

We handle
  • Employ the people
  • Carry the claims
  • File the returns
  • Withhold correctly
  • Terminate lawfully
  • Retain records

When something happens in India, it is ours.
Work product and inventions Yours via assignment chain
Employer-of-record duties Foo Falcon Technologies
Compliance evidence access Yours on demand

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

An IP chain with no gaps

Employees sign Indian-law employment contracts containing assignment and confidentiality provisions in favour of the employer, and the master agreement assigns all client-work product onward to you. Counsel can trace every link in an afternoon.

PE structured against, not ignored

Your company holds no Indian establishment, employs nobody in India and contracts only for services with us. We provide the structure memo and supporting documents so your tax counsel can reach their own conclusion rather than take ours.

DPDP roles put in writing

India's data protection regime assigns duties by role. Our data processing terms define who is fiduciary and who processes what, with employee data handled under our obligations and your data under yours.

Evidence produced continuously

Registers, challans, filing acknowledgements and contract repositories accrue as a living record. When a question arrives, from a regulator or your own board, the answer is retrieval rather than reconstruction.

An IP chain with no gaps

Employees sign Indian-law employment contracts containing assignment and confidentiality provisions in favour of the employer, and the master agreement assigns all client-work product onward to you. Counsel can trace every link in an afternoon.

Chains of title should be boring; this one is.

PE structured against, not ignored

Your company holds no Indian establishment, employs nobody in India and contracts only for services with us. We provide the structure memo and supporting documents so your tax counsel can reach their own conclusion rather than take ours.

Good structures survive independent review.

DPDP roles put in writing

India's data protection regime assigns duties by role. Our data processing terms define who is fiduciary and who processes what, with employee data handled under our obligations and your data under yours.

Ambiguity is the real data-protection risk.

Moving someone across

Novation to your own entity, when you choose it.

If your company later incorporates in India, employment novates across in one coordinated cycle, with continuity of service preserved and every consent papered.

Contractual protections and IP terms Kept
Employee terms and accruals Kept
Statutory compliance through novation Continuous
Gap in employment coverage 0 days

A documented transfer, not a leap between structures.

Supporting evidence

Verify the counterparty as you would any material vendor.

The employing entity is Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs register since 2022. Corporate filings are publicly searchable and statutory evidence is provided as a term of the agreement, not a favour.

  • 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

The structure pack and filings precede your signature.

200

employment relationships novated cleanly in our largest transition

33

client structures maintained and evidenced every month

5 days

to paper and onboard each accepted hire compliantly

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 whose counsel signed off on this structure.

What legal review looked like when the documents arrived complete and the structure held.

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

Commercial terms, stated for the file.

Two fees, both flat, both in the agreement. Pass-through costs are documented at actuals.

Recruitment

Contingent search fee
12% of annual CTC

12% for junior and mid positions, 15% senior, leadership scoped in writing. Fee crystallises only at day 90 of employment.

Request the MSA
  • Terms fixed in the master agreement
  • No exclusivity obligations
  • Written scope per leadership search
  • Candidate consent handled properly
  • Offer paper issued by our entity
  • Day-90 crystallisation clause
  • Replacement covenant included
  • Onboarding within the fee
  • Terms fixed in the master agreement
  • No exclusivity obligations
  • Written scope per leadership search
  • Candidate consent handled properly
Plus four more inclusions
  • Offer paper issued by our entity
  • Day-90 crystallisation clause
  • Replacement covenant included
  • Onboarding within the fee

Contingency means the fee exists only if the hire does.

Employer of Record

Per-employee service fee
$149 /employee/mo

Steps to $129 per employee beyond twenty. Salary and statutory amounts are contractual pass-throughs at evidenced actuals.

Review the terms
  • Employment on our Indian entity
  • Assignment and confidentiality terms
  • Statutory compliance warranted
  • Data processing terms included
  • Insurance per written policy
  • Termination executed lawfully
  • Evidence obligations in contract
  • Novation path documented
  • Employment on our Indian entity
  • Assignment and confidentiality terms
  • Statutory compliance warranted
  • Data processing terms included
Plus four more inclusions
  • Insurance per written policy
  • Termination executed lawfully
  • Evidence obligations in contract
  • Novation path documented

The employment infrastructure, as a defined service.

Beyond the twentieth employee

$149 $129 /employee/mo

The tiered rate is written into the agreement and applies automatically. No side letters required at any volume.

Inside the monthly fee

  • Employment administration
  • Statutory filing performance
  • Withholding and remittance
  • Contract lifecycle management
  • Leave record maintenance
  • Reimbursement handling
  • Evidence pack production
  • Named counterparty contact

Volume pricing

$149 $129 /employee/mo

Contractual step-down to $129 past twenty heads.

Inside the monthly fee

  • Employment administration
  • Statutory filing performance
  • Withholding and remittance
  • Contract lifecycle management
  • Leave record maintenance
  • Reimbursement handling
  • Evidence pack production
  • Named counterparty contact

Employer statutory contributions of roughly 13% to 17% apply on salary at actuals. The commercial comparison sits in the EOR versus entity calculator for the business team's file.

Questions we answer in legal review.

PE, IP, data protection, disputes and exit, in the order counsel usually asks.

What is the permanent establishment analysis?

Your company contracts with us for services and holds no fixed place of business, dependent agent or employees in India; employment and its incidents sit wholly on our entity. We supply the structure documentation for your tax counsel's independent review, and we do not ask anyone to rely on our conclusion alone.

How exactly does IP vest in our company?

Two links. Employees assign work product to their employer through Indian-law employment contracts with confidentiality and assignment clauses. The master services agreement then assigns all client-work product from us to you, including moral-rights waivers to the extent Indian law permits.

Who is the employer if a dispute or claim arises?

Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd. Employment claims, statutory demands and labour proceedings attach to the Indian employer, and we manage them under Indian law. Your exposure is governed by the services agreement, not by Indian employment statutes.

How is the DPDP Act handled?

Roles are contractually defined: we act as employer and data fiduciary for employment data, and our processing of your business data is governed by data processing terms in the agreement. Employee consent, retention and access flows follow the Act's requirements on our side.

Can our existing contractors be converted, and does that admit liability?

Conversion is routine and forward-looking: the person becomes an employee of our entity on agreed terms, stopping further accrual of misclassification exposure. We structure the transition carefully and nothing in it requires characterising the past; your counsel controls that posture.

What audit and termination rights do we get?

Audit rights over records relevant to your team, evidence obligations on us as standard terms, and termination per the agreed notice with lawful employee exits executed by us. On termination you may also novate the team to your own entity rather than end the roles.

Longer reading: Employer of record in India, explained · The finance case for the structure · Hiring in India without an entity

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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