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Compliant contracts for India contractors.

A borrowed US independent-contractor form does not survive contact with Indian law. Our agreements are drafted for India: enforceable IP assignment, clean contractor scoping that supports the classification, TDS clauses that match what actually gets deducted, and terms a Bengaluru court would recognise. Included in the $19 Contractor of Record fee.

India-law agreements with enforceable IP assignment and scoping that supports contractor status. Drafted, signed and archived inside the $19 COR service.

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.

A template agreement versus one drafted for India.

The template problem is not bad drafting. It is the wrong country's assumptions, silently imported into clauses that matter most when things go wrong.

Borrowed template

Versatile India-law agreement

Governing law
Delaware or California, unenforceable practicalities
Indian law, jurisdiction where the contractor sits
IP assignment
Work-for-hire language India does not recognise as written
Present assignment wording that holds under Indian copyright law
Classification support
Silent on hours, tools and exclusivity
Scoping clauses that document genuine contractor status
Tax clauses
No mention of TDS, surprises at first payout
Section 194J deduction spelled out, no payout-day disputes
Termination
At-will concepts with no Indian meaning
Notice and cure periods that work in practice
Upkeep
Signed once, never revisited
Renewed and re-scoped as the engagement evolves

Borrowed template
Governing law Delaware or California, unenforceable practicalities
IP assignment Work-for-hire language India does not recognise as written
Classification support Silent on hours, tools and exclusivity
Tax clauses No mention of TDS, surprises at first payout
Termination At-will concepts with no Indian meaning
Upkeep Signed once, never revisited

Versatile India-law agreement
Governing law Indian law, jurisdiction where the contractor sits
IP assignment Present assignment wording that holds under Indian copyright law
Classification support Scoping clauses that document genuine contractor status
Tax clauses Section 194J deduction spelled out, no payout-day disputes
Termination Notice and cure periods that work in practice
Upkeep Renewed and re-scoped as the engagement evolves
Day 1
Scope, deliverables and rate captured from you
Day 2
Agreement drafted on our India-law template
Day 3
Contractor reviews, questions answered directly
Day 4
Signatures completed electronically
Day 5
Archived, payout rail activated
Renewal
Re-scoped whenever the engagement materially changes

Where weak paper gets expensive.

IP disputes with a departed contractor are the classic failure: the code is in your product, the assignment clause was work-for-hire boilerplate, and Indian law wants present-assignment wording it never got. Now the leverage belongs to the person who left.

The second failure is quieter. An agreement that reads like an employment contract becomes Exhibit A in a reclassification, converting your own paperwork into the other side's evidence.

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Illustrative cost of an IP dispute at exit Negotiated re-assignment after the leverage has flipped
₹2,1 lakh Week 1
₹6,4 lakh Month 1
₹11,8 lakh Month 3
₹16,5 lakh Month 6
Illustration combining legal fees and settlement value for a contested assignment. Real disputes vary enormously; the cheap version is the clause done right on day one.
Who holds the leverage at exit
Template with imported work-for-hire language You negotiate to recover your own IP
India-law present assignment, signed day one The IP was always yours

The agreement is evidence. When classification is questioned, the paper either supports the contractor story or contradicts it. If the scoping honestly cannot support contractor status, price the employment answer with the EOR versus entity calculator and convert on your own timetable.

What the agreement covers, clause by clause.

You define the commercial deal. We turn it into paper that protects the IP, supports the classification and survives the exit.

You run

  • The commercial terms and deliverables
  • Performance judgment on the work
  • Renewal and termination decisions

We handle

  • India-law drafting and upkeep
  • IP assignment enforceable locally
  • Scoping that documents contractor status
  • Signature, archive and renewals

You run
  • Set the deal
  • Judge the work
  • Decide renewals
  • Own the outcome

We handle
  • Draft under Indian law
  • Lock the IP assignment
  • Scope for classification
  • Run e-signatures
  • Archive every version
  • Re-paper on change

When something happens in India, it is ours.
Drafting and legal upkeep of agreements Versatile
Commercial terms inside them You
Re-scoping when engagements drift Versatile flags, you approve

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

Present assignment, not promises

Indian copyright practice rewards wording that assigns rights as the work is created rather than promising assignment later. Our clauses are built that way, which is the difference between owning the code and negotiating for it.

Paper that matches practice

TDS clauses match what we actually deduct. Payment terms match the actual payout date. Scoping matches the actual working pattern, because we also see the working pattern. Agreements fail when the paper and the reality diverge.

Classification drafted honestly

We will not paper over an employment relationship with contractor language. If the scoping cannot honestly be written, we tell you, and the 5-day EOR conversion is the fix rather than a braver adjective in clause 2.

Versioned and archived

Every agreement, amendment and renewal sits in the same archive as the invoices, challans and Form 16A. Diligence and audits get one coherent folder per contractor.

Present assignment, not promises

Indian copyright practice rewards wording that assigns rights as the work is created rather than promising assignment later. Our clauses are built that way, which is the difference between owning the code and negotiating for it.

The exit is where drafting is tested.

Paper that matches practice

TDS clauses match what we actually deduct. Payment terms match the actual payout date. Scoping matches the actual working pattern, because we also see the working pattern. Agreements fail when the paper and the reality diverge.

Consistency is the compliance.

Classification drafted honestly

We will not paper over an employment relationship with contractor language. If the scoping cannot honestly be written, we tell you, and the 5-day EOR conversion is the fix rather than a braver adjective in clause 2.

We draft what is true.

Moving someone across

Re-papering when a contractor converts.

When an engagement becomes employment, the service agreement ends cleanly and an employment contract on our entity begins. Nothing about the person's IP history or work product is lost in the seam.

IP chain of title Kept
Working relationship Kept
Compliance coverage Continuous
Unpapered gap 0 days

The old agreement and the new contract are archived together.

Supporting evidence

Check who your contractors are signing with.

Agreements are executed with Foo Falcon Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, registered 2022, with public MCA records you can pull yourself.

  • 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

You get every executed agreement the day it completes.

200

people re-papered onto our entity in one cycle

33

clients whose India agreements we maintain

5 days

from scope to signed agreement and active payouts

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 paper finally matches reality.

What founders say after the first exit that did not turn into a negotiation.

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

Drafting is inside the fee.

Agreements, renewals and re-scoping are part of the $19 per contractor per month, not billable extras. Employment paper lives inside the $149 EOR fee the same way.

Contractor of Record

Contract relationships
$19 /contractor/mo

India-law agreement, IP assignment, TDS clauses, renewals and archive included. No per-document charges.

Get the paper right
  • India-law drafting
  • Present-assignment IP clauses
  • Classification-supporting scope
  • Section 194J tax clauses
  • Electronic signature flow
  • Amendment and renewal upkeep
  • Versioned archive
  • Exit documentation
  • India-law drafting
  • Present-assignment IP clauses
  • Classification-supporting scope
  • Section 194J tax clauses
Plus four more inclusions
  • Electronic signature flow
  • Amendment and renewal upkeep
  • Versioned archive
  • Exit documentation

Existing contractors can be re-papered onto our agreements.

Employer of Record

Employment relationships
$149 /employee/mo

$129 past twenty heads. Employment contracts on our Bengaluru entity with the full statutory stack.

Paper it as employment
  • Employment contract on our entity
  • Appointment letters and policies
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS filings
  • Gratuity accrual from day one
  • Payslips and Form 16
  • 5-day onboarding
  • Named payroll lead
  • Exit and settlement paper
  • Employment contract on our entity
  • Appointment letters and policies
  • PF, ESIC, PT and TDS filings
  • Gratuity accrual from day one
Plus four more inclusions
  • Payslips and Form 16
  • 5-day onboarding
  • Named payroll lead
  • Exit and settlement paper

The honest wrapper when contractor scoping cannot be written truthfully.

Past twenty employees

$149 $129 /employee/mo

Employment pricing steps down beyond twenty heads. Contractor agreements stay inside the flat $19.

Inside the contract service

  • Initial drafting per contractor
  • IP assignment clauses
  • Scoping consultation
  • TDS and payment clauses
  • E-signature execution
  • Amendments and renewals
  • Version-controlled archive
  • Exit and closure paper

Volume pricing

$149 $129 /employee/mo

EOR at $129 past twenty. COR flat at $19 always.

Inside the contract service

  • Initial drafting per contractor
  • IP assignment clauses
  • Scoping consultation
  • TDS and payment clauses
  • E-signature execution
  • Amendments and renewals
  • Version-controlled archive
  • Exit and closure paper

If the honest scoping conversation ends in employment, run the structures through the EOR versus entity calculator and see the true delta before deciding.

Contractor agreements, the real questions.

What legal-adjacent buyers ask before trusting someone else's template.

Why does governing law matter for a contractor in India?

Because enforcement happens where the person and the work product are. A Delaware-law agreement with an Indian contractor gives you rights that are expensive and slow to enforce in the place they matter. Our agreements are Indian law with local jurisdiction, which is what makes the clauses practical rather than decorative.

What is wrong with work-for-hire IP clauses?

Work-for-hire is a US copyright doctrine. Indian law treats commissioned work differently, and rights can stay with the creator unless assigned with proper present-assignment wording. Agreements that only say work-for-hire can leave ownership genuinely ambiguous, which surfaces at the worst time: after the contractor leaves.

Can a good contract prevent misclassification?

No, and anyone promising that is selling paper. Classification follows the substance of the relationship: direction, hours, exclusivity, integration. What a good agreement does is accurately document a genuinely independent relationship, and avoid handing over language that reads like employment.

Do you re-paper contractors we already have?

Yes, and it is one of the most common starting points. Existing engagements move onto our India-law agreements at the next natural break, usually a renewal or a rate change, with the IP chain preserved through transition language.

Who owns the agreement, you or us?

The contract is between our entity and the contractor, which is what makes the COR structure work. Your commercial protections, IP assignment flowing to you, confidentiality in your favour, deliverable obligations, are built into it and enforceable for your benefit.

What happens to agreements if we leave Versatile?

You get the complete archive, and transition language allows assignments and obligations to survive or novate to your new arrangement. Exit is designed in from the start; we would rather be chosen monthly than hold anyone hostage on paper.

How often should contractor agreements be revisited?

At every material change: scope, rate, hours or exclusivity. Engagements drift, and a two-year-old agreement describing a different relationship is nearly as risky as no agreement. Renewal reviews are part of the service rather than a billable event.

Longer reading: Contractor of Record overview · Local INR payments · Converting a contractor to an employee · India payroll glossary · Related tool: misclassification risk quiz · Related tool: contractor conversion planner

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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