CHECKLIST · 6 MIN READ
Hiring a website or CRM developer in India from the UK, US or UAE: what to check
By the Seamwire team · Updated
THE SHORT ANSWER
Hire a team in India the way you'd hire one at home: see live work you can check, speak to a past client, and start with a small paid first step. Then get four things in writing before anyone starts: you own the code and accounts from day one, a named contact with set meeting times in your working hours, a data processing agreement that covers sending personal data abroad, and how VAT is handled on the invoice.
Will the time difference be a problem?
Usually not. India is 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of the UK in winter (4 hours 30 in summer) and 1 hour 30 ahead of the UAE, so an Indian team's afternoon is a UK morning and most of a Gulf working day. For the US the overlap is short, so agree a fixed daily or weekly call time in writing.
What matters more than the clock is rhythm: a named person who answers within your working day, and working software to review every week or two rather than a status report.
Who owns the website, the CRM and the data?
- The code should live in your own repository (GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket) from the first commit, not the developer's.
- Domains, hosting, the CRM database and every software licence should be in your company's name, with the developer added as a user.
- The contract should assign all intellectual property to you on creation, not on final payment.
- If you stop halfway, you should keep everything built so far, with notes good enough for another developer to carry on.
What about data protection?
A CRM holds your customers' personal data, so a developer in India who can see it counts as a restricted transfer under UK GDPR. The ICO's guidance sets out what's needed, which for most businesses is a written agreement using the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement or addendum, plus a data processing agreement saying what the developer may and may not do with the data.
In practice: keep real customer data out of development and testing, give the developer the least access they need, and remove it the day the work ends.
How does VAT work on the invoice?
For a VAT-registered UK business buying services from a supplier outside the UK, VAT is normally accounted for by you under the reverse charge rather than added by the supplier. HMRC's Notice 741A covers the rules. Ask the developer to state clearly on the quote whether any VAT is included, and check with your accountant.
How to vet a team before you sign
- Ask for two or three live sites or systems you can open yourself, and for one past client you can speak to.
- Ask who exactly will do the work, and whether the person you're talking to now will stay on the project.
- Ask what the first step is, how long it takes and what you'll have at the end of it. A good answer is a short, paid first step that ends with something working and a dated plan.
- Ask how they'll show progress, how they test before release, and what happens after launch.
- Be wary of a fixed price given before anyone has seen your process, an unusually long minimum contract, or a team that won't put the code in your account.
Is it worth it?
It can be, when the team builds the whole thing rather than one piece: the website, the CRM behind it and the follow-up that turns an enquiry into a sale. A small business often gets more from one team that owns the full journey than from three suppliers who each own a part. We're a Bengaluru studio that works this way, so weigh our view accordingly, and use the checklist above on us too.