Back-Office Setup in India for Foreign Companies

An India back office takes over the routine finance work that keeps a business running: bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliations, payroll inputs, expense audits and month-end close. It suits Indian SMEs that want a finance team without hiring one, and overseas firms that want India-based finance support with qualified review on top.

• Scoping: which processes move, transaction volumes, systems used and turnaround times.
• Process notes: written procedures and an approval matrix for each process, so control stays with you.
• Access and security: role-based access to your accounting system, no shared passwords, and confidentiality agreements for every team member.
• Transition: parallel run for one or two cycles before full handover.
• Reporting: a monthly pack with closing balances, open items and exceptions, reviewed by a senior professional.

Where an Indian provider serves a foreign client and the service qualifies as an export of services, GST is typically zero-rated under a Letter of Undertaking, so no GST is charged on the invoice. If the overseas group instead sets up its own Indian captive entity, the service fees it charges the parent are international transactions that must be priced at arm's length. The structure should also avoid creating a permanent establishment for the foreign company in India.

Figures and timelines above reflect our understanding at the time of writing; confirm against the latest Act, Rules and notifications before relying on them.

For bookkeeping alone, see bookkeeping services; for a finance lead on top of the team, see Virtual CFO services.