A referral program for offshore delivery partners with US clients

What can an offshore delivery partner introduce, and what must it never share?

An offshore IT services, BPO or finance-outsourcing firm can introduce a US client's executive to SourceX, and nothing else. You can say that a licensing route exists for business records, give basic fit information with consent and connect the right people. You must never export, upload, describe or even summarize the client's records, however easy your access.

The reason is structural. In outsourcing, your team often sits inside the client's tickets, queues, ledgers and call platforms every day. That access exists to perform the service. The records belong to the client, and often include the client's own customers' information. SourceX works only with the company that owns the data and can authorize a license.

This page sets out where an introduction is appropriate, how to raise it with a US executive and how to keep the delivery relationship clean.

Which delivery models see the most promising clients?

A client is a candidate only if it meets the baseline: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, rights to license the data and an authorized sponsor. Your own firm's records, such as staffing and billing, are separate and not part of this program.

The no-touch rule

Use this rule with every team member who might be asked about the program.

• I will not copy, export or screen-share any client record for this purpose.
• I will not use delivery credentials to answer questions about what a client holds.
• I will describe the client only in basic terms: size, years of operation and general system types.
• I will get the client's permission before I pass on a contact name.
• I will refer any technical question to the client, who completes its own data inventory with SourceX.

If any box cannot be ticked, hold the introduction.

Who in the US client should you speak to?

The sponsor who can say yes is an owner, CEO, CFO or authorized representative.

When does the topic fit your account calendar?

Avoid raising it during an incident review or a billing dispute.

What to say

Offer a referral link as the alternative. It sends the company to sourcex.si/apply with your code attached, so the company can apply itself.

Illustrative scenario

Illustrative and fictional: a Manila-based finance-outsourcing firm runs accounts payable for an Ohio distributor with several hundred staff and a decade of operations. At the annual review, the account director asks the distributor's CFO a single question about long-term records, then mentions that licensing exists as an option. The CFO says the owner must decide and asks for a link to send him.

The firm sends the referral link and a two-line note, discloses the possible reward and stops. The distributor's counsel reviews its supplier contracts and its customer terms on its own. The firm never opens a ledger for this purpose, and the delivery team is told nothing beyond the fact that an introduction was made.

What are the common contract traps in outsourcing?

1. Data processing terms. Many agreements limit use of the client's data to performing the service. Using it for anything else, including describing it, may breach the contract.
2. Customer data in the stream. Case notes, call recordings and tickets often carry end customers' personal details. Consumer personal data with no licensing basis is a red flag, and de-identification is agreed with the company before any work begins.
3. Shared tooling. If the platform is yours, its logs may be yours, but the client's content inside is not.
4. Recordings. Call recordings need proper notices and consent; the company's counsel decides if they are usable.
5. Regulated data. Records that are mainly health information without authorization or de-identification are a red flag.

How do rewards and tax paperwork work for an offshore firm?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed, and the signed agreement and program terms set the details.

A delivery company that is paid directly would look at Form W-8BEN-E, which the IRS describes as given to the payer. Our guide to filling out a W-8BEN-E for a consulting firm shows the sections an outsourcing firm will meet. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel or tax adviser before acting.

When not to bother

Skip clients under the employee baseline, clients whose records are mainly their customers' personal data and any client where your contract bars the topic. Do not approach someone who cannot decide. Do not raise it if you would be tempted to look at the data first.

Next step

Register as a partner. Then compare the playbooks for SAP partners, the UK partner guide and the Nordic partner guide. Confirm whether non-US residents can join, read how a customer referral program differs from a partner program, and try the referral earnings calculator.