How Indian advisors can refer US clients without touching client data

Which relationships can Indian advisers turn into a proper introduction?

Indian advisers and service leaders can refer a US client only when the introduction goes to the client's own executives and concerns the client's own records. If the US company has 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), years of records it created itself and an authorized sponsor, you can introduce it to SourceX and earn a reward if it licenses data and the deal is paid.

The line to hold is simple: you are introducing a decision-maker, not offering data. Your access to the client's tickets, code, call recordings or process documents is a result of a service contract. It is not a right to license any of it.

Who in India is well placed to make these introductions?

If most of your US contacts are clients of your delivery business, read the answer on whether an outsourcing vendor can share client data and the playbook for offshore delivery partners serving US companies first.

What is the client's data and what is yours?

The records a team creates in the course of working for a client are generally the client's. Under US copyright rules, the employer is typically the author of work made by an employee within the scope of employment, and commissioned work belongs to the commissioning party only where the statute and a signed writing say so; the Copyright Office's Circular 30 on works made for hire explains the distinction. Contracts between you and the client can allocate ownership differently, so read the actual agreement.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.

The 3-question introduction test

• Is it the client's decision? The introduction goes to the owner, CEO, CFO or authorized representative, and you offer no data and no access.
• Is it the client's own record? The client created and controls the records, and its contracts with its own customers permit licensing.
• Is it transparent? The client knows you may earn a reward and that your delivery contract is unaffected whether they proceed or not.

Fail any one and wait. Pressure on a vendor relationship is exactly what damages the client's trust and your own.

How does the introduction work?

1. Register at /register and use your referral link, or submit the client through the referral form.
2. The client's sponsor applies at sourcex.si/apply or speaks with SourceX directly.
3. SourceX screens the client on size, history, data breadth and rights.
4. The client builds a data inventory of its own systems; your delivery team takes no part.
5. The client agrees one all-in price and the terms, and signs only if it chooses to.
6. AI labs and data buyers review; a deal-ready company typically hears back within about two weeks.
7. If a deal closes, the client is paid, typically within about 60 days of invoicing once the buyer selects the data. Your reward is paid after SourceX receives its fee.

Partners never export, upload or describe confidential records, and the company decides everything about its data.

What should an Indian adviser say?

State clearly that your engagement is unaffected. Then let the client decide in its own time.

What should you check in India?

The program does not interpret Indian rules. Ask your own advisers about these.

• Professional rules. Chartered accountants should read ICAI's current rules on commissions, independence and conflicts, especially where they audit or advise the client or its group. Other professionals should check their own bodies.
• Inward remittance. How foreign payments are received, documented and reported through your bank is a question for your bank and a qualified adviser.
• GST. Whether and how GST applies to services supplied to a US payer depends on your facts and structure; ask a tax adviser.
• Contract terms. Your master services agreement may restrict outside commissions, use of client information or solicitation of the client's executives.
• Forms. A US payer may ask for Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E; the W-8BEN-E guide for consulting firms walks through the entity version.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

How do partner rewards work?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward is paid only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; an introduction, meeting or signed agreement alone does not trigger payment, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. The referral earnings calculator illustrates the formula and the program terms give the details.

When should you not refer a client?

• Your contract restricts outside commissions or use of client information.
• The records are mainly the client's own customers' personal data with no licensing basis.
• The client holds data on behalf of its clients, as an agency or outsourcer would, without consent.
• The company is under the 50 full-time employee baseline at peak.
• You would be selling your delivery team's access, not introducing a decision-maker.

For parallel guidance, see the playbooks for advisers in Singapore, the UAE, the Nordics and Canada, or the overview for international partners.

Next step

Pick one US client where you already have an executive-level relationship and no contractual restriction, apply the 3-question test and then register as a partner.