Project Scoping & Statement of Work
We define deliverables, timelines and responsibilities in a statement of work, so both sides agree what success looks like.
- Statement of work
- Scope document
Dedicated Teams & Staff Augmentation
Software Outsourcing Services
Hand over a complete project and we run it end to end, with defined scope, milestone-based delivery, regular reporting and agreed service levels, so you get predictable results and cost.
- Defined scope
- Milestone delivery
- SLA-backed service
- Regular reporting
- Years of delivery
- 8+
- Years of delivery
- Projects shipped
- 350+
- Projects shipped
- Clients across US, UK, AU & SG
- 200+
- Clients across US, UK, AU & SG
What’s included
Everything You Need to Outsource Software Projects With Confidence
We take on your project from scope to handover, with defined milestones, SLAs and regular visibility into progress.
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Engagement Model & Fixed-Price Proposal
Choose fixed price, time and materials or a hybrid, with a transparent estimate you can compare against vendors.
- Commercial proposal
- Milestone plan
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Vendor Due Diligence & Contract Setup
NDAs, IP assignment and master service agreements are put in place so your outsourcing relationship is legally clear.
- IP assignment
- Master service agreement
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Outsourced Design & Software Development
Our teams design and build your software to the agreed scope, working in sprints while you stay focused on your business.
- Sprint deliverables
- Source code handover
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Milestone Tracking & Progress Reporting
Weekly reports, demos and a shared project board show exactly what is done, so there are no surprises.
- Weekly reports
- Project board access
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QA, Acceptance Testing & Security Review
Functional, regression and security testing against agreed acceptance criteria ensure each milestone is ready before you sign off.
- Test reports
- Acceptance checklist
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SLA-Backed Support & Maintenance
After go-live we provide defined response times, bug fixing and updates under an SLA, protecting your investment.
- SLA document
- Support desk access
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Documentation & Smooth Project Transition
Complete documentation and knowledge transfer let you bring the product in-house or move to another team without disruption.
- Technical documentation
- Handover session
Need something specific?
Why Kramate
Why Business Owners Choose Kramate to Outsource Software
Hand us the whole job and still see how it is going along the way.
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A Fixed Price Agreed First
Instead of
surprise bills halfway through
With Kramate
You get a free chat, then a detailed estimate within a day, paid as each milestone is done.
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See Real Progress Every Two Weeks
Instead of: waiting months to see anything
With Kramate: Every two weeks we demo the work so far, and you can ask for changes right away.
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One Person You Can Call
Instead of: chasing different people for answers
With Kramate: A dedicated project manager owns your project and sends daily updates on Slack or Teams.
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Help That Continues After Launch
Instead of: being dropped the day it goes live
With Kramate: Our support plans come with agreed reply times, and around-the-clock cover where you need it.
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You Own It All
Instead of: being tied to one provider forever
With Kramate: We sign an NDA before details, and you own all the work, so you can move anytime.
Our approach
How Software Outsourcing Works With Us, From Scope to Handover
Hand us the project, agree the price first, and see real progress at every milestone.
6 clear steps 6 deliverables you keep
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Project Discovery
We hold a free chat about your idea and write down what will be built and what will not.
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Price & Contract
You get a clear price for each milestone, plus a contract that protects your ideas.
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Project Team
We pick the right people for your job and introduce the manager who will lead them.
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Build by Milestone
The team builds your software one agreed part at a time, and each part is shown to you.
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Testing & Sign-Off
We test each milestone against the checklist we agreed, fix what we find, and ask for your approval.
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Launch & Handover
We release the software, hand over all files and notes, and explain how to run and update it.
Tools & technologies
Technologies We Use to Deliver Outsourced Projects
Fixed scope and milestones are backed by design, testing and release tooling.
- Figma: Design tool for dashboard wireframes and layouts approved before build.
- Notion: Shared workspace for roadmaps, decisions and documentation.
- Asana: Plans milestones and shows who owns each deliverable.
- React: Component-based user interfaces for web apps.
- Node.js: JavaScript runtime for fast web services and APIs.
- PHP: Widely used server language for websites, portals and web apps.
- Python: Readable language for business logic, data and automation.
- MongoDB: Flexible document database for fast-changing data.
- Postman: Designs and tests APIs during integration.
- Selenium: Browser automation for web tasks without an API.
- Cypress: Runs automated tests of key user journeys in the browser.
- Jest: Unit tests that catch regressions in JavaScript and TypeScript code.
- GitHub: Hosts code and manages reviews, access and branch rules.
- Jenkins: Runs automated builds, tests and releases on every change.
- Sentry: Catches errors and slow requests as they happen.
- Google Meet: Browser-based video meetings with your Google Workspace team.
Expert guide
Software Outsourcing Services: A Complete Guide for Businesses
Software outsourcing services hand a defined piece of work, or a whole product, to an external partner who takes responsibility for delivering it. You agree the scope, milestones and quality targets, and the vendor manages its own people to meet them.
This is the lowest-management model among the ways of buying engineering capacity, which is its main appeal and also its main risk: you depend on how well the scope and the agreement are written.
This guide to software outsourcing services is built around the contract and the handoff: what to hand over and what to keep, how to define scope and milestones, what a service level agreement should say, how to manage vendor risk, and how to stay in control without managing every task.
What to hand over to software outsourcing services and what to keep
The strongest candidates for software outsourcing services are work packages with clear boundaries: a new module, a mobile app, an integration, a migration or a maintenance backlog. Weak candidates are work where requirements change daily or where deep, evolving product judgment sits inside your own team.
| Work type | Outsource? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Well-defined build with clear acceptance criteria | Yes | Scope can be priced and checked |
| Ongoing maintenance and support | Often | Repeatable work with measurable targets |
| Core product strategy and roadmap | Keep | It is your competitive judgment |
| Fast-changing experimental product | Consider a dedicated team | Changing scope fits poorly with fixed terms |
Keep ownership of the vision, the acceptance decision and the data. For evolving products, a dedicated team usually works better than a fixed-scope contract.
Writing scope, milestones and acceptance criteria
A vague scope turns into disputes. Invest time at the start, ideally with a short paid discovery phase, so the vendor and you describe the same thing.
- State the business goal, not just a feature list.
- List what is in scope and what is out, explicitly.
- Break the work into milestones that each produce something you can run and test.
- Define acceptance criteria for each milestone in testable terms.
- Agree a change process: how new requests are sized, priced and approved.
- Name the assumptions, such as access to your systems or timely feedback from your staff.
Even under a fixed scope, ask the vendor to work in short cycles and demonstrate working software regularly, as the Scrum Guide (opens in a new tab) describes. A shared board in a tool such as Jira (opens in a new tab) lets you see progress without managing tasks.
Contracts and service levels
A service level agreement, or SLA, states what the vendor will deliver and how it is measured. It matters most for ongoing support and operations, and less for a one-time build.
- Response and resolution targets by severity of issue.
- Availability and support hours, with time zones stated.
- Quality measures, for example defects found after release and time to restore service. The DORA capabilities catalog (opens in a new tab) describes delivery and recovery practices worth measuring.
- Reporting: how and when you receive results.
- Remedies: what happens when targets are missed.
The main agreement should also cover intellectual property assignment, confidentiality, warranty and defect fixing, data protection terms, subcontracting limits and termination with handover assistance. Ask your own legal counsel to review it.
Commercial models for software outsourcing services
| Model | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price | Agreed amount per milestone or project | Defined scope with stable requirements |
| Time and materials | Billed for effort, with an estimate and a cap you can set | Uncertain or evolving work |
| Dedicated team | Recurring monthly team fee | Long-running product development |
| Retainer or SLA-based | Fee for agreed support capacity | Maintenance and operations |
Kramate offers fixed-price, dedicated-team and hourly options, so a project can move from one to another as it matures. Fixed price shifts delivery risk to the vendor, but changes will be priced separately, so the change process matters as much as the quote.
Managing vendor and supply chain risk
Outsourcing makes your vendor part of your supply chain, with access to your code, data and sometimes production systems. Frameworks such as NIST’s Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management program (opens in a new tab) and the NIST SP 800-161 publication (opens in a new tab) explain how to assess and monitor suppliers, and the NCSC supply chain guidance (opens in a new tab) offers a practical UK view.
- Classify what the vendor will see and restrict it to what is needed.
- Ask how the vendor secures its people, devices and development pipeline.
- Restrict subcontracting, or require approval and the same standards.
- Require breach notification terms and a way to verify controls.
- Keep source code, backups and credentials where you can reach them.
Time zones and regional rules
Software outsourcing services need less live overlap than team models, but you still need reachable people during your day for questions and demos. Kramate publishes four to six hours of overlap with US Eastern time and a full working day with the UK, Australia and Singapore.
If personal data will be processed by the vendor, check transfer and processor rules. For the UK, see the ICO’s international transfers guidance (opens in a new tab); for Singapore, the PDPC data protection overview (opens in a new tab). US and Australian obligations depend on sector and on state or national law. Confirm all of it with legal counsel.
Typical outsourcing scenarios
- Retail: an operator with no engineering team outsources a customer app and its back-end integrations under a milestone-based contract.
- Healthcare services: a provider hands a patient-portal upgrade to a vendor while keeping clinical decisions and data governance in-house.
- Professional services: a firm outsources a client-reporting platform, then moves to a support agreement after launch.
These are illustrative examples, not Kramate client results.
How to choose software outsourcing services
- Ask how scope is defined and who writes it down.
- Request a sample plan with milestones and acceptance criteria.
- Check communication: a named contact, regular demos and clear escalation.
- Review quality practices: testing, code review and how defects are handled after release.
- Read the exit and ownership terms.
- Verify security with specific questions, not general assurances.
For quality assurance on outsourced work, an independent check such as software testing and QA can be a useful safeguard.
How Kramate handles outsourced projects
For software outsourcing services, an NDA and a free consultation come first, then you receive a detailed estimate within 24 hours. A dedicated project manager owns delivery, updates arrive daily on Slack or Teams, and each two-week round ends with a demo. All intellectual property is transferred to you, and work follows least-privilege access, encrypted devices, peer review and regular security testing. Read more in our approach.
When scope is firm, a custom software build under a fixed price may fit; when the roadmap is open, a dedicated team can follow.
Frequently asked questions
What is software outsourcing?
It is handing a defined piece of software work, or an entire product, to an outside vendor who manages its own people and is accountable for delivering agreed results, usually against milestones, acceptance criteria and a written agreement.
What should I outsource and what should I keep?
Outsource bounded work with clear acceptance tests, such as a module, an app or a migration. Keep product strategy, the final acceptance decision and ownership of your data with your own organization, so accountability stays where it belongs.
How do I write a scope of work for outsourcing?
State the business goal, list what is in and out of scope, split the work into testable milestones, set acceptance criteria, define a change process and write down your assumptions.
What should an outsourcing SLA include?
Response and resolution targets by severity, support hours and time zones, quality measures, a reporting schedule, and remedies when targets are missed. SLAs matter most for ongoing support and operations rather than a one-time build.
What are the main risks of outsourcing software development?
Unclear scope, weak communication, dependence on one vendor, and exposure of code or data are the main ones. Reduce them with written acceptance criteria, regular demos of working software, controlled access and clear exit terms.
Is outsourcing better than building an in-house team?
Neither always wins. Outsourcing helps with defined work and a fast start, while an in-house team suits core products that need deep, continuing judgment about customers and strategy. Many organizations use both, outsourcing the bounded work and keeping the core.
Sources and further reading
- The Scrum Guide (opens in a new tab)Scrum.org / Scrum Guides
- Jira Software Cloud Documentation (opens in a new tab)Atlassian
- DORA Capabilities Catalog (opens in a new tab)DORA
- Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management (opens in a new tab)NIST
- NIST SP 800-161 Rev. 1 (opens in a new tab)NIST
- Supply chain security guidance (opens in a new tab)NCSC UK
- International transfers (opens in a new tab)ICO UK
- Personal Data Protection Act overview (opens in a new tab)PDPC Singapore
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Scope, feature complexity, platforms, integrations, design needs, testing depth and timeline set the price. Fixed-scope work and open-ended work are priced differently. We send a no-obligation estimate within 24 hours of reviewing your requirements. Fixed-scope work and ongoing development are priced differently, so say which one you expect.
Projects typically move through discovery, design, development in milestones, testing, launch and support. Length depends on scope, how fast you give feedback, integrations and how clearly requirements are defined at the start. Written acceptance criteria for each milestone shorten review rounds and reduce rework.
You do. We sign an NDA before detailed discussions and transfer all source code, designs and documents to you. Ownership terms are written into the contract so there is no doubt about who holds the rights. Source code is delivered into repositories you own, so you can review it at any time.
We assign a project manager as your single point of contact and keep your internal staff involved at reviews and decisions. We can plug into your tools and share access to repositories, so your team can take over or contribute at any time. You keep decisions on priorities while our project manager reports progress against each milestone.
Outsource work that is well defined, outside your core skills or needs extra capacity, such as a new module or a mobile app. Keep strategic decisions and core product knowledge in-house. A clear scope makes outsourcing work better. A new module or a first mobile app is a common candidate, and your core pricing logic is usually not.
Include scope and milestones, acceptance criteria, payment terms, IP ownership, confidentiality, change handling, support terms and exit arrangements. SLAs should state response expectations. Ask a lawyer to review the final contract. Payment is often tied to milestones, and the contract should say how scope changes are priced.
Use milestone demos, written acceptance criteria, code review, test reports and regular status updates. Keep repository access in your hands. Fixed milestones make progress visible and let you stop or adjust early if something drifts. Demos at every milestone let you spot a wrong direction after weeks rather than months.
Taking new projects
Let’s talk about your Software Outsourcing Services needs
Tell us about your project and get a free consultation and estimate within 24 hours.
- We reply within 4 business hours A real consultant reads your brief — no bot, no queue.
- 30-minute discovery call We dig into goals, constraints and budget. NDA signed on request.
- Proposal in 24 hours Scope, timeline, team and price — clear enough to decide on.
NDA on request You own the IP No obligation Free estimate