FAQs – For Clients

We help you get your B2B work done most efficiently & securely, thereby saving you a lot of money & time. We have used a combination of internal assessment tools, independent global ratings and ratification by industry insiders to create a pool of India’s finest agencies who will do your work. After you post a project, our matching algorithms provide you the top 3 most suitable proposals, based on a no of parameters. You can then choose who you want to work with & we will help you define the terms & timelines (if reqd.) so that there is complete accountability. Then, we have a number of tools & processes that help you have ongoing control over the project delivery, including payment security, project management and data privacy.

You start the process at Benchkart by posting your project details online through one of 2 routes on the homepage of www.benchkart.com. • Post a Project: Most clients want the Partner to deliver a particular outcome (say a website developed) based on their project description briefing • Hire a Developer: Some clients instead want to hire a talent with specific skills (say a .NET Developer) on an hourly basis, while taking accountability of defining, monitoring & getting the work done through them. In some cases, we may do a provisional check by contacting you and confirming the scope of the project or seek clarifications, if anything is unclear.

Our algorithms are trained to match the Partner capabilities with your Project description as well as your profile. The Partner capabilities includes their infrastructure, their expertise as well as their client base & past work. Similarly, your Project description includes technologies, industry, domain etc.
The matched suppliers receive your project details in their dashboard for them to provide proposals on. Their proposals include their technical qualifications, their commercial proposal and their approach note. This is then processed to provide you the top 3 proposals

The short answer is, it depends. Most of our clients run the process entirely through our platform, making use of the messaging functionality to sort out any questions on proposals or experience. A few may want to do skype/in person interviews. Most clients are comfortable with Partners working remotely, esp. if it saves cost for them.
Having said that, we aim to get the right Partner for you and how you finalise the selection is up to you.

The first step for you, after you have selected your Partner, is to have an agreement (if required) with them. Benchkart can help you with a standard template for same in case you wish. We also capture the project value (in case it has undergone any change during the Partner selection process), key deliverables, milestones & payment details in a dashboard accessible to both the Partner& the client.

Our aim is to have the shortlisted Partners with you within 48 hours. In a very few cases, this goes beyond 48 hours, esp. if the project requires specific skills or scale which is in short supply.
We are also looking at opportunities to reduce this time for certain smaller workloads (e.g. graphics & design)

1. We have tied up with leading payment gateways for accepting a wide variety of payment instruments like credit cards, debit cards, UPI, Net Banking etc.
2. Once you and the partner have agreed on the milestones and payment schedules, the partner will request you to fund the Benchkart NODAL account with funds for the milestone or as per agreed terms.
3. Once we receive the funds in our nodal account, the partner will begin the work.
4. On successful completion of the milestone and acceptance of the work by you, the funds will be released to the partner from the Nodal account.

When you make a payment, it’s held in a nodal account. Once you are satisfied and accept the delivery (whether for the entire Project or a Milestone in case of longer Projects) from the Partner, the money will be transferred to the Partner’s account. Keep in mind, if no action is taken, the order autocompletes seven days after delivery.

We recommend that you should be clear about scope of the Project at time of Partner Selection. Having said that, in case there are additional services that you want to add to the Project or if there is change to the scope of your Project, you can agree on the same with the Partner. The Partner can initiate a “Change Request” specifying whether the change impacts scope, time-lines, project value or a combination of these. You can approve these for the revision to come into effect. Transparency & documentation enabled on the platform for such eventualities, help secure you from issues later.

Unfortunately, you cannot simply cancel a Project after it has been initiated. We would request you to work out the arrangement mutually with the Partner, given that they would have committed or employed resources already on to the Project. This process can be slightly different for Projects with a “15-day Trial” offer.

For Projects of 3 months or longer duration, we have worked out a 15-day Trial Offer with a few participating Partners. As per this offer, Partners who choose to participate, will refund within 48 hours the customer, the advance collected for the first 15 days of work, should the customer want to cancel the contract for any reason. This offer and its applicability to different categories may change at the discretion of Benchkart. Please check the Partner profile clearly for their participation in this offer.

Executable files such as .exe, .bat and .vbs are prohibited and blocked. File attachments (such as Microsoft Office documents, Adobe .pdfs, images, etc.) are allowed but scanned for potentially malicious content. In some cases, malware scanning will remove embedded macros, formulas or active content that is deemed potentially malicious.

Benchkart is a platform that helps you get your work done. As such, having a clarity on the Project, completing the Project posting with relevant details & attachments and avoiding mid-project changes in scope is important. Also, please do utilise the platform to ensure complete transparency between you and the Partner on Payments, Change Requests and Work Progress in line with the Project scope.

Benchkart is specifically focused on outsourcing through reputed Partners & not Freelancers!
We work as your business development team, as we bring qualified leads to you for proposals. We also help clients define the scope of their projects through our tools as well as through support of our Consultants.
Our Payment Gateway integrations & Project Management support systems are built with the highest levels of compliance to the regulatory frameworks, thereby ensuring peace of mind for you as you focus on delivering the best value for our customers.
Above all, we remain committed to the highest levels of transparency& accountability in our business conduct, so that we can create a platform, which customers can trust forever.

Assessment of Partners is a core Benchkart Assurance – and as such we have a rigorous vetting process for onboarding. We use a combination of internal assessment tools, independent global ratings and ratification by industry insiders to create this network. If you believe your work represents the highest standards of customer satisfaction and success, do reach out to us on Partnership@benchkart.com.
Please do note that we may seek references from your customers for your recent work done with them as part of the process, should you choose to share the same with our audit team.

Based on our Global Marketing & Business Development efforts, we position Benchkart as a smart way to outsource.
Our algorithm matches inbound client queries with the skill sets and services of our Partner Network. We share the Project Details with the matched Partners, who then provide their proposals including their technical qualifications, their commercial proposal (normally, in form of a tentative bid range) and their approach note.
The algorithms process the proposals based on a no of variables and then provide the3 most suited proposals for the customers to choose from. The customers may seek certain clarifications or schedule discussions with you from this stage onwards. From there on it is up-to the Partner to create a mutually beneficial relationship with the client.

The Benchkart process is driven by our algorithms. These use the information in your profile to match you with suitable opportunities. The ratings that you receive on your execution further plays an important role in matching you to projects. We thus recommend that you invest quality time in keeping your profile updated as well as in managing the projects sourced through the platform.

Benchkart offers a 15-day free trial to Customers from participating Partners. Participation is purely voluntary. This program is only applicable to those projects which are of 3 months or more in duration. As per this offer, Partners who choose to participate, will refund within 48 hours the customer, the advance collected for the first 15 days of work, should the customer want to cancel the contract for any reason. The purpose of the offer is to give confidence to Customers in the crucial first 15 days of their engagement with a Partner. This offer is likely to increase traffic to the platform and increase the business potential for participating Partners.

When customers want to get a job done (say, developing a 3-page website), they choose the “Post a Project” option. In this option, the Partner is expected to deliver on the outcome based on the details agreed upon at the beginning.
When customers want to hire a person or a team (on part-time or full-time basis) for a limited period (say a software developer), they choose the “Hire a Developer” option. In this option, the customer will decide, manage & track the deliverables. The Flexi-hire could work remotely or on-site based on the specifications of the project.

Most projects can be carried out remotely whereas some need on-site work. Please note that in our definition, only “Hire a Developer” option with Full Time requirement by the client may be expected to work on-site or at Customer’s premises. This is specified in the project details& if you are unable to commit your team to working on site if it is requested, then it is advisable not to submit a proposal.

You will always be notified about the results of your proposal. During the review stage, clients can message you to ask you to elaborate on your proposal and background. We actively encourage clients to give feedback and many will provide detailed feedback to the Service Providers they've shortlisted and when possible we ask them to provide reasons for rejecting or accepting earlier stage proposals, although this isn't always possible. Our delivery team handles a large volume of proposals daily and while they try to provide useful tips to help you, they may not be able to answer specific questions.

Benchkart ensures transparency on both sides during the process of contracting as well as delivery. At the time of contracting, we enable both the customer & the Partner to mutually agree on milestones & terms which are date stamped & stored on the platform. There is a “change request” form during the Project delivery phase which ensures that any significant changes to the project scope (impacting project time-lines, scope and/or value) are transparently captured and approved. Our advice to you would be to work transparently with the customer and provide feedback if you believe the changes are undesirable or if they significantly alter your Project delivery.

As per our business model, the Partner has a direct contract with the customer while they payment from the customer flows through Benchkart. Benchkart works on a nodal account model, where Customer’s payment cannot directly hit Benchkart Current accounts. This held back amount is transparently visible to Partner for them to be aware that the customer has paid. After the end of the project or a milestone, the Partner has to seek an approval from the customer and the same is released to the Partner’s account, after deducting Benchkart commission.

Benchkart, as you are aware works as your business development team and charges single-digit margins (which is even lower for larger projects) for the use of its platform. As such, payment to Benchkart from the Partner is due as soon as the contract between Partner and the client is closed. For Details on how the payments due to Benchkart are collected, please seek the terms of payment document from us.

Any payment made to Benchkart are based on the value of the contract and the Partner will be reimbursed proportionately, in case of any cancellation of the contract.

Needless to say, an updated profile, prompt proposals to projects and reasonable pricing are the first step to getting shortlisted. Quality of delivery & customer feedback becomes extremely critical to attract newer customers. Apart from this, if your firm is able to offer a differentiated service that is currently not being offered by Benchkart, please do reach out to us for its incorporation. The same will undergo our assessment and may bring additional business to you if approved.

Benchkart facilitates bringing great customers & great Partners together. The various tools & processes on the platform facilitate Projects be Customised, Curated, Cost-effective & Secure. Having said that, the statutory obligations for the Partners including but not limited to GST, TDS etc are the responsibility of the Partner only. You decide on the pricing, invoicing, taxation, the deductions etc with the customer and as such we expect you to follow the highest standards of business conduct related to the laws of the land.

As with any online resource, educating yourself and trusting your instincts are key to safety. Here are certain types of scams and abuse to know and avoid.
Phishing: Prevent unscrupulous users from trying to steal your passwords. Double check that links or HTML files clients give you don’t lead to fake login pages. Free work fraud: Don’t start work before the official contract start date. Never pay anything to work for a client, even if they claim that the money will be reimbursable. Direct payments: Let our trust and safety team help keep you safe. Help us by reporting anyone who asks to send or receive money outside of Benchkart The best way to be on top of the project is to use the tools related to Customer Profile, Collaboration, Milestones, Payments, Changes & Feedback on the platform to ensure you have crucial information at hand while you work.