What are the steps involved in working with a nearshore software vendor from Latin America?
Shopping for a dev team is a big decision to make. Depending on the team size, you’re likely committing to something in the $100k–$400k+/year range. And hey, working with a remote team in Argentina (or anywhere else) comes with questions like:
– What does a typical engagement look like?
– What is the cost of hiring one developer versus a whole squad?
– Is there a specific process you follow to onboard new engineers?
– Will the nearshore software vendor from LATAM be able to comply with US security practices?
Well, good news: after working with hundreds of clients in North America who were interested in hiring devs from Argentina, we guarantee that the process is very straightforward.
By the time you finish this post, you’ll know exactly what’s involved in hiring a nearshore vendor. So let’s get started!
Step 0: Reaching out to potential nearshore software vendors
Finding a software vendor is easy. All you have to do is look at various websites and see which company you like best. We strongly suggest using Clutch to find the best software vendor, since the listed company profiles have public reviews. Additionally, you can search Google for “nearshore software development companies” and shop around for different alternatives.
Once you figure out which companies look best, you need to fill out the company’s contact form and just briefly explain what you’re looking for. An example could be:
“Hi, I’m looking to hire a team of 2 full stack devs with ReactJS + AWS skills and a QA manual dev to work on a Fintech app. Is this something your company can help me with?”
After reaching out to the top 3–5 companies in your search, you should wait 24–72 hours for them to get back to you requesting to schedule a call — which leads us to the next step.
Step 1 – The discovery call with a potential nearshore software vendor
This is your first “date” with a potential vendor. They’ll ask about your needs, your goals, and your budget. Most vendors will have a sales rep on the call—fair warning, these folks might not have a super technical background. So, if you’re expecting to ask a lot of technical questions regarding the scope of a project (e.g., implementing a data architecture to improve AWS microservices or how to create a custom LLM from scratch), then it’s better to let the team know before the meeting so they can prepare.
Quick note: our sales team at Ewents is exceptional — our reps are software engineers with first-hand experience working as devs. We’re ready to tackle technical questions from day 1 🙂
Now, once you join the meeting with the vendor, they’ll want to understand more about your specific needs for software development. The more details you can provide, the easier it will be for the person on the other side to help you.
You’ll likely fall into one of two scenarios:
Case 1 – I need to hire remote software engineers to ramp up my team.
If this is your case, then here’s what you should consider:
How many roles do you need to fill?
What’s your budget?
Are you looking for full-time, part-time, or project-based help?
Any specific compliance needs (SOC 2, HIPAA, etc.)?
Will the team need to be client-facing and speak English fluently?
Will you provide the laptops? (Shipping laptops internationally is fun, but maybe let the vendor handle it.)
Case 2 – I want to outsource a project or some tasks in a fixed-price model
If this is your case, then here’s what the vendor will want to know:
- What’s your project about?
- Do you have a clear scope, milestones, and timelines?
- Will you manage the project, or do you need the vendor to run the whole thing?
After this call, you should expect to receive a ballpark quote. Although it’s not set in stone, rates in LATAM usually land between $30–$65/hr, depending on experience, English fluency, and the complexity of the work. If a vendor can be crystal clear about their rate structure, that is already a green flag.
Step 2 – Paperwork
You should walk out of the meeting with a clear idea of what the vendor can offer in terms of technologies, rates, and expertise. So if you’re willing to move forward with any of those companies, you should ask for the following:
- Rate cards with hourly/monthly pricing for each role
- A company overview with case studies
- A couple of client references (bonus points if they’re in your industry)
- A draft NDA, MSA, and Scope of Work templates so your legal team can review
After you receive all the documents from the vendor, it’s time to close the deal and kick things off.
Step 3 – Singing the contracts and getting started with onboarding
Once the paperwork’s done, you’ll have to provide either job descriptions for staff augmentation or a detailed project scope for outsourcing. Please don’t panic if you don’t have everything nailed down—your vendor can guide you through the whole HR recruiting process for onboarding software developers.
Here’s what happens next:
- Onboarding: The vendor will take 1–4 weeks to assign the engineers to your project.
- Scope of Work (SOW): The vendor will outline milestones, timelines, or hours per role along with the agreed-upon rates for the service.
- Kickoff Meeting: Time to handle the nitty-gritty, like system access, laptop setups, and project expectations.
Pro tip: Shipping laptops internationally can be a nightmare. Let the vendor handle equipment purchases and bill it to you instead.
For example, oftentimes, our clients ask: Can I ship a laptop to Argentina, so the devs can use our own hardware? Although this is possible, you should know that international customs are a real pain to deal with. Instead, we usually suggest having our team purchase the laptop or any other required equipment and then bill it to your company directly on the first invoice. Our team can also assist in setting up the laptop remotely with your security configurations if you need to hire quickly due to tight project deadlines.
Step 4 – Growing your relationship with your nearshore software vendor
After the first few months of working with the vendor, you’ll know if the relationship is worth continuing in the long term. Did you have a great experience with your nearshore service provider? Is your business getting a tangible cost benefit from outsourcing to LATAM? Are you ready to hire additional services from your vendor? If the answer is YES to these questions, then you should develop a long-term relationship.
Ideally, you should also check in every 2–3 months to review how things are going, share feedback, and plan ahead if you need to hire additional roles.
One cool perk of nearshoring? The team’s just a short flight away. You can bring them to your office or visit them in LATAM to strengthen the connection. At Ewents, we even cover some of the travel costs for team members to visit our clients on-site — and make it a point to see our clients in the U.S. and Canada at least once a year.
Ewents is a top nearshore software vendor in LATAM
Founded in 2019, Ewents is a boutique nearshore software development firm from Latin America. We provide tailor-made software development services in your same timezone and for a fraction of the cost.
Our mission is to help companies that are looking to optimize their IT spending, require flexibility in their IT projects, and are looking for a long-term tech partner.
We offer a wide range of nearshore software development services, such as staff augmentation and turnkey project development, including:
- Full Stack Development
- IT Project Management
- UX/UI Design
- Quality Assurance (Manual & Automation)
- DevOps
- Cloud Engineering
- AI/ML and Data Engineering
Ready to onboard one of the best remote development teams from Argentina? Contact Ewents today!
