Managed Offshore Software Delivery
Timeline Digital is a software development outsourcing company: we build and maintain your software as a managed project, while you keep control of the scope, the code and the plan.
Since 2013: 1,500+ projects for 860+ clients in 25+ countries.
Software development outsourcing means hiring an outside company to build your software instead of growing your own team. Our team in Pakistan delivers it under our management: you work with one project lead, see weekly demos and progress in a shared tracker, and the code can live in your repositories. Project code and IP transfer to you on full payment, and every project starts with a free pilot of 2 to 3 key modules that you test before deciding on the final agreement.
Software development outsourcing is hiring an outside company to build or run your software instead of growing an in-house team; offshore outsourcing puts that team in another country. Timeline Digital, a custom software development company founded in 2013 in Islamabad, Pakistan, provides it for clients in the US, UK, UAE, Canada and Australia.
Meeting times are agreed in writing, project code and IP transfer to the client on full payment, and every project starts with a free pilot of 2 to 3 key modules, followed by the build and long-term SLA support. Timeline Digital delivers the software as a managed project and does not supply developers to other companies.
What every engagement includes
Most teams hesitate on offshore for the same four reasons. Here is exactly how we handle each one in the contract and in the day-to-day work, not as a promise but as a process.
For the seven common risks in more detail, with a mitigation for each, read our guide to software development outsourcing risks.
You work with one project lead in business English, and the engineers building your system join technical calls when they are needed. Meeting times for demos and reviews are agreed at the start and written into the plan, and progress is visible in a shared tracker, not hidden behind a sales layer.
Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Pakistan time (PKT, UTC+5). Pakistan sits four or five hours ahead of UK time and one hour ahead of the UAE, so the Gulf day and the UK and European morning overlap naturally. US and Canada calls are booked at the start of their working day, and the rest runs on written updates.
Every change goes through pull request review, automated tests and CI before it merges. We hold the same definition of done you would expect in house: tests written, edge cases handled, documentation updated. You own the repo and can read every commit.
Project source code, designs and documentation transfer to you on full payment, as written in the contract, and your data is yours throughout. We sign your NDA, work on your infrastructure where you prefer, and give each engineer least-privilege access. No code lives on personal machines outside your repos.
Yes, when the contract, access and working hours are set up properly, which is true of outsourcing to any country. The real risks are the same everywhere: who owns the code, who can reach your data, how much of the working day you share, and what happens if the relationship ends. Here is how each one is handled with us, in writing.
Project source code, designs and documentation transfer to you on full payment, as written in the contract before work starts. The code can live in repositories on your own accounts from the first day.
A mutual NDA can be signed before you share project details, documents or data.
Each engineer gets least-privilege access, work can run on your infrastructure, and a data-processing agreement is signed where personal data is involved. We hold no ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification and do not imply one; our security and data protection page sets out what we do instead.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Pakistan time (PKT, UTC+5). Pakistan does not change its clocks, so the office day overlaps the UK morning by about four hours in winter (GMT) and five in summer (BST). US Eastern time is nine to ten hours behind, so for US teams calls are booked at the start of your working day, agreed in writing, and the rest runs on written updates.
Every project begins with a free pilot of 2 to 3 of your key modules. You test the working software, then decide on the final agreement, so you judge real work before committing to the full project.
A deposit, then payments tied to the milestones in the contract; see how payment milestones work. If you end the engagement early, the work for the milestones you have paid for is handed over with documentation and deployment access. Governing law is agreed in the contract.
Hire in-house when the software is core and you need the skills for years. Use a freelancer for a small task with a clear finish. Use an agency or offshore partner when you want a defined project or ongoing work delivered and managed for you, without the time and commitment of hiring.
| Question | In-house hire | Freelancers | Agency or offshore partner (like us) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best when | The software is core to the business and you need the skills for years | A small, well-defined task with a clear finish | A defined project, or ongoing work delivered and managed for you in releases, without hiring |
| Time to start | Often several months, once recruiting, notice periods and onboarding are counted | Days to weeks, depending on who is available | After a Plan step that sets the schedule from your requirements; the project starts with a free pilot |
| Who manages delivery | You, with your own engineering leadership | You, task by task | A project manager as your single point of contact, against a plan you approve |
| Quality process | Whatever your team sets up | Varies by person; often no separate testing | Pull-request review, automated tests, CI and a weekly delivery report |
| If someone leaves | Their knowledge leaves with them and you rehire | Work stops until you find a replacement | The vendor keeps the project staffed from its own team; code and documentation stay in your repositories |
| Code and IP | Normally owned by your company under the employment contract | Yours only if the contract assigns it, so check before work starts | Transfers to you on full payment, as written in the contract |
| Commitment | Permanent employment | Per task or by the hour | Per project, then long-term SLA support |
The trade-off is talent pool against live overlap. Once meeting times are agreed, offshore gives you the live time you need and a much wider pool of engineers.
| Model | Where the team sits | Live overlap | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onshore | Your own country | Full working day | You need someone in the room every day |
| Nearshore | A nearby time zone | Most of the day | Daily face time matters most |
| Offshore (us) | Islamabad, Pakistan | Meeting times agreed in writing | You want senior engineers and a wider talent pool |
If you need someone in the next chair all day, stay onshore. If daily face time matters most, nearshore is a fair middle. If you want a wider pool of senior engineers, offshore works once the meeting times are agreed and the reporting is honest. Read more about our offshore model on our Pakistan software development page, or see why we deliver ongoing roadmaps as a managed project instead of a dedicated team.
Published client work: Qatar Government Digital Platform. Costs by market: offshore development cost by country.
Custom software built around the way your business works. The plan sets the schedule from your requirements, the pilot delivers a few of your most important modules first so you can judge the code and the team, and Build & Scale runs in two-week sprints with a weekly report and written SLAs.
We learn how your business works.
Your requirements, workflow, challenges and goals, understood before anything is recommended.
We design the right solution around your workflow.
Modules, workflows, roles, approvals, reports and integrations, agreed before development.
Choose the right technical foundation.
Technology options matched to your users, security, budget and growth, not one fixed stack.
Test our work before full project development.
Free. You choose 2 to 3 key modules and we build them first, so you can judge our work.
The full project starts only after you approve the pilot.
From approved pilot to complete digital system.
Full development, testing, deployment, training and support, built to grow with you.
Before you commit to the full project, we build 2 to 3 of your key modules as working software, free of charge, ready in about 2 days. Your team tests the pilot, and the full build starts only after you approve it.
See how the free pilot worksWe learn your requirements and how your organisation works today.
Together we choose 2 to 3 key modules that prove the solution.
We build those modules as real, working software, free of charge.
Your team uses the pilot. The full project starts only after you approve it.
Yes, when the contract, access and working hours are set up properly. With Timeline Digital a mutual NDA can be signed before you share details, source code and documentation transfer to you on full payment, engineers get least-privilege access and the code can live in your repositories. A free pilot lets you judge the work first.
Mainly to add engineering capacity faster than local hiring allows, to get skills the in-house team lacks, and to keep costs flexible for work with an end date. A permanent senior hire often takes months once recruiting and onboarding are counted. The trade-offs are fewer shared working hours and a greater need for written requirements and contract terms.
Start with the outcome and must-have features, not a full specification. Shortlist vendors and check process, references and contract terms. Sign an NDA before sharing details, confirm in writing who owns the code, and agree meeting times and milestones. Then start small: with Timeline Digital the first step is a free pilot of 2 to 3 key modules.
Software development outsourcing is hiring an outside company to build or maintain your software instead of growing an in-house team. You define the product and the outcome; the vendor plans, builds and delivers the software. Timeline Digital is an offshore vendor in Islamabad, Pakistan, founded in 2013, serving clients in the US, UK, UAE, Canada and Australia.
Onshore means the vendor is in your own country, easiest for in-person meetings. Nearshore means a nearby country in a similar time zone, sharing most of the working day. Offshore means a distant country with the widest talent pool and a smaller live-overlap window, managed with agreed meeting times. Choose by how much daily face time you need.
You do, on full payment. With Timeline Digital, project source code, designs and documentation transfer to you on full payment, as written in the contract before work starts, and your data is yours throughout. Our generic tooling and know-how stay ours, and open-source components keep their own licences. If you end early, work for paid milestones is handed over.
Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 Pakistan time (PKT, UTC+5), which overlap UK and European mornings and the Gulf working day; US and Canada calls are booked at the start of their day. Work is delivered remotely from Islamabad, and we agree demo and review times at the start.
It depends on scope, team location and engagement model, and offshore hourly rates are usually well below US or UK rates. Our offshore development cost by country guide gives labelled market ranges. Timeline Digital does not publish prices for custom software, because every project is custom. Our price is set from an approved scope after a free pilot.
Judge the process and the contract, not the sales deck. Check that the vendor names one project lead, puts IP ownership and payment milestones in writing, signs an NDA before you share details, names the meeting times and shows real work first. Our guide on how to choose a software development company has a full checklist.
There is no fixed timeframe: the schedule for an outsourced software project is set from your requirements in the Plan step. The free pilot of 2 to 3 key modules is ready in about 2 days, and with 1,200+ developers we have the capacity to deliver a focused system in as little as 2 weeks.
The main risks are unclear requirements, weak communication, little shared working time, code quality you cannot see, unclear IP ownership and dependence on one vendor. Each has a contract or process answer: written requirements, agreed meeting times, code in your repositories with review, and IP terms in the contract. See software development outsourcing risks for each mitigation.
Outsource the whole project when you want the software delivered rather than people to manage. A dedicated team suits companies that want to direct engineers themselves, and Timeline Digital does not offer one. We deliver ongoing work as a managed project in planned releases, starting with a free pilot, with SLA support after launch. See dedicated team or managed project.
A long-term technical partner should cover the full cycle from requirements to launch and support, keep the same core engineers on your system, and let you own the code so you stay by choice. Timeline Digital, founded in 2013, delivers software as a managed project, with SLA support after launch and code that transfers on full payment.
Yes. A project runs through our five steps: Understand, Plan, Select Technology, a free pilot of 2 to 3 key modules, then Build & Scale. After launch, long-term support continues under a service level agreement covering fixes, updates and agreed changes. Code and documentation transfer to you on full payment, so you can move support elsewhere later.
Tell us what you are building and how much daily overlap you need. We agree the plan with you and build a free pilot of 2 to 3 of your key modules, which you test before deciding on the final agreement. You own the code on full payment, you agree the meeting times, and support continues under an SLA after launch.
Published by Timeline Digital, a custom software development company founded in Islamabad in 2013. The facts on this page (track record, working hours, schedule, pricing policy and ownership terms) come from the same company facts used across the site.
Author
Usama Asif
CEO and CTO, Timeline Digital. Founded the company in 2013 and has led its client delivery since then.
In-depth, practical reading for teams planning this kind of project.