Engagement Models

We at Dhruvsoft follow a methodical approach to pricing, based on a set of business engagement models that apply across every platform we work on — Salesforce, Zoho, Oracle NetSuite, and custom application, API, and integration development. As an implementation partner working with clients across industries and geographies, we have learned that the right engagement model is just as important to project success as the technical solution itself. Across our projects, Fixed Price and T&M models are the most commonly used. If you have no preference of business model, we will recommend one after careful inspection of the project based on the type of project, amount, and type of task to be accomplished.

Choosing the correct pricing and delivery structure upfront reduces friction later, keeps budgets predictable, and ensures both Dhruvsoft and our clients are aligned on expectations from day one. Below, we walk through each of our engagement models in detail, compare them side by side, explain how we help clients choose the right one, and answer the questions we hear most often from prospective clients evaluating an implementation partner.

Why Your Choice of Engagement Model Matters  

A platform implementation or development project is rarely a one-time event. It typically spans discovery, configuration or development, testing, deployment, and ongoing enhancement — whether the work is a Salesforce rollout, a Zoho deployment, a NetSuite implementation, or a custom application build. The engagement model you choose determines how each of these phases is priced, staffed, and governed — and a mismatch between project type and pricing model is one of the most common reasons technology initiatives run over budget or lose momentum.

Consider a few realities of these projects, specifically:

• Requirements often evolve as business stakeholders see the platform take shape, whether that’s Salesforce Sales Cloud, a Zoho CRM rollout, a NetSuite ERP configuration, or a custom Force.com or Android build.
• Integration work — connecting Salesforce, Zoho, or NetSuite to ERPs, marketing platforms, or legacy systems — can introduce unknowns that are hard to scope precisely at the outset.
• Some clients want a hands-off, fixed-outcome engagement; others want to embed a technical team inside their own delivery process.

Because no two projects are identical, Dhruvsoft offers three distinct engagement models, each suited to a different combination of certainty, control, and pace. The right choice also affects how risk is shared between client and partner: fixed pricing shifts execution risk onto Dhruvsoft in exchange for budget certainty, T&M shares risk transparently through tracked effort, and dedicated resourcing shifts day-to-day management risk onto the client in exchange for direct control. Understanding this trade-off upfront is often more useful than focusing on hourly rates or headline cost alone.

Fixed Price Model (FPM)  

Fixed Price Model (FPM) is the ideal pricing option when requirements are clearly defined. We quote a certain price at the outset, and the whole project — whether it’s a Salesforce, Zoho, or NetSuite implementation, or a standalone app or API build — is carried out within that pricing framework. Dhruvsoft’s fixed price model offers a low-risk option to clients and is designed to deliver projects on time and on budget. Deliverables, costs, and timelines are clearly defined upfront in the model. However, in this model, for any change in scope at a later stage in the project delivery, a prior agreed-upon fixed hourly rate is charged to the client.

When to Choose the Fixed Price Model  

FPM works best when:

• Business requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria are documented and stable before development begins.
• The project has a well-defined scope, such as a standard Salesforce Sales Cloud or Service Cloud rollout, a Zoho CRM or Zoho One deployment, a NetSuite module implementation, a Force.com application build against an agreed specification, or an AppExchange package implementation.
• Leadership needs budget certainty for internal approval or finance sign-off.
• The client prefers to hand off day-to-day execution and focus on reviewing milestones rather than managing hours.

How Dhruvsoft Delivers FPM Projects  

Every fixed price engagement begins with a detailed discovery and requirements-gathering phase, even before the fixed quote is finalized. Our team documents functional requirements, data models, integration points, and success criteria — on whichever platform the project targets — then breaks the project into milestones with clear deliverables.

This upfront rigor is what allows us to commit to a fixed cost and a fixed delivery date with confidence. Throughout execution, we track progress against those milestones, and any scope changes are handled through a transparent change-request process at the pre-agreed hourly rate, so there are no surprises on either side.

Time and Material Model (T&M)  

The Time and Material Model (T&M) is ideal for clients who themselves want to play a larger part in project execution. In this T&M model, pricing is determined based on the number of person-hours required to complete the project. This model is useful when the scope, specification, and implementation plan of the project are not easy to define — for example, during the initial phase of a Salesforce, Zoho, or NetSuite engagement, or an exploratory app development effort.

In the Time and Material Model, the client pays according to the number of person-hours put into the development effort. If the T&M model reaches a point where an exact scope can be determined and frozen, the engagement can be converted into a Fixed Price Model.

When to Choose the Time and Material Model  

T&M is the better fit when:

• Requirements are still evolving, or the project is exploratory in nature, such as a discovery phase, proof of concept, or early-stage Force.com, Zoho Creator, or NetSuite customization.
• The client organization wants close, ongoing collaboration with the Dhruvsoft team, reviewing and redirecting work sprint by sprint.
• The project involves iterative development, such as agile customization work where priorities shift based on user feedback, regardless of platform.
• Long-term platform support, enhancements, or a rolling backlog of admin and development tasks are involved — across Salesforce, Zoho, NetSuite, or a custom application — rather than a single fixed deliverable.

How Dhruvsoft Delivers T&M Projects  

T&M engagements typically run in short, transparent cycles — often weekly or sprint-based — with detailed time tracking and regular status reporting so clients always know exactly what they are paying for and what has been delivered. Because the model is flexible by design, priorities can be reordered between cycles without triggering a formal change-request process, which makes T&M especially well suited to fast-moving teams. Many of our long-term managed services and ongoing administration relationships — whether for Salesforce, Zoho, or NetSuite — operate under this model since the volume and nature of work naturally vary month to month. As mentioned above, once a T&M engagement reaches a point where the scope is clear and stable, we’re happy to convert it into a Fixed Price Model for the remaining work.

Dedicated Resource Model  

The Dedicated Resource Model is the right fit for platform implementation and application development work more broadly — particularly for international companies looking to extend their own team with dedicated offshore capacity. Under this model, we provide resources that work exclusively on your project, function as part of your development team, or form the basis of your own offshore development center. These resources work from our offices but are dedicated to your projects and report directly to you on a daily basis, whether your project runs on Salesforce, Zoho, NetSuite, or a custom technology stack.

When to Choose the Dedicated Resource Model  

This model is well suited to:

• Companies that want the effect of an in-house team — developers, administrators, and QA engineers across Salesforce, Zoho, NetSuite, or general app development — without the overhead of direct hiring in India.
• Organizations running multiple, ongoing initiatives across one or more platforms that need continuity of team knowledge across projects rather than a single project-scoped engagement.
• Clients establishing an offshore development center who want resources that function as an extension of their own reporting structure, sprint planning, and tools.
• Long-term relationships where consistent team composition, institutional knowledge of the client’s systems, and day-to-day direct reporting matter more than a fixed price or hourly ceiling.

How Dhruvsoft Delivers the Dedicated Resource Model  

Under this model, Dhruvsoft resources are ring-fenced for a single client, working from our offices but reporting into the client’s own project managers and daily stand-ups as though they were an internal team. Clients retain full control over prioritization, sprint planning, and day-to-day task assignment, while Dhruvsoft handles recruitment, HR, infrastructure, and continuity of staffing. This gives growing businesses the benefits of a dedicated offshore team — consistency, institutional knowledge, and direct control — without the complexity of setting up a legal entity or managing local hiring themselves.

Comparing the Three Engagement Models 

How Dhruvsoft Selects the Right Engagement Model for Your Project  

Not every client arrives with a preference, and that’s by design — as an implementation partner, part of our job is to recommend the structure that best fits the work, not simply the one that’s easiest to sell. When a client has no preference, our approach follows a consistent methodology:

• Requirements review — We evaluate how well-defined the functional and technical requirements already are. Clear, documented requirements point toward FPM; open questions point toward T&M.
• Project type and complexity — Standard configuration work, AppExchange development, and package-based builds tend to suit fixed pricing. Custom Force.com, Zoho Creator, or NetSuite SuiteScript development, integrations, and data migrations with unknowns tend to suit T&M.
• Timeline and budget constraints — Clients with hard budget ceilings and board-level approval requirements often need the certainty of FPM, even if it means more upfront discovery time.
• Duration and ongoing need — One-off projects with a clear end date rarely need a Dedicated Resource Model; multi-year platform roadmaps and offshore team-building efforts usually do.
• Client involvement preference — Some clients want to manage sprints and priorities directly; others prefer to review milestones. This alone often decides between T&M and FPM.

This assessment happens during our initial discovery conversations, before any commercial terms are finalized, so clients understand exactly why a particular model is being proposed.

Governance, Reporting, and Communication Across All Models  

Regardless of which engagement model or platform you choose, Dhruvsoft applies the same underlying discipline to communication and governance, because predictable delivery depends on visibility, not just on the pricing structure.

• Milestone and sprint reviews. FPM engagements are reviewed against agreed milestones; T&M and Dedicated Resource engagements are reviewed sprint by sprint or on a cadence the client sets.
• Transparent time and cost reporting. For T&M and Dedicated Resource engagements, hours and resource utilization are reported regularly, so there is never ambiguity about what has been billed or delivered.
• Single points of contact. Every engagement, regardless of model or platform, has a named project lead on the Dhruvsoft side who is accountable for delivery and communication.
• Change management. Scope changes are documented and priced consistently, whether that means a formal change request under FPM or a simple prioritization conversation under T&M.
• Knowledge continuity. Especially under the Dedicated Resource Model, we prioritize keeping the same individuals on your account over time, so institutional knowledge of your Salesforce, Zoho, or NetSuite environment isn’t lost between phases of work.

This consistency is part of what allows clients to move between models — starting in T&M during discovery, converting to FPM once scope is locked, or layering in Dedicated Resources for ongoing enhancements — without having to rebuild trust or process each time.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Choosing an Engagement Model  

Even experienced buyers of implementation services sometimes choose an engagement model that works against them. A few patterns worth avoiding:

• Forcing a Fixed Price Model onto an undefined scope. Locking in a fixed cost before requirements are settled almost always leads to change requests, which can erode the budget certainty the model was meant to provide.
• Treating T&M as “unlimited” instead of tracked and governed. Time and Material only stays cost-effective when hours are reported transparently and reviewed regularly — without that discipline, costs can drift.
• Choosing Dedicated Resources for a short, one-off task. This model delivers the most value over sustained, multi-project engagements; a single small project rarely justifies it.
• Ignoring the option to convert models mid-project. Clients sometimes stay in T&M long after scope has stabilized, missing the chance to lock in a fixed price for the remaining work.
• Not aligning internal stakeholders before signing. Finance teams often want FPM certainty while technical teams want T&M flexibility — resolving this internally before engaging your implementation partner avoids mid-project friction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get Started with Dhruvsoft  

Dhruvsoft has structured these three engagement models — Fixed Price, Time and Material, and Dedicated Resource — to match the way real projects actually unfold, from tightly scoped package implementations to long-term offshore development relationships, across Salesforce, Zoho, NetSuite, and custom application development.

If you’re planning a platform implementation or development project and aren’t sure which model fits, our team will review your requirements, timeline, and budget, and recommend the right approach — with no obligation to commit until you’re confident it’s the right fit.

Not sure whether Fixed Price, Time & Material, or Dedicated Resources is right for your project? Talk to our team. We’ll review your requirements, timeline, and budget and recommend the engagement model that best fits your needs.