How offshore staffing works for US businesses: a plain English guide
The model explained step by step for US businesses: who does what, how your hours are covered from Manila, and what it costs in US dollars.
Australian business? Read the Australian guide.
Offshore staffing is hiring a full-time, dedicated team member who lives in another country, here the Philippines, and works only for your business, in your systems and during your US business hours, while a staffing partner recruits, employs and supports them.
This guide explains the model for US businesses: the six steps from brief to hire, who employs your team member, what you look after and what Offshored looks after, how your hours are covered and what it costs.
What offshore staffing is
In practice, offshore staffing works like a normal hire with the employment paperwork handled for you. You choose the person, set their hours and priorities, and bring them into your team. The staffing partner employs them in the Philippines, runs payroll and government contributions, provides HR support and steps in when something needs sorting out.
Offshored uses the dedicated offshore staffing model: you choose the person, that person works only for your business in your systems and your hours, and Offshored handles recruitment, onboarding, payroll and day to day HR, with each team member employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, a registered Philippine company.
Outsourcing is different. With outsourcing you buy a task or an outcome from a provider, the provider decides which of its people do the work, and those people usually serve several clients at once. Offshore staffing gives you one named person, working only for you, whom you manage directly.
How offshore staffing works, step by step
From a signed brief to a shortlist takes one to two weeks. Here is what happens at each stage and who does what.
1Scope the role
Day one, no chargeTell us what you need done: the tasks, the software, who the person reports to and the US hours you want covered. Most first roles are bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, administration or customer service, and the United States page lists the roles with their US dollar fees. We turn that conversation into a written brief with a salary band, and you sign it off. There is no fee at this stage, or at any stage before you choose a person. Book a call to start.
2Recruit and shortlist
One to two weeksOffshored's Manila recruitment team advertises the role and searches our existing talent pool for people who want a permanent night shift on US hours. Every candidate has a pre-screening interview with Offshored before we endorse them to you, and every hire completes an NBI clearance, the Philippine national police check. You receive a shortlist with candidate profiles within one to two weeks of the signed brief.
3You interview and choose
A few daysYou interview the shortlisted candidates by video call at times in your own time zone. Ask for a skills test, a second interview or a different mix of candidates if you want; nothing is decided until you say so. When you choose someone, you sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Offshored and the monthly fee starts from the agreed start date. Until then the service is free.
4Onboarding and equipment
Start date agreed at offerAustralian Pathways OPC, Offshored's Philippine employing entity, issues the employment contract. It includes a confidentiality clause that continues after employment ends and an intellectual property assignment clause, so the work product belongs to your business. The start date depends on the candidate's notice period and is agreed at offer stage.
Office based team members work on company supplied laptops with USB ports and personal cloud drives blocked. Home based team members usually supply their own hardware, and Offshored supplies laptops to home based staff where needed. Your team member connects through a VPN or directly through your own systems, depending on your IT setup, and you set up their access the same way you would for a new hire in your office.
5Day to day management
Ongoing, on your hoursYou direct the work exactly as you would with a local hire: daily priorities, tools, standards, meetings and feedback, on your US schedule. Offshored runs payroll, Philippine government contributions, leave, HR and performance support in the background, and your account manager is your first call if anything needs attention. You receive one invoice a month, in US dollars.
6Probation, reviews and growth
Months one, three and six, then annuallyProbation lasts six months, and Offshored formally asks you for feedback at the end of month one, month three and month six. HMO health cover starts once probation is complete, and performance is reviewed annually after that. If a team member leaves or is not the right fit, Offshored recruits a replacement at its own cost. There is no lock-in contract, so you add roles or give 30 days' notice as the business needs, and every login to your systems is removed on a team member's last day.
| Stage | Time | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Scope the role | One conversation, day one | You describe the role, Offshored writes the brief |
| 2. Recruit and shortlist | One to two weeks from the signed brief | Offshored |
| 3. Interview and choose | A few days | You |
| 4. Onboarding and equipment | Agreed at offer, subject to notice period | Offshored and Australian Pathways OPC, with system access from you |
| 5. Day to day management | Ongoing | You direct the work, Offshored handles employment |
| 6. Probation, reviews and growth | Feedback at months one, three and six, then annual reviews | You, with your account manager |
Who employs your team member
Offshored's team members are employed in the Philippines by Australian Pathways OPC, a registered Philippine company, so you engage a staffing service rather than employing an overseas worker. You contract with Offshored Pty Ltd, ABN 84 664 866 433, an Australian company, which recruits and manages your team member, and the service agreement with a US client is governed by Philippine law. No US employment relationship arises, so you do not run US payroll, withhold US employment taxes or provide US benefits for the team member. Offshored Pty Ltd provides a completed IRS Form W-8BEN-E on request.
Most Offshored team members work from home; some work hybrid, and some are based in Offshored's office at Suite 706, HSS Corporate Building, BGC, Manila, depending on the role and your requirements. Whichever arrangement you choose, the person works only for your business.
What you do and what Offshored does
| You | Offshored |
|---|---|
| Describe the role and sign off the brief | Write the brief and set the salary band |
| Interview the shortlist and choose the person | Advertise, source, pre-screen, run the NBI clearance and present the shortlist |
| Provide system access, training and daily direction | Issue the employment contract through Australian Pathways OPC, onboard the team member and supply equipment where agreed |
| Set hours, priorities and standards, and give feedback at months one, three and six | Pay salary, the night shift differential, 13th month pay, SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG contributions, HMO cover after probation, payroll and tax withholding |
| Pay one monthly invoice in US dollars | Provide HR support, leave management, performance support and an account manager |
| Approve any overtime or Philippine regular holiday work in writing | Recruit a replacement at Offshored's cost where needed, and remove all logins on a team member's last day |
US hours, holidays and communication
Your team member works your business hours. US daytime is a night shift in Manila, and the night shift allowance is included in your monthly fee, so the price you are quoted is the price you pay. Australian Pathways OPC employs team members for US clients on permanent night shifts, and the 10 percent night shift differential under Article 86 of the Philippine Labor Code is never billed separately.
| Your time zone | Manila is ahead by | Your 9:00 am to 5:00 pm is |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern (New York, Miami, Atlanta) | 12 hours in US summer, 13 hours in US winter | 9:00 pm to 5:00 am Manila (10:00 pm to 6:00 am in US winter) |
| Central (Chicago, Dallas, Houston) | 13 hours in US summer, 14 hours in US winter | 10:00 pm to 6:00 am Manila (11:00 pm to 7:00 am in US winter) |
| Mountain (Denver, Salt Lake City) | 14 hours in US summer, 15 hours in US winter | 11:00 pm to 7:00 am Manila (midnight to 8:00 am in US winter) |
| Pacific (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) | 15 hours in US summer, 16 hours in US winter | midnight to 8:00 am Manila (1:00 am to 9:00 am in US winter) |
Manila is UTC+8 all year with no daylight saving. US daylight saving runs March 8 to November 1, 2026 and March 14 to November 7, 2027. Your team member takes the 11 US federal holidays off as paid days, in place of the Philippine public holiday calendar. Work on a Philippine regular holiday needs your written approval, and the additional pay Philippine law requires for that day (twice the regular rate, Labor Code Article 94) is billed on your next invoice. The full list is on the US FAQ. Communication runs through whatever your team already uses: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, phone or email, and every shift is logged on our timekeeping platform.
What it costs
Dedicated offshore staff through Offshored cost from US$1,350 per month for US businesses. Administration and customer support roles are US$1,350 to US$1,700 per month on Eastern, Central or Mountain hours and US$1,500 to US$1,900 on Pacific hours; bookkeeping and accounts payable and receivable roles are US$1,500 to US$2,000 on Eastern hours. The monthly fee is the only charge: no recruitment fee, no setup fee, no lock-in contract, and it is invoiced in US dollars. Converted from A$1,900 at the Wise mid-market AUD to USD rate of 0.7017 read on October 23, 2026, rounded up to the next US$50. Eastern time fees are shown; Pacific time fees are 10 percent higher before rounding. The rate is fixed between reviews and is reviewed on the first business day of each quarter (next review Monday, January 4, 2027); a change applies only to new quotes, never to a running contract. Every band, and a savings calculator against a US salary, is on US pricing, and the US cost benchmark compares ten roles with BLS median wages.
Talk to us about your first US role.
Offshored is an Australian company with its own office in Manila. We have no US office. Reach us on WhatsApp at +61 485 065 141, email connect@offshored.net, or book a call at offshored.net/book. We take US calls on US business hours, which are evening and overnight in Sydney and Manila.
Book a 20-minute call WhatsApp +61 485 065 141