What’s the Fastest Way to Enter Markets and Hire Globally?

When your business spots a great opportunity in a promising international market, speed is essential. Waiting several months to set up a local entity could mean losing valuable talent and competitive advantage.

However, traditional entity establishment is notoriously complex, costly, and slow, often jeopardizing your ability to quickly onboard top local professionals. With our extensive experience guiding hundreds of clients through global expansion, Deel understands these challenges intimately. We offer strategic insights and practical expertise in international hiring, payroll, compliance, and HR management.

By leveraging an Employer of Record (EOR) model such as Deel EOR—available in over 100 countries—you can dramatically accelerate your market entry timeline, going from months to days.

Many global leaders, such as Nium and Pixis, have already transformed their expansion strategies using Deel's fast and compliant EOR hiring. They've achieved quicker market launches, substantial cost savings, and unmatched flexibility to scale operations instantly.

Global hiring and market entry options: EOR vs. legal entity

Once your research and pilot testing show that a target market is a good fit, it’s time to choose your market entry strategy.

An Employer of Record (EOR) is an organization that hires, manages, and pays employees for your organization. You can use an EOR in foreign markets where you do not own an entity. The EOR acts as the legal employer for these international employees. It also handles payroll, benefits, compliance, and other administrative tasks.

See also: What Are the Pros and Cons of Hiring With an Employer of Record (EOR)?

Establishing your own entity involves legally forming a permanent establishment in a target country. This typically includes registering the business with relevant government authorities, obtaining necessary permits and licenses, and complying with local tax and regulatory requirements.

See also: How EORs Protect Companies From Permanent Establishment Risk

Whether you should opt for entity setup or use EOR services depends on multiple factors:

• Availability of financial, time, and human resources to fuel business operations in the new market
• Complexity of local employment laws and tax regulations and availability of internal resources to navigate through compliance requirements of the new jurisdiction
• Level of flexibility you need to scale up and down in the target country or region without fixed commitments
• Long-term goals for the target country or region. Such as establishing a permanent presence vs just testing the waters
• Whether you’re expanding into different countries or regions at the same time or in the near future

Of course, one of the key factors is precisely time (or speed) to market.

EOR or entity: Which one is faster?

Establishing a local business entity in a foreign country can often take months. This can lead to the potential loss of valuable talent and missed opportunities in a competitive market.

Let's say you’re in contact with a great candidate. They're a good fit for your team and have the exact expertise to lead your next big project. That kind of talent is probably in high demand. Therefore, it’s unlikely they would be willing to wait for a few months until you’ve established an entity to hire them.

See also: A Guide to Setting up a Local Entity

With an EOR, on the other hand, you can hire an international employee in as little as a couple of days. Here are a few examples of how long it takes to establish an entity vs using an EOR in different countries.

Discover how Keyrock scaled global hiring with Deel.

How organizations cut new market launch time with Deel EOR

Nium is a large financial services organization based in the APAC region. With Deel EOR, the organization expanded to new markets faster than they ever thought would be possible.

Read Nium’s story.

Pixis is another leader in the APAC region and a trailblazing tech firm. The organization quickly and compliantly expanded its global presence across APAC, MENA, the US, and Europe with Deel EOR.

Read Pixis’ story.

Cost implications of using an EOR vs. setting up an entity

Establishing a business entity typically involves different upfront costs. You also need to invest time and resources to understand local tax, payroll, and employment laws.

With an EOR service, you can avoid the expenses associated with setting up and maintaining your own legal entities. You also avoid the long-term hidden costs business owners often overlook. These include ongoing payroll and HR costs and sometimes even exit costs.

Establishing an entity may have some financial benefits. For example, only locally established businesses may be eligible for certain tax breaks. However, your EOR provider still saves you significant amounts of money in the following ways:

• Setup and maintenance costs: An EOR eliminates the initial setup costs associated with establishing a foreign entity. This includes legal fees, registration fees, and office space expenses. Ongoing maintenance costs, such as annual renewal fees and administrative expenses, are also avoided
• Compliance costs: EOR services handle all aspects of compliance. This includes payroll taxes, benefits administration, and aligning employment contracts with local labor laws. Outsourcing compliance to the EOR, you avoid potential penalties, fines, and legal fees
• Time savings: Partnering with an EOR can save businesses valuable time by streamlining the hiring process. You don't have to navigate complex legal requirements, or manage administrative tasks. This translates into cost savings by reducing labor hours spent on bureaucratic processes
• Flexibility: EOR services offer flexibility in scaling your operations and expanding geographically. You can quickly adjust your global workforce size, scaling it up or down in certain markets. You avoid the long-term financial commitments associated with establishing and maintaining a foreign entity

Here is an estimate of the ongoing costs (in USD) for a US-based company to keep its owned entity in the UK.

As you can see, the estimated costs of setting up an entity can range from $78,000 to $128,000. The estimated cost of using an EOR is only $7,188 per year.

See our comprehensive cost comparison between EOR and owned entity expenses for a more detailed cost breakdown.

Disclaimer: These cost estimates are accurate at time of publication.

Discover how Paperform saved 104 days' worth of HR costs every year with Deel.

See also: 5 Significant Cost Savings of an Employer of Record vs. Entity Setup

Compliance and legal exposure with EOR vs. owned entities

An Employer of Record simplifies the complexities of employing staff across different jurisdictions by ensuring legal and compliance adherence. This allows businesses to enter multiple international markets simultaneously while minimizing time and legal challenges.

EOR providers like Deel are experts in international employment regulations. They stay updated on labor, tax laws, and employment practices across various countries.

They also manage the entire employment lifecycle—from onboarding to termination—by handling payroll processing, tax withholding, benefits administration, and statutory filings. This relieves international businesses from the burdens of compliance requirements. It also mitigates the risks associated with non-compliance, including penalties and lawsuits.

Deel operates globally in over 100 countries, supported by more than 200 internal legal experts. These experts have extensive knowledge of local legislation. Additionally, Deel offers solutions for hiring independent contractors, ensuring compliance, and avoiding misclassification issues.

In short, using an EOR can save organizations a lot of money on compliance costs and help them grow in other countries.

Discover how Cake saved +$3k per hire in compliance costs with Deel.

See also: 4 Compliance Challenges When Setting up Your Own Entity

Hire global talent and enter new markets fast with Deel

If your goal is to expand into new markets and reach the best global talent hassle-free, you’re in the right place. Deel is the most complete global hiring and expansion solution in the market today.

Deel lets you hire, pay and manage your entire global workforce in one platform. With legal entities across 110 countries and counting, our EOR model simplifies international expansion by providing you with:

• Local payroll management, benefits administration, taxes, and compliance
• Competitive benefits packages tailored to each country
• Support from local HR and legal experts
• 20+ integrations for HR, Finance, and more

If you want to move from an EOR to owned entities, Deel provides support with Entity Setup services and Global Payroll.

You can customize how you use Deel services. Use the EOR model in some locations. Use Global Payroll in others. You can also hire independent contractors when needed.

To discuss your options with an expert, book a 30-minute demo with our team today.