When your team in Kathmandu starts its day, your office is heading to bed. Handled badly, that gap means waiting a day for every answer. Handled well, it means work keeps moving while you sleep.
The difference isn't talent or tools. It's how you design the hours and the handoffs.
Know the actual gap
Nepal runs on UTC+5:45 and does not change its clocks. US daylight saving time does, so the gap shifts by an hour twice a year.
|
Your time (US) |
Kathmandu, winter (Nov–Mar) |
Kathmandu, summer (Mar–Nov) |
|
8:00 AM Eastern |
6:45 PM same day |
5:45 PM same day |
|
5:00 PM Eastern |
3:45 AM next day |
2:45 AM next day |
|
8:00 AM Pacific |
9:45 PM same day |
8:45 PM same day |
|
5:00 PM Pacific |
6:45 AM next day |
5:45 AM next day |
Yes, the 45 minutes is real. Put both time zones in every calendar invite so nobody shows up an hour early or late after a clock change.
Pick an overlap model that fits the role
There's no single right answer. Choose per role, not per company.
• Short daily overlap (1–2 hours). The Kathmandu team shifts its day later so the end of their day meets the start of yours. Best for developers who need a quick daily sync but mostly work independently.
• Full US hours. The team works your business day, overnight in Nepal. Best for customer support, live operations or roles that sit in meetings all day. It needs fair shift pay and a team that chose those hours.
• Follow-the-sun. Little or no live overlap. Work is handed off at the end of each day and picked up by the other side. Best for QA, documentation, data work and well-specified development tickets.
Most teams end up with a mix: a short overlap for engineers, with some roles on full US hours.
Make the handoff the most important ritual
In a follow-the-sun setup, the end-of-day note does the job a hallway conversation would. Ask both sides to post one in a shared channel before logging off:
• Done today: what shipped or moved, with links.
• Blocked on: the exact question, and who can answer it.
• Next up: what they'll pick up tomorrow if nothing changes.
• Decisions needed: anything that needs your call before their next shift starts.
Five minutes of writing saves a full day of waiting. The key rule: every blocker comes with a fallback task, so nobody sits idle waiting for a reply.
Write tickets that survive the night
A vague ticket costs a day per round of questions. Before you hand work over, check that it has:
• The goal and why it matters
• Acceptance criteria someone can test against
• Links to designs, logs, or the relevant code
• What to do if they hit an unknown: guess and flag it, or move to the next task
Protect the overlap time
If you only share an hour or two, don't spend it on status updates the handoff note already covers. Use it for things that genuinely need a live conversation:
• Unblocking hard problems
• Design and architecture discussions
• Code review walkthroughs on tricky changes
• One-on-ones and team demos
Record the important calls so people outside the overlap can catch up.
The time-zone checklist
• ☐ Overlap hours agreed in writing for each role
• ☐ Both time zones shown in every recurring meeting
• ☐ End-of-day handoff note posted by both sides
• ☐ Every blocker has a fallback task
• ☐ Tickets include acceptance criteria and links
• ☐ Overlap time used for decisions, not status
• ☐ Schedule reviewed after each daylight saving change
Where we help
Our Kathmandu office runs 24 hours on weekdays, so your team can work the hours your business needs: a short overlap, full US hours, or a handoff model. Tell us the hours each role needs when you share your requirements, then use the 2-week free trial to test whether the schedule works in practice.
Worried the time difference will slow you down? Get in touch and we'll help you design the right overlap for your team.