Placement fee calculator.
Multiply the hire's first-year base salary by your fee percentage. Then see what you'd refund if the hire leaves inside the guarantee period.
Updated
How much is the fee, and what do you refund?
A $120,000 salary at 20% is a $24,000 fee. On a 90-day pro-rata guarantee, a hire who leaves on day 30 takes $16,000 of it back.
Placement fee$24,00020% of $120,000
Earned per guarantee day$266.67Each day worked keeps this much
| Leaves on | You refund | You keep | Share kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 15 | $20,000 | $4,000 | |
| Day 30 | $16,000 | $8,000 | |
| Day 60 | $8,000 | $16,000 | |
| Day 89 | $267 | $23,733 |
Pro-rata refund = fee × guarantee days left ÷ guarantee days.
- Placement fee
- first-year base salary × fee percentage
- Pro-rata refund
- fee × (guarantee days − days worked) ÷ guarantee days
- Free replacement
- no refund; you run one replacement search at no charge
Where do fee terms live in Spectacled?
Fee terms sit on the job order and the fee and its status on the placement. Placements whose guarantee ends in the next 30 days are flagged on your dashboard.
- Fee type, percentage or flat fee, guarantee days and payment terms on each job order
- Fee status from pending to invoiced and paid, or refunded and fall-off
- The guarantee end date worked out from the start date
Placement fee questions
How is a placement fee calculated?
Multiply the hire's first-year base salary by your fee percentage. A $120,000 salary at 20% is a $24,000 fee. Some contracts use total first-year compensation instead; yours decides.
What is a guarantee period?
The time after the start date during which the agency refunds part of the fee, or replaces the hire at no charge, if the hire leaves. Your client contract sets its length and terms.
How does a pro-rata refund work?
The refund is in proportion to the guarantee days left. On a 90-day guarantee, a hire who leaves on day 30 leaves 60 of 90 days unworked, so two thirds of the fee comes back: $16,000 of a $24,000 fee.
What is a free replacement guarantee?
Instead of a refund, the agency runs one more search for the same role at no charge if the hire leaves inside the guarantee. The fee stays with the agency.
Can Spectacled track fees and guarantees?
Yes. Fee type, percentage and guarantee days sit on the job order. Each placement carries its fee, its status from pending to paid, and its guarantee end date, and placements whose guarantee ends in the next 30 days are flagged on your dashboard.
Pricing a contractor instead?
Work out margin, markup and the bill rate you need for a target margin.
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