Recruiting fees often depend on placement type, salary, or staffing hours. Everhour keeps billable work organized by project and client.
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A recruiting invoice documents the amount a client owes for a specific recruiting service. That service can be a success-based placement fee, an executive search retainer, temporary or contract staffing, recruitment process outsourcing, outplacement, or HR consulting. Label the service type clearly because each one has a different approval path, fee basis, and supporting detail.
For a direct-placement invoice, the client usually needs the candidate name, role, start date, first-year compensation basis, agreed fee percentage, and guarantee or refund reference from the placement agreement. For temporary staffing, the invoice usually needs employee or role detail, work dates, bill rate, hours supplied, and any approved expenses. The invoice should match the written engagement terms, not a verbal summary.
Contingency recruiting fees are commonly earned only when the candidate is hired or placed. Typical headhunter commissions often fall in the 20% to 30% range of first-year salary, with management and executive searches commonly cited at 25% to 35%. An invoice line can read: "Permanent placement fee, Senior Account Executive, 25% of $120,000 first-year salary."
Retained executive search works differently. The engagement is often retained and exclusive, with written terms that cover scope, timing, fees, payment schedule, deliverables, guarantees, off-limits restrictions, conflicts, and data management. For a longer search, invoice lines should follow the agreed schedule, such as launch retainer, shortlist milestone, and completion fee. A search can run from a few weeks to several months, so milestone labels matter.
Most recruiting invoice disputes start with a mismatch between the invoice and the placement agreement. The invoice should state when the fee became due, who was placed, which role was filled, and which guarantee or refund term applies. Split-fee recruiting needs extra care because written agreements should address fee amounts, entitlement, collection, disbursement, client guarantees, and refunds.
Temporary-staffing invoices need a different kind of clarity. The bill rate should account for the staffing firm's wage, benefit, employer Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation obligations, but the client-facing invoice still needs readable line items. Separate labor, approved expenses, and adjustments. Do not bury credits, replacement guarantees, or timesheet corrections in vague descriptions.
A free invoice template is enough for a one-off placement, a small recruiting project, or a retained search milestone when the agreement is simple and the supporting detail is already organized. Fill in the client, invoice number, issue date, service description, fee basis, payment terms, and remittance details. Keep the agreement and approval emails with the invoice record.
A managed workflow becomes necessary when billable recruiting work repeats across clients, recruiters, roles, and projects. Everhour supports billable and non-billable time through project billing status, task-level non-billable controls, custom task rates, member-rate exceptions, and admin reports for billable time, non-billable time, billable amount, and cost. That structure helps turn approved search work or staffing support into invoice-ready records.
This content is for general information only, may not be fully up to date, and is provided without any warranty or liability.
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A recruiting invoice should include the recruiting firm name, client name, invoice date, invoice number, service type, candidate or role reference, fee basis, amount due, payment terms, remittance details, and any agreed tax or discount line. Direct-placement invoices should reference the placement agreement. Temporary-staffing invoices should include the work period, approved hours, bill rate, and expense detail where applicable.
Placement fees and temporary-staffing charges should usually appear on separate invoices or clearly separated sections. A placement fee is tied to a hire or placement event. Temporary staffing is tied to labor supplied over time. Separating them gives the client a cleaner approval trail and reduces confusion around guarantees, timesheets, expenses, and due dates.
A United States recruiting invoice does not use a national VAT or GST invoice regime. Sales and use tax obligations are imposed by states and local jurisdictions. Service taxability varies by state and service type, so the invoice should follow the seller's registered jurisdictions, nexus position, and the tax treatment that applies to the specific recruiting service.
An invoice that states only "recruiting services" delays payment because the approver cannot tie the charge to the agreement. Use the candidate name or role, service type, fee trigger, fee percentage or rate, and payment term. For staffing work, attach or reference the approved timesheet period so the client can verify the labor supplied.
A recruiting firm can invoice a retainer before a hire is made when the written engagement allows it. Retained or hybrid recruiting arrangements often charge an upfront retainer or scheduled milestone payments to cover search work. The invoice should name the assignment, payment stage, due date, and any remaining completion or success fee still outstanding.
Everhour lets admins set project billing status, mark specific tasks as non-billable, apply custom task rates, and create member-rate exceptions. Recruiting teams can report billable time, non-billable time, billable amount, and cost by member or task, which keeps client-ready work separate from internal sourcing, admin, or training time.
Track approved recruiting time by client, role, and project, then use Everhour billable controls to keep invoice amounts clean and defensible.
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