Recruiting fees split across placements, retainers, and staffing hours. Everhour turns approved billable work into invoices.
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Recruiting invoices usually cover one of two jobs: billing a placement fee after a successful hire, or billing staffing work supplied over time. A direct-placement invoice often names the client, role, candidate, agreed fee percentage, salary basis, payment terms, and any guarantee terms referenced in the agreement. A temporary or contract staffing invoice commonly lists labor supplied by period, worker, role, hours, bill rate, and approved expenses.
The invoice should make the billing trigger obvious. For contingency recruiting, the fee is commonly earned only when the candidate is hired or placed. For retained executive search, the engagement often uses staged payments tied to the written search agreement. For staffing, the invoice should connect the billed amount to approved time records, because the bill rate sits on top of wages, benefits, employer Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation costs.
A placement invoice needs a clear fee basis. A common headhunter commission is 20% to 30% of the new hire's first-year salary, with management and executive searches commonly cited at 25% to 35%. A clean line item reads like this: Senior Product Manager placement fee, 25% of $160,000 first-year salary, candidate start date March 5, 2026. The client can see the role, basis, rate, and trigger.
A retained search invoice should follow the engagement schedule. Written executive-search terms commonly cover scope, timing, fees, payment schedule, deliverables, guarantees, off-limits terms, conflicts, and data management. A staffing invoice needs a different structure: period covered, worker or role, approved hours, bill rate, expenses, and any purchase order reference. Mixing those models into one vague "recruiting services" line creates avoidable collection questions.
The United States does not use a national VAT or GST invoice regime, and there is no United States VAT or GST registration number to add. Sales and use tax obligations are imposed by state and local jurisdictions. Service taxability varies by state and service type, so recruiting firms should check the customer location, service category, nexus position, and any applicable state registration before adding tax.
Private-sector United States invoices do not follow one prescribed federal invoice form. Invoices still serve as supporting documents for business records, because IRS Publication 583 lists invoices among documents that show business transactions and amounts from gross receipts. Federal contract invoices are the clearest national exception. FAR rules define proper invoice fields and generally use a 30-day payment timing standard for most federal contract invoice payments.
A one-off invoice tool is enough for a single placement fee, a small retainer invoice, or a staffing bill that already has approved hours elsewhere. You need the client name, billing contact, invoice number, issue date, due date, service description, fee basis, tax treatment, expenses, and payment instructions. Keep the signed agreement, salary confirmation, start-date proof, purchase order, or approved timesheet with the invoice record.
A managed workflow becomes the better choice when recruiters, sourcers, account managers, and staffing coordinators bill across several clients or projects. Everhour Billing & Invoicing converts tracked billable time and expenses into invoices, excludes non-billable tasks, applies client settings, and exports invoices to QuickBooks Online, Xero, or FreshBooks. That matters when approved time, expenses, invoice status, and accounting handoff need one connected record.
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 placement invoice should show the fee basis from the agreement, usually the candidate's first-year compensation, the agreed percentage, and the billing trigger. Add the start date when the agreement ties payment, guarantee periods, or refund terms to employment start. The invoice should match the signed placement terms rather than introduce a new fee calculation.
A recruiting invoice in the United States does not need VAT or GST fields because the country has no national VAT or GST invoice regime. Sales and use tax is state and local. Service taxability depends on the state, service type, nexus, and customer location, so add sales tax only when the applicable jurisdiction requires it.
One invoice can include both when the client agreement allows it and the line items are separated. List the retainer as one line tied to the search phase or period, then list the success fee as a separate placement line with the candidate, role, salary basis, and percentage. Separate lines prevent the client from confusing advance search costs with placement commission.
Temporary staffing hours should appear by billing period, worker or role, approved hours, bill rate, and any reimbursable expenses. The invoice should not expose every internal cost component, but the bill rate should be backed by records that account for wages, benefits, employer Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation obligations handled by the staffing firm.
The strongest detail is the billing trigger tied to the written agreement. A placement invoice should name the hired candidate, role, client, start date if relevant, first-year compensation basis, fee percentage, and payment terms. A retained-search invoice should reference the milestone or installment. A staffing invoice should reference approved timesheets and the period covered.
Everhour Billing & Invoicing turns tracked billable time and expenses into invoices, calculates amounts from rates, excludes non-billable tasks, and applies client settings such as taxes, discounts, and payment terms. Recruiting teams can export invoices to QuickBooks Online, Xero, or FreshBooks, with invoice status syncing back to Everhour.
Use Everhour to convert approved recruiting time and expenses into client invoices, then send the accounting handoff to QuickBooks Online, Xero, or FreshBooks with invoice status visible in Everhour.
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