Calculate How To Price Your Staffing Services (2024)

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Our pricing resources help you get it right

Calculate How To Price Your Staffing Services (3)

Recruitment Agency Bill Rate, Markup, Fees & More

So you’ve started a staffing firm or are thinking about starting one. Now, what should you be charging customers to keep competitive and still make a profit?

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How to Price Your Staffing Services

Owning a staffing firm can be profitable, but only if you know what to charge your customers. Charge too much; you might lose contracts to your competitors. Too little, and you are undervaluing your services and cutting into your profit margin. Striking the right balance is key and a big challenge for this competitive industry.

To succeed in your staffing business, you need a comprehensive understanding of pricing and everything that goes into it. To get you started, we have laid out some basic pricing terminology and definitions, as well as a sample profit assumption to help determine your bill rate.

Pricing correctly is a difficult balance to strike, so we’ve compiled a few simple points to keep in mind. For a more in-depth look into pricing, download the free How To Price Your Staffing Services whitepaper.

The Components of Pricing

Bill rate is the rate a company pays to a staffing agency for the services of a temporary worker. There are several components of pricing to take into account when figuring out your bill rate.

  1. Gross Margin – The amount of money a staffing firm gets to keep after paying the temporary workers’ payroll, benefits, payroll, and other statutory expenses. Gross profit margin dollars are used to pay internal overhead costs and the owner’s profit.
  2. Burden Rate or Statutory Expenses – Taxes, insurance, and other charges required by law. For staffing firms, it includes:
    • Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) – Unemployment taxes paid to the Federal government. The FUTA rate is 6.0% with a wage base of $7000, and employers can take a credit of up to 5.4% of taxable income if they pay state unemployment taxes. If you qualify for the highest credit, then the minimum FUTA rate is .6%.
    • Social Security and Medicare Tax Rate (FICA) – A single flat fee/ rate to all employers of 6.2% for social security and 1.45% for Medicare tax. This is capped at a salary of $137,700 for Social Security for each employee in 2020. There is no cap on Medicare tax.
    • State Unemployment Insurance Tax (SUTA) – Rates and taxable wage limits vary significantly from state to state. And Worker’s Compensation Insurance.
    • Worker’s Compensation Insurance – An insurance policy that covers work-related injury and illness. Workers comp insurance rates vary by skill type, vendor, and state.
  3. Markup – A percentage charged by the staffing firm on top of the pay rate. Markups can include various factors; statutory expenses, overhead and operating costs, and profit. Operating expenses can cover rent, equipment, recruiting fees, commissions, and more.
  4. Pay Rate – The pay rate is the direct pay given to the worker and makes up the majority of the bill rate.
  5. Profit Margin – A measure of profitability is calculated by taking net profit (revenue-cost) and dividing it by revenue.

Learn more about our staffing and recruitment payroll tax services and solutions.

Calculate How To Price Your Staffing Services (5)

What Is The Average Markup?

The average staffing agency markup for temporary employees or independent contractors can range anywhere between 20 – 75%. Permanent placement markups are typically 10 – 20% of the employee’s gross annual salary.

Calculating A Profitable Scenario

Let’s say you have an administrative assistant on assignment who has a pay rate of $15. Assume your burden rate is 12%. Assume your mark-up is 50%. The formulas you need are as follows:

  • Bill Rate = Pay rate * (1+Mark-up)
  • Direct Cost of Labor = Pay rate * (1+Burden rate)
  • Gross profit margin = Bill Rate – Direct Cost of Labor

Now let’s put the numbers into the formulas.

  • What is your Bill Rate? – $15 * (1+.5) = $22.50
  • What is your Direct Cost of Labor? – $15 * (1+.12) = $16.80
  • What is your Gross Margin? – $22.50 – $16.80 = $5.70 per hour

The $5.70 hourly gross margin is what you have as a staffing company to cover your overhead and your net profit.

How does mark-up affect gross margin?

Let’s take the same example and calculate using a 30% markup rather than 50%.
$15 * (1+.3) = $19.50
Your direct cost of labor stays the same: $15 * (1+.12) = $16.80.

What is your new gross margin?

Changing your markup from 50% to 30% has a significant impact on your gross margin. ($2.70/hr compared to $5.70/hr)

Try the staffing profitability calculator

PER HOUR

Cost Burden:

Gross Profit:

Gross Margin:

TOTAL CONTRACT

Total Hours/Week:

Gross Profit/Week:

Gross Profit Total Contract:

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Calculate How To Price Your Staffing Services (2024)

FAQs

How do you value a staffing company? ›

Most staffing agencies sell for a rate that is a 3.5-5.5 times multiple of annual earnings, based on their adjusted EBITDA. The exact multiple will vary based on factors that influence the staffing agency's perceived value and attractiveness, like its profit margin and contract lengths.

How do you calculate staffing markup? ›

A staffing agency markup rate is a percentage added to the pay rate for each position filled by a staffing firm. For example, if a staffing company fills a $35 per hour position for a client while charging the client $42 per hour, the markup rate would be 20%.

What is a good gross profit margin for staffing agency? ›

Gross Margin: $1.12 per hour

While there may be a lower margin per worker, you're able to recoup expenses based on the head count. Otherwise, it is generally advised to stay in the 45 – 75% range to reach a typical revenue and net profit goal for a staffing agency.

What is the average cost of staffing? ›

According to data from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average cost per hire is nearly $4,700. However, various factors could affect the cost, including your business's size, location and industry, as well as the specific role you must fill.

What is the average staffing company markup? ›

A typical markup rate in California can be anywhere from 35% to 75% markup. Depending on what additional services you may need and their worker's compensation costs. Each employment agency bears different costs and it is hard to compare the two to each other since there are many different variables.

How profitable is a staffing company? ›

Staffing agencies usually make an average margin of 25% – 100% of an employee's salary or charge a flat fee of $15k per employee.

What EBITDA multiples have staffing services companies sold for? ›

80% of staffing agencies sell for a 3.5 – 5.5 X multiple of their earnings (adjusted EBITDA).

What is a good fill rate for staffing? ›

Fill rate is the ratio of job orders received to job orders filled. When the fill rate begins to decline, it should be taken as a warning sign, says an expert at Talent Plus Staffing, a company that takes pride in their 85% fill ratio, as compared to the industry average of 46%.

How do you calculate the total cost of recruiting? ›

Calculating cost per hire involves summing all internal and external recruitment expenses and dividing by the total number of hires in a given period. This metric is crucial for understanding the efficiency of hiring processes and informing budgeting decisions.

What is the formula for markup pricing strategy? ›

Simply take the sales price minus the unit cost, and divide that number by the unit cost. Then, multiply by 100 to determine the markup percentage. For example, if your product costs $50 to make and the selling price is $75, then the markup percentage would be 50%: ( $75 – $50) / $50 = . 50 x 100 = 50%.

What's a reasonable profit margin? ›

As a rule of thumb, 5% is a low margin, 10% is a healthy margin, and 20% is a high margin.

Is it profitable to start a staffing agency? ›

Generally speaking, starting a staffing business can be a profitable venture, especially in California where the demand for staffing services is high. According to industry data, the average profit margin for a staffing firm in the U.S. is around 10% to 12%.

What is the pricing model for temp agencies? ›

Staffing agencies typically charge clients a percentage on top of the employee's hourly wage. This average markup rate is around 25% but can vary depending on the position type and the required level of experience. The typical range of markup rates is between 15% and 40%.

Can you negotiate pay with a staffing agency? ›

Salary negotiation with staffing agencies can be tricky, especially if you are not familiar with the market rates, the agency's policies, and the client's expectations. You want to get paid fairly for your skills and experience, but you also don't want to lose out on a good opportunity or damage your reputation.

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