Grow placements without losing control of the numbers
Can your cash cover weekly payroll in a separate illustrative case where customer payments arrive after 45-75 days? Level compares recruiting-system, payroll, billing and accounting records you can export or authorize. We review recruiter profitability, the difference between bill and pay rates, and collection timing so your team can protect the next payroll.
The Staffing Problem
Revenue does not establish gross profit per recruiter or the cost of payroll funding.
In a fictional weekly-payroll scenario, $50K per week multiplied by 45/7 (about 6.4) weeks implies about $321K of payroll funding before collections, excluding overhead, tax timing and reserves. Days sales outstanding (DSO) is matched receivables / annual credit sales x 365, not a proven customer payment lag. In a separate hypothetical small agency, $200K annual revenue and 70% loaded payroll implies about $2,692 of weekly payroll. If no customer pays during the first 45 days, about $17,308 of payroll needs funding before other costs. The hypothetical $130K reserve is an independently assumed opening cash balance, not a result of the revenue scenario. Neither this simplified case nor the reserve establishes the full dated funding requirement.
Placement-level spread needs loaded payroll, workers' compensation, benefits and overhead. Illustrative gross-margin ranges of 21-25% for temporary staffing, a separate wider 14-41% case and 23-26% for IT staffing are planning references with no verified common cohort here. A scenario with 40% of placements below a chosen contribution threshold would call for client and role-level review; it is not a documented customer outcome or proof those placements were below a cost-of-capital hurdle (the return needed to cover the cost of funding).
At illustrative $5M annual credit sales, changing comparable DSO from 35 to 75 days changes receivables by about $548K. This is a scenario, not an observed agency outcome or a staffing-wide payment-time distribution. A lower balance releases working capital once; borrowing savings depend on whether debt actually falls. Escalate by contractual due dates, credit risk and disputed amounts, rather than treating every 30-day-old invoice as overdue.
Analyzed with the CLEAR Framework
Cash · Labor · Earnings · Accounts · Risk, the five pillars we evaluate for every agency.
Staffing Benchmarks and Planning Inputs
Use Level observations as cross-trade context. Other cards are planning scenarios, not measured industry percentiles. Match your business model, period and cost definition before comparing.
Gross Margin
21-25%
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Independent temporary-staffing sensitivities of 21-25%, IT 23-26% and a wider 14-41% case. Reconcile pay, burden and assignment costs; do not mix fee-only placement and contract revenue denominators.
Net Profit Margin
2-10%
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Test 2-10% net margin after loaded assignment costs and overhead. A 10% EBITDA scenario is a different earnings basis and must not be substituted for net profit.
DSO
35-75 days
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: A 35-75 day planning sensitivity, not a staffing-industry average. Reconcile matching credit revenue and receivables; actual invoice due dates and payroll funding dates determine the collection work.
Fill Rate
~40% scenario
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: A fictional 40% filled-opening rate; the separate legacy 61% share-of-firms/48-hour reference has no verified survey question, population or source here, so it cannot establish the share of openings filled or how fast they were filled. Define openings, placements and observation window.
Markup Rate
25-100%
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Independent pay-rate markup sensitivities: 25-75%, general-temp 25-40%, specialty 75-100%. A 40% markup is not 40% gross margin; at zero other direct costs it implies 28.6% gross margin.
Revenue per Recruiter
$200K-400K
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Illustrative annual revenue per recruiter, not an observed benchmark. At 21-25% gross margin, $200K-400K implies only $42K-100K gross profit before recruiter and overhead costs; test viability using loaded cost.
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What Level Does for Staffing
Cash Flow & Working Capital Modeling
We model your cash conversion cycle, payroll timing, collection patterns, and a forecast of working capital at different revenue levels, built from dated payroll, receipts and facility terms. Before signing a client, test whether cash and credit could fund payroll float (money fronted before the customer pays), using your actual dates and assumptions.
Bill-Pay Spread Analysis
We track margin at the placement level, not just the book level. You'll see which clients, roles, and recruiters appear to generate profit under the payroll-cost and overhead allocations in your records after accounting for payroll tax, workers comp, benefits, and overhead allocation.
DSO Reduction Strategy
We review invoice acceptance, due dates, dispute ownership and collection follow-up. At illustrative $5M annual credit sales, a comparable 15-20 day DSO reduction releases roughly $205K-274K once. This is sensitivity arithmetic, not a verified client result or recurring profit.
Recruiter Productivity Tracking
Revenue per recruiter is the unit economics of staffing. We track fill rates, time-to-fill, gross profit per placement, and recruiter capacity utilization. You'll see who's producing and where to invest in training, tools, or headcount.
Client Profitability & Concentration Risk
We rank every client by true profitability (not just revenue) and flag concentration risk. If your top 3 clients represent a large revenue share (40%+ in an illustrative planning case), test the effect of a delayed payment or lost account with a contingency model.
Growth & Financing Strategy
Staffing growth needs funding. Compare factoring (selling invoices at a discount for faster cash), credit lines and retained earnings. We model financing costs, prepare lender-ready financials, and help you compare actual offers, eligibility and terms.
Bookkeeper, your CPA, vs. Level
Comparison illustrates engagement scopes, not a survey of providers. Confirm each firm's actual services, cadence and contract; Level features depend on the agreed scope and available records.
| Capability | Bookkeeper | CPA | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record transactions | ✓ | No | ✓ |
| Tax-ready books and CPA handoff | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cash flow & working capital modeling | No | No | ✓ |
| Workers comp cost tracking | No | No | ✓ |
| Compare verified benchmarks or planning scenarios | No | No | ✓ |
| Monthly strategy calls | No | No | ✓ |
| Bill-pay spread by placement | No | No | ✓ |
| DSO reduction strategy | No | No | ✓ |
| Growth & financing modeling | No | No | ✓ |
| Understands staffing operations | Varies by engagement | Varies by engagement | ✓ |
Your bookkeeper records the past. Your CPA files taxes. Level helps your team connect work, costs and cash to the decisions ahead, using the records and review scope agreed for your engagement.
Work from the tools you already use
Accounting tools hold your books; operating tools hold jobs, sales or service records; payroll and payment tools show labor costs and money movement. We compare the relevant records to answer your financial question. These are systems to evaluate, not a promise of a native connector for every product. Access and setup vary by software, plan and permissions. We use approved connections or exports and request read-only access where supported.
Operating review
Staffing decisions the numbers should explain
The margin, cash, and operating questions we check first when reviewing your numbers.
Does the bill-pay spread include employer and assignment costs?
The difference between bill rate and wage rate does not by itself establish contribution.
Which payroll funding dates fall before customer receipts?
Placement growth can increase the cash interval even when assignments contribute margin.
Are overtime and unbilled hours represented on both sides?
Payroll and customer billing can use different approval and time populations.
Simple pricing
Three tiers, one ladder.
$500+/mo
Bookkeeping
The clean data layer: monthly books, reconciliations, and organized financials AI can work with.
$1,500-$5,000/mo
Scale
The full AI operating layer: custom agents, weekly actions, and benchmarks to grow margin per hour.
Custom
Platform / Multi-Office
Multi-branch benchmarking and scorecards for PE-backed and multi-location groups.
Book a call
Book a free 15-min Staffing audit.
We'll review your agency records and compare supported measures with relevant references or planning inputs. No commitment.
Or have us reach out instead.
Share your details and Level will follow up to arrange your agency financial review.
No commitment. Real numbers, not generic advice.