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Recruitment Agency Launch Programme · Stage 10 of 10
Make Your First Placements
Turn an accepted candidate into a fee that is invoiced, paid, and past its rebate.
How long
Ongoing, weeks per placement
You’ll have
A first fee banked and the placement stuck
Steps
5 steps
Resources
2 resources
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01 Step 01
Step 01
Close the offer
An offer is not a placement until the candidate starts, and this is where deals fall over.
Do it yourself
- Prepare the candidate for the offer, and for the counter-offer their employer will probably make.
- Walk them through resigning, and stay in contact through the notice period.
- Confirm the offer in writing and lock a start date both sides commit to.
Common mistake · Treating a verbal yes as done, then losing the candidate to a counter-offer you never prepared them for.
TimeOngoing per deal CostFree DifficultyHardResource for this step
CHECKLISTOffer and resignation checklist
Hold a candidate from accepted offer to first day, the stretch where placements are most often lost.
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02 Step 02
Step 02
Confirm the start and invoice
Your fee is only real once it is invoiced and paid. A perm fee usually falls due on the start date, so bill promptly.
Do it yourself
- Confirm the candidate has actually started on the agreed date.
- Raise the invoice on your signed terms of business, with the fee and payment terms clear.
- Chase payment on a set cadence rather than hoping it lands.
Common mistake · Delivering the placement, then being slow or vague on the invoice and letting the fee age.
Time~1 hour per placement CostFree DifficultyEasy -
03 Step 03
Step 03
Protect the placement through the rebate period
A placement that falls inside the rebate window can claw back the fee you just earned. Aftercare is what keeps it stuck.
Do it yourself
- Check in with both the candidate and the client through the guarantee period in your terms.
- Catch a wobble early, on either side, and step in before it becomes a resignation.
- Once the placement has settled, ask for the referral and the testimonial that win your next role.
Common mistake · Going quiet the day the candidate starts, then losing both the placement and the fee inside the rebate period.
TimeOngoing, weeks per placement CostFree DifficultyMedium -
04 Step 04
Step 04
Run your temp and contract workers
A temp desk is a weekly operation, not a one-off fee, and the money only works if the pay-and-bill runs on time.
Do it yourself
- Collect and approve timesheets each week without fail.
- Run pay-and-bill so workers are paid and clients are invoiced on schedule (see Fund Cash Flow & the Back Office in Module 5).
- Keep in touch with live workers so they see the assignment out and take the next one from you.
Common mistake · Letting timesheets or invoicing slip on a temp book, which breaks both worker trust and your own cash flow.
TimeWeekly CostBack-office cost DifficultyMedium -
05 Step 05
Step 05
Know your numbers
A handful of figures tell you whether the desk works, and where it leaks.
Do it yourself
- Track placements, fill rate, time-to-fill, and gross profit per consultant.
- Watch your submission-to-placement ratio: a tight desk places on roughly four to six good submissions.
- On a temp desk, watch the margin as closely as the revenue.
Common mistake · Flying blind, or building a dashboard of vanity charts nobody acts on.
Time~1 hour to set up CostFree–low DifficultyMediumResource for this step
PDFPlacement pipeline tracker
One sheet per live role, from submission to a fee past its rebate, with the ratios that show whether the desk works.
What you’ll have after this stage
- An offer closed and a start date both sides commit to
- Your first fee invoiced on signed terms
- A placement carried safely through its rebate period
- A weekly routine for any temp or contract workers
- The handful of numbers that tell you the desk works
You’ve reached the last stage
You’ve made it to day 90
That’s the groundwork done. See what this milestone means — and where the journey goes next.
Prefer we build it?
Hand this stage to us
Closing the offer and holding the candidate and client relationships is your craft, and it stays with you. What we build is the machinery behind it: pay-and-bill and timesheets that run themselves, and a dashboard that shows your placements, fill rate and margin at a glance. When you would rather that ran without you chasing it, talk to us.