HR CONSULTING AND OUTSOURCING FIRMS
HR Outsourcing Firm Economics: Per-Head Fees and Margin
A client with sixty staff signs up at a per-head fee, then adds a contract workforce, a second branch and a new payroll cycle in the first month. Your two executives now spend most of their time on that account, and the fee has not moved.
We advise HR firm owners on the business of the firm. That covers per-head fees, account load per executive, scope control, collections, and who does what between founder and team. We do not give employment-law, payroll-tax or statutory advice. Your qualified professionals and the law decide those matters.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01A per-head fee looks fair at signing, but the real effort varies with attrition, branches, shifts and special cases that the fee never anticipated.
- 02Executives are assigned clients by availability, so some carry too many accounts and mistakes creep in near month-end.
- 03Clients deliver attendance and input data late, and the firm still has to meet the payroll date or face the blame.
- 04Fees are billed after the cycle and clients pay slowly, while the firm pays its own staff and sometimes advances money on the client's behalf.
- 05Clients see the firm as a service desk and call executives directly, and the owner cannot tell what time goes to each account.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Fee per head and per service line, with a minimum monthly fee for each client
- 02Executive load sheet: accounts, employees handled and hours needed in payroll week
- 03Input cut-off dates per client for attendance, joiners and leavers
- 04Scope note listing exactly what is covered, such as onboarding, exit paperwork and queries
- 05Money advanced for clients and the date it is recovered
- 06Invoice dates, days outstanding and who chases each client
- 07An add-on price list for extra branches, new categories and one-off projects
- 08Service review call with each client, quarterly, with a short checklist
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- List each client with headcount, fee and the hours your team spent last month. Mark any account where the hourly return is far below the others.
- Write the input cut-off date for each client and send it to them in one message this week.
- Hypothetical example: a client of 60 heads pays ₹150 a head, which is ₹9,000 a month. If your team spends 40 hours on it at a cost of ₹300 an hour, the account loses ₹3,000.
- Check how much money you have advanced for clients and note who owes it. Decide on a limit and a recovery date for each.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- A client profitability sheet showing fee, heads, hours and margin per account
- A payroll-week calendar with input cut-offs and an executive roster
- A scope and add-on rate card to attach to every proposal
- A role chart separating who sells, who delivers, who checks and who collects
Not the right fit when: If you are dealing with a labour dispute, a statutory notice or a payroll error with legal consequences, a lawyer or qualified professional comes first. We help with the firm's economics, not with HR law.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
