🧲 Sourcing as a Service Pricing Calculator
Sourcing as a service means you feed qualified candidates to a client's internal talent acquisition team. They interview, they close, they onboard; your job is to find the right people. This calculator, straight from Dee's How To Charge workbook, prices the service three ways (per-candidate fee, monthly retainer, hourly rate), compares annual revenue across all three, and then pressure-tests the comp plan for the sourcer who builds the pipeline and the BDR who sells the contracts. Run your numbers once free; the $27 one-time unlock keeps every section live forever and includes the Excel workbook.
Section 1: Per-candidate fee model
You charge a flat fee for every qualified candidate you submit. The client only pays when you deliver. Best for clients who have volume goals and want to pay for output, not time.
Typical range: $150 to $500 per submitted candidate.
Be realistic. Quality over quantity wins repeat business.
Section 2: Monthly retainer model
The client pays a flat monthly fee for dedicated sourcing capacity and you commit to a deliverable volume. Best for clients who want predictable access to your pipeline and one flat invoice.
Typical range: $1,500 to $8,000/month depending on volume and niche.
Your committed volume for the retainer price.
Section 3: Hourly sourcing rate model
You bill by the hour for sourcing work. The client pays for your time whether or not a candidate is submitted. Best for project-based or overflow sourcing where scope is unclear at the start.
Typical range: $35 to $75/hr for experienced healthcare sourcers.
Part-time sourcing support = 10 to 20 hrs; full-time = 40 hrs.
Role 1: Sourcer / research analyst (delivers the pipeline)
This person builds Boolean strings, mines LinkedIn, ATS databases, and niche job boards, and delivers qualified candidates to the client. Critical comp rule: never pay per raw submission. Pay per ACCEPTED submission (candidates the client engages with) so the sourcer learns the client's standards instead of flooding the inbox.
W2 only. Enter $0 for a 1099 per-candidate sourcer. Market range: $38,000 to $55,000; healthcare niche experience: $48,000 to $62,000.
Paid per candidate the CLIENT accepts (schedules or marks interested), NOT per submission. W2 range: $10 to $25. 1099 range: $25 to $60.
A strong sourcer typically submits 20 to 30 and has 12 to 18 accepted. A 60% to 70% acceptance rate is a healthy benchmark.
When accepted candidates per month exceed this number, the accelerator kicks in. Rewards exceptional months.
Extra bonus per accepted candidate beyond the threshold. Range: $5 to $20.
Flat monthly bonus while a retainer client is active and in good standing. Rewards retention: the sourcer has skin in keeping the relationship healthy. Range: $75 to $200.
How many active retainer clients this sourcer supports. The loyalty bonus multiplies by this number.
Role 2: Business development rep (sells the sourcing contract)
This person pitches TA leaders, HR directors, and agency owners on your sourcing capacity. They close retainer contracts, per-candidate agreements, and hourly engagements. Retainer closings are the most valuable, so comp them accordingly.
W2 only. Enter $0 for 1099. Market range: $45,000 to $65,000. A retainer close typically takes 2 to 4 weeks.
Percentage of the first month's retainer fee, earned at contract signing. W2: 10% to 18%. 1099: 18% to 25%.
Percentage of monthly per-candidate revenue from accounts they closed. Range: 8% to 12%. Paid monthly while the account is active.
Percentage of monthly hourly revenue from accounts they closed. Range: 6% to 10%. Hourly is the lowest-value model, so comp accordingly.
Sourcing retainers close faster than RPO or international. One per month is a solid benchmark for an active BDR.
Once new retainer closings exceed this number in a month, the accelerator bonus kicks in.
Extra flat bonus per retainer closed above the threshold. Range: $150 to $400.
Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Rates, premiums, and burden numbers are the workbook's guidance ranges; your market and your carriers decide the real ones.
Does this resonate?
Sourcing is the fastest path to first revenue. Build the agency around it.
If feeding candidate pipelines sounds like your kind of business, the platform can turn it into a real plan: positioning, outreach scripts, and the week-by-week path from first retainer client to a full sourcing team.
Build my launch plan free →Good questions about this math
What is sourcing as a service, and how is it different from full recruiting?
In sourcing as a service you deliver qualified candidates into a client's internal talent acquisition pipeline; their team interviews, closes, and onboards. You are a sourcing engine, not a recruiter of record. That means no placement guarantees, no payroll, no workers comp, and much faster sales cycles: the workbook notes a retainer can close in 7 to 14 days with zero infrastructure.
Should I charge per candidate or sell a monthly retainer?
The workbook's guidance is to start with the retainer: it gives your agency predictable recurring revenue and the client predictable access, and the effective cost-per-candidate line gives you the pitch (a $3,500 retainer covering 15 candidates is about $233 each). The per-candidate model fits clients who want to pay for output only, and the hourly model is the foot-in-the-door play for skeptical clients. The comparison section lines all three up as annual revenue.
What does a qualified candidate submission cost?
The sheet's typical range is $150 to $500 per submitted candidate, with $250 as the working default. On retainer, the effective cost per candidate is simply the retainer fee divided by your committed monthly volume, which is usually a cheaper per-head number and the strongest line in your pitch.
How should I pay a sourcer?
The sheet's critical rule: never pay per raw submission, pay per ACCEPTED submission (candidates the client schedules or marks interested). It models a $38,000 to $55,000 W2 base plus a $10 to $25 per-accepted bonus, a volume accelerator above a monthly threshold, and a flat loyalty bonus per active retainer client. A 60% to 70% acceptance rate is the quality benchmark to track.
Can one retainer client support a sourcer and a BDR?
Usually not, and the sheet shows you exactly why: the profit check subtracts both roles' monthly comp from a single retainer and returns a readiness verdict. At the default inputs the verdict is NOT READY. The fix is in the pro tips: raise the retainer fee, add a second retainer client to the same sourcer, or start with just the sourcer before hiring a BDR.
Do I get the Excel version?
Yes. The $27 unlock includes the standalone Sourcing as a Service workbook from Dee's How To Charge master, plus the START HERE guide tab, yours to download and keep.
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