--- title: Accounting for Recruitment Agencies Ireland description: Reporting and accounting support for Irish recruitment agencies: placement income, temporary staffing margins, approved hours, debtor collection and cash forecasts. canonical: https://irishaccountingpartner.com/who-we-help/recruitment-agencies/ last_updated: 2026-10-09 content_type: audience_page primary_entity: Recruitment and staffing audience: Recruitment and staffing in Ireland --- # Accounting and cash planning for recruitment agencies in Ireland ## Summary Permanent placements and temporary staffing create different financial risks. We help recruitment owners distinguish earned fees, assignment costs and cash still awaiting collection. This is accounting support for your agency, not a recruitment service for finance candidates. ## Approved placements do not always translate into available cash. - Candidate start dates, fee invoices and collections are tracked in separate places - Replacement or refund terms are missing from the expected-income view - Temporary-worker costs fall due before customers pay - Unapproved hours delay billing and leave the sales ledger incomplete - Consultant performance is measured on gross billings without assignment costs or collection context ## Manage permanent fees and temporary assignments on their own terms. ### Placement visibility Follow agreed fees through starts, invoices, credit notes and collections, with contractual conditions visible. ### Assignment contribution Compare staffing revenue with the full agreed cost inputs, rather than relying only on the headline hourly spread. ### Weekly cash headroom Know the collection assumptions behind the next worker-cost and supplier-payment cycle. ## Keep the placement ledger, staffing schedule and accounts connected. The reporting approach depends on whether the agency earns permanent-placement fees, supplies temporary workers or operates both models. A combined turnover figure is not enough to manage those differences. ### Reconcile the permanent-placement pipeline with the ledger A successful introduction, accepted offer and candidate start are different events. We can organise a placement schedule that records the agreed fee, contractual billing trigger, invoice, due date and any relevant replacement or refund condition. The revenue treatment follows the agreement and accounting policy, not a sales pipeline label. Management can then distinguish invoiced fees from expected starts, disputed balances and amounts subject to adjustment. Placement scenarios should include start delays and cancellations without presenting contingent fees as money already available to spend. ### Calculate assignment contribution beyond the hourly spread For temporary staffing, billed hours need to reconcile with approved timesheets and the worker-cost summaries supplied by your payroll provider. Where relevant, assignment reporting also needs employer costs, agency commissions and other direct delivery costs, on a consistently defined basis. An hourly difference between the customer rate and worker pay is not the final profit. Unapproved hours, incorrect rates, overtime and unrecovered extras can change the result. Exception reporting should identify these differences early enough for the responsible manager to correct the invoice or query the underlying records. - Approved hours versus invoiced hours - Customer rates and assignment changes - Payroll-provider cost summaries - Credit notes and billing exceptions ### Forecast the funding gap before increasing staffing volume Temporary staffing can require cash before the customer settles an invoice. A weekly forecast should show opening cash, expected debtor receipts, worker-cost payments and other committed expenditure. Receipts should reflect customer behaviour and disputes rather than assuming every invoice will be paid on its due date. Before accepting a large assignment, compare the cost of the additional workers with the collection timetable and available funds. If invoice finance is already used, include its fees, advances and repayments from the actual agreement. We model the cash effect; we do not arrange finance or guarantee lender approval. ## Illustrative staffing-week contribution Invented figures show why billings and cash must be reviewed separately. Amounts exclude VAT and shared overhead; the worker-cost figure includes the agreed employer-cost inputs. | Week's activity | Amount | | --- | --- | | Customer billings | €20,000 | | Worker and employer costs | €15,000 | | Other direct assignment costs | €1,000 | | Contribution before shared overhead | €4,000 | A €4,000 contribution does not fund this week's payments if the €20,000 receipt arrives later. The cash forecast must show when the €16,000 of costs is paid and how the gap will be covered. ## What we need to understand your business Start the enquiry with a summary of the problem and the systems you use. If we agree to proceed, the working information normally includes: - Placement and assignment terms, fee schedules and billing triggers - Approved timesheet exports and customer rate changes - Cost summaries from the appointed payroll provider - Debtor ageing, credit notes, bank balances and funding agreements where relevant Do not send passwords, banking credentials or sensitive personal records through the public enquiry form. Access and document-sharing arrangements are agreed separately. ## What this engagement does not include Payroll processing, employment-status advice, agency licensing, tax compliance and audit are not provided. Your payroll and legal specialists retain those responsibilities. We use agreed cost outputs and authorised financial records for reporting and cash planning, rather than collecting candidate CVs or identity documents. ## Resolve the billing or funding bottleneck first. - [Cash-flow forecasting](https://irishaccountingpartner.com/services/cash-flow-forecasting.md): Model weekly staffing costs against realistic debtor collections. - [Management accounts](https://irishaccountingpartner.com/services/management-accounts.md): Separate permanent-placement performance from temporary-assignment contribution. - [Finance-process improvement](https://irishaccountingpartner.com/services/finance-process-improvement.md): Reduce gaps between timesheet approval, billing and ledger reconciliation. ## Follow a placement and an assignment through the records. 1. **Separate the models:** Identify permanent fees, temporary staffing revenue and their contractual triggers. 2. **Clear billing exceptions:** Reconcile approved hours, cost summaries and invoices for an agreed period. 3. **Test payment timing:** Prepare a cash view that includes delayed receipts and the next staffing cycle. Tell us whether your agency makes permanent placements, supplies temporary workers or does both. The first scope should match that operating model and the specific billing, margin or cash problem requiring attention. ## Questions before working together ### Can you run payroll for temporary workers? No. Payroll remains with your appointed provider. We can use its agreed summaries to analyse assignment costs and forecast payment requirements, subject to the engagement scope. ### Can you support an agency that only makes permanent placements? Yes. The focus changes to placement-fee timing, candidate starts, contractual adjustments, consultant costs and receivables. Temporary-worker cash schedules would not be added where they are irrelevant. ## Further reading - [How to improve your month-end close](https://irishaccountingpartner.com/insights/month-end-close-checklist/): Build a repeatable reconciliation and reporting timetable. ## Next step - [Send an enquiry](https://irishaccountingpartner.com/contact.md): Explain the immediate finance problem and arrange a complimentary consultation.