Revenue up, profit flat? Find out why.
A structured review of where your agency makes and loses money, ending in a ranked list of actions.
Most owners can tell you revenue. Fewer can say which desks, clients and consultants actually make a profit, or whether busy consultants are productive. A profit review answers those questions with your own data.
Questions it answers
Which desks really make money?
Gross profit by desk after commission and direct costs, not just fee income.
Are consultants busy or productive?
We break activity into leads, CVs, interviews, finals and placements to find the true bottleneck.
Which clients are worth keeping on current terms?
Margin, payment terms and effort by client, so you know who to grow and who to reprice.
Do you need more heads or better conversion?
A break-even view of each hire against the improvement available in the team you have.
Where could cost come out without hurting growth?
Overheads, subscriptions and systems measured against the revenue they support.
Is commission rewarding the right behaviour?
How your commission structure lines up with the profit each placement generates.
What we look at
Gross margin
By desk, client, consultant, and between permanent and contract business.
Consultant productivity
Revenue and gross profit per head, and conversion through your funnel.
Cost structure
Overheads, headcount cost and your tech stack, line by line.
Cash and payment terms
Debtor days, contractor payment timing and the working capital they tie up.
Pipeline and data quality
Whether your CRM or ATS reports reconcile to the ledger.
Commission and incentives
How remuneration relates to margin, not just billings.
How it works
- Share your dataTypically a recent P&L, sales ledger or placement list, payroll and cost detail, and CRM or ATS exports. We tell you exactly what is needed.
- We analyseWe build the picture from your numbers and test it against how recruitment agencies normally behave.
- Walk-through and action planWe take you through the findings in plain English, with a ranked list of what to do first and why.
Common questions
How long does a profit review take?
It depends on the size of the agency and the quality of the data. We agree the scope and timing on the discovery call.
What data do you need?
Usually a P&L, sales ledger or placement list, payroll and costs, and exports from your CRM or ATS. If some of it is messy, that is normal. Sorting it out is part of the work.
Is my data kept confidential?
Yes. We treat your commercial data as confidential and use it only to do the work for you.
Is this a one-off or ongoing?
Either. Some agencies take the review and run with it. Others move to ongoing finance leadership so the improvements stick.
Related
Find out where the profit is going.
Book a free call. Tell us what you are seeing in the numbers and we will tell you where we would look first.
Book a free call