What you pay 4 Corner Resources depends on how you hire: contract staff, a direct hire, an executive search, or a dedicated recruiter through our fixed fee recruiting (RPO). Every fee is described on this page, along with how and when it’s billed.
How Much Does a Staffing Agency Cost?
Staffing agencies commonly charge up to 30% of a new hire’s first-year salary for a direct hire, due within 10 to 30 days of the start date. 4 Corner Resources charges 18% to 25%, paid as you go: 18% over 3 months, 21% over 6 months, or 25% over 12 months. We bill after each month worked.
For contract staffing, we charge one all-in hourly rate per worker, quoted by role. Executive search is 25%, with a one-third deposit to start the search. Fixed fee recruiting (RPO) is a custom quote starting at $2,500 a month.
Pricing current as of October 2026. Reviewed by Pete Newsome, Founder and President.
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What Does Each Service Cost?
Four core services, each priced one way. No surprises, ever.
Contract staffing. An all-in hourly rate, quoted by role and volume. The bill rate covers the contractor’s pay, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and our fee, and you agree to it before anyone starts. We bill weekly after the hours are worked and approved by you. Want the option to hire the person later? Ask about contract-to-hire staffing.
Direct hire. We offer three pay-as-you-go options: an 18% fee invoiced over 3 months, 21% over 6 months, or 25% over 12 months, based on the new hire’s first-year total guaranteed compensation. Nothing is billed until the candidate starts; each payment covers a month already worked, and payments stop if they leave for any reason. We also offer a traditional option that includes a full payment once the new hire starts, but our clients consistently prefer the ability to hold onto their cash longer.
Fixed fee recruiting (RPO). One or more dedicated 4CR recruiters work your openings for a flat monthly fee, no matter how many people you hire. Custom quotes vary by the number of recruiters and the length of the engagement, starting at $2,500. No per-hire fee. We’ve placed more than 2,300 candidates this way.
Executive search. 25% of the executive’s guaranteed first-year earnings. One-third is due as a deposit to start the search, and the deposit is not refundable. You pay the balance as you go over 3, 6, or 12 months, and if the executive leaves, the remaining payments stop. We offer a traditional payment option for executive search, too.
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Why Is Direct Hire Pay as You Go?
Hiring through a recruiting firm usually means a large invoice is due shortly after the start date and a 30- to 90-day guarantee with conditions attached. If the hire doesn’t work out, you spend the next month reading the fine print. We think the fee should follow the hours worked and value delivered by your new hire, so we bill it that way.
Pay as you go means we wait to get paid. You don’t wait for your hire. We can do it because 92.75% of the professionals we place stay with their employer for a year or more, based on our own placement records over 20 years.
- No lump sum. The fee is split into monthly payments of 3, 6, or 12, based on your budget and cash flow. Nothing is owed until your new employee starts and has worked for a month.
- No guarantee to read. We bill each payment after the month has been worked. If your new hire leaves in month 4, you have paid for 3 months, and the payments stop. You carry no risk of paying for work that hasn’t been completed.
- No interest, no fees. The monthly payments add up to the fee and nothing more. You keep your cash for up to 12 months.
- No replacement runaround. If the new hire leaves, there is no guarantee window to argue over. Want the role filled again? We start a new search, billed the same way: only while the worker is in the seat and adding value.
What Is Pay-as-You-Go Direct Hire?
Pay-as-you-go direct hire is a recruiting placement fee billed in monthly installments after each month the new hire works, with billing ending if they leave for any reason. The fee percentage is in the same range as a traditional placement fee. The difference is when you pay it and what happens if the person doesn’t stay.
Here is how the billing works. First, we don’t bill anything until your new hire starts. The first invoice is sent 30 days after the start date and covers the month already worked. Each payment after that is billed 30 days later, until the schedule ends. A month is billed only once it has been worked in full. If the person leaves on day 10 of month 4, month 4 is never billed, and neither are any months after it. Tell us the last day worked, and we’ll close billing. With our 20-year track record, 92.75% of direct hires are still in the role after a year, and we take the risk other staffing companies won’t.
What’s the Catch With Pay-as-You-Go?
The catch is the late departure. If your hire leaves after month 5 of the 6-month schedule, you have made 5 of 6 payments and the person is gone. We say it here so you don’t find it later.
Here is why it still beats the typical agency fee. With one invoice and a 90-day guarantee, a month-6 departure costs you 100% of the fee, and the guarantee expired 3 months earlier. Under pay-as-you-go, it costs you 83%, you stop paying, and you never have to fight for a refund. In the early months, where a bad fit usually shows itself, the gap is wider: leave in month 2, and you have paid 1 of 6 payments, with nothing to argue about. Given what a bad hire already costs you, the fee shouldn’t add to it.
How Do the Direct Hire Payment Schedules Compare?
All three schedules are calculated on the new hire’s guaranteed first-year earnings, which may include base salary and guaranteed incentives. You pick the schedule when the search begins. Not sure a direct hire is the right move? Here is how direct hire and contract hiring compare.
The shorter the schedule, the lower the fee, because we are paid sooner and your walk-away protection ends sooner. We recommend 6 months for most hires: it covers the first half-year, when a poor fit usually shows itself, at a fee below what most firms charge in one invoice. Executive search uses the same three schedules at 25%, with a one-third deposit to start the search. If you prefer to pay the full fee upfront with a guarantee, we offer a traditional option.
I’ve watched employers pay a full fee ten days after someone starts, then hold their breath for 90 days hoping they never have to read the guarantee. It never sat right with me. If the professional we placed leaves, you shouldn’t be chasing us for a credit or a refund. You should just stop paying. So that’s how we bill it now, and our clients absolutely love it.
Pete Newsome, Founder and President, 4 Corner Resources
What If We Need Something Else?
- Seasonal hiring. Seasonal workers on our payroll, recruited and screened before your busy season starts. Priced like contract staffing: one all-in hourly rate per worker, billed weekly for hours worked.
- Resume sourcing. We deliver screened, interested candidates to your team to interview and hire directly, with no individual placement fee. Pricing is quoted per engagement.
What Affects Your Quote?
Every quote is built for the role. These are the inputs.
- The role’s level and salary
- How specialized the skills are
- Location, and whether the role is onsite, hybrid, or remote
- How many openings you need filled
- For contract roles: the pay rate, state payroll costs, workers’ compensation class, and expected overtime
Why Partner With 4 Corner Resources?
4 Corner Resources has made more than 16,750 contract and direct hire placements since 2005, across every major industry and U.S. market. Here’s what our numbers look like in practice.
Client retention
93%
Nearly every organization that works with us comes back, which is the most direct measure of our effectiveness.
Placements
16,750+
A talent network built across 21 industries and every major U.S. market. When a direct hire search opens, we work a pipeline that’s been built since 2005, not a fresh job posting.
Interview-to-hire ratio
1.4 to 1
The industry average is closer to 5:1. Ours means your hiring managers spend their time interviewing people we expect you to hire, not screening through volume.
Fill rate
86%
We fill more than 8 out of every 10 searches we accept. We’re upfront about the searches we won’t take on, since accepting work we can’t deliver doesn’t help anyone.
What Happens Next?
Schedule a free consultation with one of our recruiting professionals. Tell us about your hiring needs, and we’ll recommend the best option.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Most staffing agencies charge 20% to 30% of first-year salary for a direct hire, due shortly after the start date, and mark up contract workers’ pay by 40% to 75%. 4 Corner Resources charges 18% to 25% of guaranteed first-year earnings for direct hire, depending on the payment schedule: 18% over 3 months, 21% over 6 months, or 25% over 12 months. Contract staffing is quoted as one all-in hourly rate per role.
A recruiting placement fee billed in monthly installments after each month the new hire works, with billing ending if the hire leaves. At 4 Corner Resources, the fee is 21% of guaranteed first-year earnings over 6 months, 18% over 3 months, or 25% over 12 months. Nothing is billed until the start date, and there is no interest and no guarantee to read.
The payments stop. You owe nothing for months the person did not work, and there is no claim to file. Tell us the last day worked so we can close the billing. If you want the role filled again, we start a new search under a new agreement, paid the same way.
Pay as you go doesn’t need one. A guarantee refunds or replaces a fee you already paid. With pay as you go, you only ever pay for months already worked, so there is nothing to refund. If you prefer to pay the full fee at the start, we offer a traditional option with a guarantee. Ask for it when you start a search.
The shorter the schedule, the lower the fee, because we are paid sooner and your walk-away protection ends sooner. 18% covers 3 months, 21% covers 6 and 25% covers 12. We recommend 6 months for most hires. Choose the schedule that fits your budget and how much protection you want.
92.75% of the people we place stay with their employer for a year or more, based on our own placement records. The number matters here because it is the reason we can bill a direct hire fee as the months are worked and stop billing if the person leaves.
Payroll costs such as taxes, workers’ compensation, and benefits vary by role, state, and hours worked, so a single markup percentage would give most clients the wrong number. We quote one all-in hourly rate instead, and you see the full rate before anyone starts.
Executive search is 25% of the executive’s guaranteed first-year earnings. One-third is due as a deposit when the search begins, and the deposit is not refundable. The remaining two-thirds is paid as you go over 3, 6, or 12 months, and the payments stop if the executive leaves.
Fixed fee recruiting is a custom quote starting at $2,500 a month for a dedicated 4CR recruiter who works on all of your openings, with no per-hire fee. The quote depends on the number of recruiters and the length of the engagement. We have placed more than 2,300 candidates through fixed-fee programs.
Yes. For three or more openings at once, ask about fixed fee recruiting (RPO), where one flat monthly fee covers every hire, or a volume quote on direct hire. Tell us how many roles and how soon, and we will price it both ways.
Never. Employers pay our fees. Candidates pay nothing at any stage.
Searches begin immediately. Most searches produce candidates we expect you to hire within one to two weeks of the kickoff call.