The Hidden Costs of Recruitment Funding

Throughout our 9 years of operating in the recruitment funding world, we’ve had thousands of conversations with recruitment agencies and some of those have been partnered with competitors of ours.

One thing that frequently comes up in conversation is hidden fees, or extra costs. Here’s a selection to be aware of:

Subscription / Platform Fees

Some funding in the marketplace will charge a fee per month for the agency to have access to a back-office platform. Even if they’re not using it. Our market-leading platform doesn’t come at an additional cost to you.

Late payment charges

If a funding provider is offering late payroll, it’s worth checking to see if there are any costs associated with this. QUBA offer the facility for free however, many others will charge a fee per timesheet that’s processed late.

Credit limit checks

Some funding providers can charge up to £25 per credit limit check. All QUBA partners benefit from unlimited credit limit requests.

Facility and Funding

Many funders set either a funding or facility limit which would be reviewed as your business grows. Some will charge you for the privilege. At QUBA, we carry these out internally with no upheaval or cost to you.

Set up costs

We don’t but some other recruitment funders will charge a set up fee to put their solution in place – we’ve seen upwards of £100.

Monthly minimum charges

Similar to subscription fees, funding providers can sometimes apply a monthly minimum charge, meaning if you’re not using their solution, you’ll still be paying a fee. This isn’t the case with QUBA – it’s free to sit in the background whilst you’re focusing on other business.

Being charged the % on gross invoice value rather than net

The majority of funding providers will calculate their service fee on your invoice value, including VAT. This means that the percentage is being calculated on a higher amount, and therefore, their fee will cost more. QUBA charge on the net invoice value (before VAT has been added), meaning we calculate our fee on a smaller figure.

Extended payment terms

Recruitment funding providers will sometimes charge a fee as soon as an invoice goes over the agreed payment terms. Or alternatively, if you need extended payment terms, there can sometimes be a penalty for this too. QUBA Solutions do not charge an additional fee until an invoice goes over 90 days in age.

Trading over an agreed credit limit (overtrading)

Funders, including QUBA, will charge if an invoice goes over the agreed credit limit or if funding has been approved on a client without insurance. However, the cost of this varies and some funders charge up to 1% whereas ours is literally a fraction of that cost, at 0.25% net.

If you’re comparing funding solutions or have been hit by additional fees unexpectedly, reach out to us to get a fully transparent quote. We keep it simple and have no hidden costs. Contact Jenny@quba.solutions or 07741 636965.