Rebate exposure calculator

How the exposure is worked out

Each placement is placed on your rebate scale by counting weeks from its start date. Week 1 is the first seven days from the start date, week 2 the next seven, and so on, so a candidate who started ten days before the as-of date is in week 2. The scale is the same stepped ladder as on the placement fee calculator: bands with a last week and a refund per cent, where a candidate who leaves in a week falls into the first band that week sits inside. After the last band, nothing is refunded.

The refund due if the candidate left today is the fee times the band's per cent. The exposure ends after the last week of the final band, and the page shows the first date the placement is clear. Fee invoiced is the sum of the fees for placements that have started. Fee still inside a rebate window is the part of that where the exposure has not yet ended. Refund if all left today is the sum of the refunds due, which is the most the ladder says you would hand back on the day.

The worked example

The calculator opens on 29 October 2026 with three placements and a scale of 100 per cent to week 2, 50 per cent to week 4 and 25 per cent to week 8. Placement A started ten days ago, so it is in week 2 and the whole £11,000 fee would be refunded. Placement B started 38 days ago, so it is in week 6 and a quarter of £9,000, £2,250, would be refunded. Placement C started 73 days ago, is in week 11 and has been clear since 12 October.

That is £33,500 invoiced, £20,000 of it inside a rebate window and £13,250 refundable if everyone left today. The month table shows how that falls away. At the end of October the exposure is still £13,250. By the end of November B has cleared on 16 November and A has moved into week 7, so £2,750 is exposed. A clears on 14 December and the exposure is nil at the end of December.

Why look at it this way

A fee invoiced in March can be clawed back in May, against a month already reported and possibly one on which commission was already paid, which is why a rebate period is worth treating as a liability that runs down rather than money in the bank. Looking at the whole book at once shows how much of last month's revenue is still conditional, and which month the conditions lift. If a refund does fall due, it is normally made by a credit note; see credit notes for recruitment invoicing and VAT on recruitment fees.

What the number leaves out

The calculator shows what the scale says, not whether a refund is owed. Most terms of business make a rebate conditional on the client paying on time and telling you promptly, and exclude leavers made redundant or whose role changed; some clients are given a replacement guarantee instead of cash. One scale is applied to every row, so if different clients have different terms, run them separately. Fees are before VAT and placements that have not started are left out until they do. Rebate periods that count from the invoice date rather than the start date are not modelled.

Common questions

How much of my fee is at risk after the candidate starts?

Whatever your rebate scale says for the week they are in. With a ladder of 100 per cent to week 2, 50 per cent to week 4 and 25 per cent to week 8, all of the fee is exposed in the first fortnight, half to the end of week 4, a quarter to the end of week 8, and nothing after that.

When does a rebate period start?

Normally on the candidate's start date, and that is what this calculator uses. Check your own terms of business: a few count from the invoice date.

Is the refund the fee with VAT?

The calculator works on the fee before VAT. A refund is normally made by a credit note that reverses the VAT on the refunded part in proportion, so your accountant confirms the treatment for your VAT scheme.

Does a replacement guarantee count as exposure?

A replacement guarantee costs you the work of finding another candidate rather than cash, so the cash figure here is the ceiling on what a departure could cost under a rebate, not the cost of a replacement.