Free Staffing Tool
Staffing Bill Rate & Gross Margin Calculator
Price contract placements with confidence. Enter your pay rate, bill rate, burden or EOR fee, VMS fees, and benefits costs to see your true gross margin and profit per hour, week, month, and year.
Your Deal Inputs
Benefits & Other Costs
Your Margin
| All contractors | Hourly | Weekly | Monthly | Annual | Assignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (billings) | |||||
| Wages paid | |||||
| All fees & costs | |||||
| Gross profit |
Estimates only. Monthly = annual ÷ 12; Assignment = weekly × assignment length. Verify state burden rates and program fees before quoting.
Fee Converter: % of Pay vs. % of Bill
Some back-office and EOR providers quote fees as a percentage of the pay rate; others (like large workforce platforms) quote a percentage of the bill rate. They are not the same number. Convert between the two at your markup so you can compare providers apples to apples.
Bill-Based → Pay-Based
Pay-Based → Bill-Based
How staffing bill rates and gross margin are calculated
Your bill rate is what the client pays per hour; your pay rate is what the contractor earns. The difference has to cover payroll burden (FICA, FUTA, SUI, workers’ compensation) or your EOR and payroll provider’s fee, any VMS or MSP program fees taken off your invoice, payroll funding costs, and benefits — whatever is left is your gross profit. This calculator applies each cost on the correct basis: burden and EOR fees typically run against the pay rate, while VMS fees and funding charges come off the bill.
Markup vs. gross margin: they are not the same
Markup is the percentage added on top of pay to reach the bill rate: a $30 pay and $45 bill is a 50% markup. Gross margin is profit as a percentage of the bill rate — that same deal is at most a 33% margin before burden and fees. Recruiters often quote markup; CFOs and lenders think in margin. This tool shows both so nothing gets lost in translation when you price against a VMS rate card.
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical staffing markup?
Most commercial staffing deals run 40–75% markup over pay, while specialized IT, healthcare, and executive placements can exceed 100%. Inside VMS and MSP programs, standardized rate cards often compress markups well below open-market levels, which is why modeling the VMS fee is critical before you accept a requisition.
What does a VMS fee do to my margin?
A VMS fee is deducted from your invoice as a percentage of the bill rate, not the pay rate. A 3% VMS fee on a $45 bill rate costs you $1.35 per hour straight out of gross profit. Enter it in the calculator to see the real effect across weekly, monthly, and annual billings.
Should I compare fees as % of pay or % of bill?
Either works, as long as you convert to one basis. A fee quoted on the bill rate always looks smaller than the same fee quoted on pay. At a 75% markup, 8% of bill equals 14% of pay. Use the converter above to normalize quotes before choosing a provider.
What costs should I include under benefits and other costs?
Common entries are contractor health benefits, paid sick leave accruals, background checks and drug screens (often not billable back to a VMS), payroll funding interest if you finance receivables, and liability insurance allocations. Add each as a percentage of pay, percentage of bill, or flat dollars per hour.
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