TEAM · COMMISSIONS · PAYOUTS

Commissions paid out of money that arrived.

Every payout shows the fee, the rate and the result on the same line — and nothing moves on an invoice that has not collected or a guarantee that is still open. The maths stops being an argument, and the cash stops being a surprise.

VISIBLE ARITHMETIC · COLLECTED-CASH TRIGGER · GUARANTEE AWARE

WHAT THE BOOK IS TELLING YOU

The dangerous payout looks exactly like a good one

A commission on a closed placement feels like success right up until the fee never collects, or the candidate leaves inside the guarantee. Gaden says it before the money moves, in the words you would use yourself.

THE READ · 5 THINGS THE BOOK IS TELLING YOU · 2 URGENT

Paid out before the fee came in

Elite Talent Partners was paid $15,000 on Jillana Michelle — that invoice has not been collected yet. That came out of your cash.

Money out while the guarantee is still running

$15,000 already paid. Jillana Michelle has 75 days of guarantee left — if they leave, that money does not come back.

Split with no signed agreement

$15,000 is going to a partner agency and there is no split agreement on file. Get it signed before the money moves.

RECRUITERS $31,875 PARTNERS $15,000 HOUSE KEEPS $25,000 $21,875 RIDING ON OPEN FEES

WHAT A PAYOUT SHOULD ALWAYS SHOW

Three things, and most systems show none of them

How the number was built

When a payout arrives as a single figure with no fee, no rate and no source attached, the only available response is to question it. That is where nearly every commission dispute begins. Gaden puts the arithmetic on the line itself — the fee, the credit, the result, and where the rate came from. Recruiters stop asking, because there is nothing left to ask.

FEE × RATE = PAYOUT SOURCE ON EVERY LINE RECRUITER-VISIBLE

HOW THIS NUMBER WAS BUILT

$87,500 fee × 25% credit = $21,875

Source: commission plan · tier 2

PlacementSenior Controls Engineer
TriggerOwed once the client pays
StatusWaiting on the fee

Whether the money is actually there

Commission owed on an invoice sent is a different instrument from commission owed on cash collected, and only one of them protects the desk. Paying on invoiced means funding the commission out of your own account and carrying the client's payment risk. It is the most common way a profitable desk runs short — because every placement looks successful the whole time it is happening.

COLLECTED-CASH TRIGGER OPEN EXPOSURE PER PAYEE CASH RUNWAY

ONE RECRUITER'S BOOK

Owed now$0 — nothing has fired yet
Contingent$21,875 riding on open fees
Paid lifetime$10,000
Past due$0

Contingent becomes debt the day those fees collect — not before.

Where their earnings are concentrated

A recruiter whose entire book rides on one client is a risk to both of you. If that relationship goes, their earnings go with it — and so does a slice of the desk. Each payee page shows what they earned against what actually left the desk, month by month, and which clients it came from. It is the kind of thing you only notice once it is drawn.

EARNED VS PAID, MONTHLY CLIENT CONCENTRATION NOTES EVERYONE SEES

WHERE THEIR MONEY COMES FROM

Northwind Manufacturing$21,875
Meridian Health Group$10,000

100% of what this person earns rides on two clients. Lose one and you lose most of their book.

WHY THIS ENDS UP IN A SPREADSHEET

Sales commission software does not know what a guarantee is

Generic commission tools were built for closed-won deals. Recruiting has a replacement window, fees that get returned, splits with other agencies, and a difference between invoiced and collected that decides everything. So the desk falls back to a spreadsheet.

A SPREADSHEET OR A SALES TOOL

What it does not know

  • That the fee can come back if the candidate leaves
  • The difference between invoiced and collected
  • That part of the fee belongs to another agency
  • Which client every recruiter's earnings depend on
  • How the number was reached, six months later

GADEN

What it holds

  • The guarantee window, watched before money moves
  • Payout triggered on collected cash
  • Splits and partner agencies on the same book
  • Client concentration per payee
  • The arithmetic, attached to the line forever

RECRUITER COMMISSIONS, ANSWERED

The questions every desk owner hits

How does recruiter commission usually work?

Most desks pay a percentage of the fee, commonly between ten and thirty percent depending on whether the recruiter sourced the candidate, sold the client, or did both. Tiered plans raise the rate once a billing threshold is crossed. The rate itself matters less than the trigger: commission owed when the invoice is sent behaves very differently from commission owed when the cash collects.

Should commission be paid on invoiced or collected fees?

On collected. Paying on invoiced means the desk funds the commission out of its own cash and carries the risk of a client who pays late or not at all. It is the single most common way a profitable recruiting desk runs short of money, because the placements look successful the entire time.

What happens to commission if a candidate falls off?

If the candidate leaves inside the replacement guarantee, the fee is usually returned or credited to the client. The commission already paid does not automatically come back with it. That is why the guarantee window should be visible before a payout is released, not discovered afterwards.

Why do commission disputes happen?

Almost always because the recruiter cannot see how the number was reached. When a payout arrives as a single figure with no fee, no rate and no source, the only available response is to question it. Showing the arithmetic on the line removes the argument before it starts.

ALL-IN-ONE RECRUITMENT PLATFORM

From finding the client to paying your recruiter

Commissions are the last stage of it. Gaden finds the companies hiring, sources and screens the candidates, writes the proposals and contracts, books the interviews, invoices the fee and chases what is overdue — then pays every recruiter and partner out of the money that actually landed.

Payouts are included from Gaden Desk. The read and the cash runway come with Agency.