Question 1

We pay contractors weekly and clients pay in sixty days. Can you fund the gap at the lowest cost?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar forecasts cash week by week from contractor hours, payroll dates and the payment habits of each client, shows how much cash each new contract ties up before the first invoice is paid, and compares the ways to fund it: a bank line, payroll funding, invoice factoring or tighter client terms, each priced per placement. Alehar arranges the line under its Raising Equity or Debt service.

Question 2

Can you tell us whether our factoring or payroll funding line still makes sense?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar works out what the line really costs once the fees, the discount rate and the reserve held back are added up, and compares it with a bank line, a cheaper provider or billing weekly and collecting faster. Many agencies keep factoring long after their collections could support a cheaper line. Alehar prepares what a lender will ask for and handles the refinancing under its Raising Equity or Debt service.

Question 3

A larger agency has approached us. Can you prepare us and help us decide whether to sell?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar prepares the margin history by client and contractor, the client concentration, the contract lengths and the forecast an acquirer will test, and sets the approach against the alternative of building for two more years and selling a larger agency. If the owners decide to sell, Alehar runs the process under its Selling your Company service.

Question 4

We want to buy a specialist agency. Can you build the case and fund the purchase?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar builds the case on what the agency would earn inside your group: the margin by desk, the clients and contractors that would stay, the recruiters' terms and the overhead that goes. It sets a price the earnings support and shows how to fund it from the business, a bank facility or a seller loan. The purchase can be run under Alehar's Acquiring a Company service.

Question 5

Our biggest client cut our markup again. Can you show whether the contract still makes money?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar reports the margin on every contractor after their pay, the employer costs that come with them and the funding line, by client, contractor and recruiter each week. It shows what the markup cut does to the client's margin, what the contract has to carry in employer costs that cannot be passed on, and what to ask for at the next vendor system review. New contracts are priced on the same basis.

Question 6

Can you show which recruiters, desks and clients actually make us money?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar reports the profit of each recruiter, desk and client after salaries, commission, job boards and a share of office costs, with permanent fees counted only once the guarantee period has passed. Owners see which desks to grow, which clients to re-price and which to let go, and what a recruiter who leaves costs in rehiring and the empty desk in between.

Question 7

Hiring freezes hit us first. Can you plan our cash for a slowdown before it comes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Alehar builds the slowdown case next to the plan: permanent fees fall first and fastest, contract margin follows as clients let contractors go, and the fixed costs stay. It shows how many months the agency can carry its recruiters at lower billings, which costs to cut first and when, and how much cash to hold back in the good months. The trigger points are agreed with the owners before the slowdown, not during it.

Question 8

Can an outsourced or virtual CFO handle a recruitment agency that runs on weekly payroll?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for most owner-run staffing agencies, recruitment firms, executive search boutiques and contract staffing businesses. Alehar assigns a partner with a team behind them, reviews margin by desk, cash, the funding line and the pipeline with you every month, and brings more hands when you refinance, buy an agency or sell. Owners get what they would want from an interim CFO, a part-time FD or a virtual CFO. Your accountant keeps the books, and Alehar builds the weekly numbers from them.

Fractional CFO for Staffing and Recruitment Agencies

What agency owners tell us

Why staffing and recruitment agencies work with Alehar

A partner who is accountable

A complete team, not a single hire

Month to month, without lock-in

The same partner for the raise or the sale

Start maximizing the potential of your company now.

We get you a true financial picture of your company

We help you save costs and improve cashflow

We develop effective plans to help you grow revenue

We help you identify and decide between growth initiatives

We get you ready for an investment or a sale

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