What is Bill Rate?
The bill rate is the amount a staffing agency charges a client for a contractor’s or temporary employee’s time, usually expressed as an hourly rate.
Why does Bill Rate matter?
The bill rate, compared against the pay rate, determines the agency’s margin on every placement, making it one of the most closely tracked numbers in staffing agency finance.
How does Bill Rate work?
The agency negotiates a bill rate with the client based on the role, market rates, and program terms (sometimes set by a client’s VMS rate card), then invoices the client at that rate for hours worked by the placed contractor.
Frequently asked questions
Is the bill rate the same as what the worker is paid?
No, the bill rate is what the client pays the agency; the pay rate is what the agency pays the worker, and the difference is the markup.
Who typically sets the bill rate?
It is usually negotiated between the staffing agency and the client, though in VMS-managed programs, the client or MSP may set rate caps the agency must work within.
How BrightMove helps
BrightMove’s Back Office module tracks bill rate, pay rate, and margin together, so agencies always know their numbers on every placement. See BrightMove’s Back Office billing and invoicing.