Staffing BD revenue calculator

By Wasey Mohammed, FounderUpdated October 25, 2026No sign-up. Runs in your browser.

Work backward from the new-business revenue you want this year to the placements, job orders and client conversations it takes, and how many accounts your team has to work every week to get there. Direct hire and contract modes.

What it takes

0accounts to work every selling week

0qualified client conversations a week

0job orders this year

Your year, worked backwardlog scale

The starting numbers are placeholders, not industry benchmarks. Replace them with your desk’s last 12 months. This is a planning model, not a forecast.

Now you know your weekly number. Wavaron finds those accounts, does the research and runs the approved outreach for you. Book a strategy call or see a sample opportunity brief.

How the calculator works

It runs your goal backward through your own funnel, rounding every count up, because you can’t make 15.8 placements.

Direct hire

Average fee = first-year base salary × fee % Fee you keep = average fee × (1 − fall-off %) Placements = goal ÷ fee you keep Job orders = placements ÷ fill ratio Conversations = job orders ÷ conversation-to-job-order rate Accounts to work = conversations ÷ account-to-conversation rate Per week = yearly figure ÷ selling weeks

Contract and temp

Loaded cost an hour = pay rate × (1 + burden %) Gross profit an hour = bill rate × (1 − VMS fee %) − loaded cost Gross profit per assignment = gross profit an hour × hours a week × weeks on assignment Assignments = goal ÷ gross profit per assignment Filled job orders = assignments ÷ contractors per order Job orders = filled job orders ÷ fill ratio, then the same funnel as direct hire

Value of one new client is the job orders a new client gives you in a year, times your fill ratio, times what each filled order is worth. Dividing your goal by it tells you how many new client relationships the goal really needs.

Where to find your own numbers

Fill ratioPlacements (or filled orders) divided by job orders taken, over the last 12 months. Your ATS job order report has both.

Conversation to job orderOf the client calls and meetings where hiring was genuinely discussed, how many produced a job order. Pull it from your CRM activity or your BD lead’s notes.

Account to conversationOf the companies you reached out to, how many replied or took a call. Your outreach tool or sequence reports show it.

Job orders per new clientCount the job orders from each client you won in the last two years, in their first year with you.

If you don’t track one of these, that is the first finding. Most desks know their fill ratio and guess the rest.

What to do with the answer

If the accounts-a-week number is more than your team can research and contact properly, you have three levers:

Raise account-to-conversation by calling at the right time with a reason only your firm has. Score each role first with the open role scorecard, and see how to win more job orders.
Raise conversation-to-job-order by reaching the person who signs, not HR, and leading with a candidate you can actually present.
Add capacity with a BDM or an outside provider. Compare the cost in hire a BDM or outsource and the options in lead generation for staffing agencies.

What it leaves out

Repeat business from existing clients. The goal here is new business only.
Seasonality, ramp time and timing gaps between a conversation and a placement.
Contract extensions, temp-to-hire conversion fees, overtime and overhead.
Averages hide mix. If your fees or fill ratios differ a lot by desk, run each desk separately.

Questions owners ask

How many job orders do I need to hit my revenue goal?

Divide your goal by the fee you keep per placement to get placements, then divide placements by your fill ratio. At a $20,000 fee you keep and a 40% fill ratio, a $300,000 goal needs 15 placements and 38 job orders. The calculator does this for your own numbers.

What is a good fill ratio for a staffing agency?

It varies too much by niche, fee model and exclusivity for one benchmark to mean much. Exclusive and retained work usually fills at a higher rate than open contingency orders. Use your own trailing 12 months, and track it by desk.

Should contract and temp desks plan on revenue or gross profit?

Gross profit. Billings include the pay and burden you pass through. Two desks with the same billings can have very different gross profit once burden and VMS fees come out.

Is my data saved or sent anywhere?

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to Wavaron or stored.