How To Accept Payments For A Human Resources

A human resources consultancy sells retainers, projects, and placements, and gets paid by finance departments that have never met the consultant. Add placement guarantees and the risk of a candidate leaving inside the warranty period, and the payment structure needs more thought than a straightforward services business. Here is the setup.

Updated July 28, 2026. Figures cited below; reviewed quarterly.

How HR consulting money actually arrives

Four flows. Monthly retainers for ongoing advisory and outsourced HR support, often priced per employee, which is the recurring core. Project fees for handbooks, policy work, compliance reviews, restructures, and investigations, billed at milestones. Placement fees where the practice recruits, typically a percentage of salary with a guarantee period attached. And training or workshop delivery, priced per session or per participant.

By the numbers (July 28, 2026)

Rate that applies: 3.3% + 30¢ online or on a card-paid invoice, per Square's 2026 US pricing. On a $2,200 monthly per-employee retainer that is $72.90. The ACH route, 1% with a $10 ceiling, costs $10.00 and keeps $62.90. Charged automatically each month against a defined headcount, with adjustments on a stated cadence rather than discovered at renewal.

Retainers, priced per employee and billed automatically

Per-employee pricing scales naturally with the client and makes the fee easy to justify, and it should bill automatically on a stored method on a fixed date rather than by invoice and follow-up. Define the scope precisely, since HR advisory is exactly the sort of engagement where a quick question becomes a two-hour investigation, and state the rate for work outside scope. Headcount changes should trigger a fee adjustment on a stated cadence rather than being discovered at renewal.

Placement fees and the guarantee problem

Recruitment fees are earned at placement but often guaranteed for a period, which means money received may have to be refunded or worked off if the hire leaves early. Structure it deliberately: state whether the guarantee is a refund, a replacement, or a credit, define the period precisely, and be clear what happens if the client terminates the hire rather than the hire resigning. Practices that treat placement fees as fully earned on receipt and then face a guarantee claim discover the money is already spent.

Projects and the investigation exception

Handbook development, compliance reviews, and restructuring projects bill at milestones with a deposit at signing. Workplace investigations deserve separate treatment: they are unpredictable in length, sensitive, and the client sometimes stops wanting the answer once it becomes clear. Bill investigations on a retainer drawn down against hours rather than a fixed fee, replenished as it depletes, so the work is never being performed unfunded. This is one engagement type where a firm should not be carrying a balance.

Corporate payables and the rails

Clients pay through accounts payable systems needing purchase orders, correct references, and a specific invoice format, and an invoice missing any of those waits without objection. Establish the requirements at onboarding. On rails, card suits smaller retainers, training sessions, and one-off projects where convenience matters, while placement fees and large project invoices belong on bank transfer, where at four and five figures the difference is a genuine margin item rather than a rounding error.

Sources

• NerdWallet — Square Fees: Calculator and Pricing for 2026
• Swipesum — Square Fees Explained 2026 (verified against Square's published pricing)

What people ask me

How should HR retainers be priced and billed?

Often per employee so the fee scales with the client, charged automatically on a stored method on a fixed date, with scope defined and out-of-scope work rated.

What is the risk with placement fees?

Guarantee periods. Money received may need refunding or working off if the hire leaves, so state whether the guarantee is a refund, replacement, or credit and define the period.

How should workplace investigations be billed?

On a retainer drawn down against hours and replenished as it depletes, since investigations are unpredictable and clients sometimes stop wanting the answer.

Why do HR invoices go unpaid?

Because corporate accounts payable needs purchase orders, correct references, and a specific format, and an invoice missing them waits without anyone objecting.

Which rail suits which fee?

Card for smaller retainers, training, and one-off projects; bank transfer for placement fees and large project invoices where the difference is a real margin item.

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