Why subscription-based recruitment beats percentage fees for accounting firms
You know the feeling. Another partner has resigned. The team is stretched. Deadlines are stacked on top of one another. A recruiter sends a proposal with a 20% fee, tied to whatever salary you finally agree. You need the person, but the number makes your stomach tighten. There is a better way, and it fits the rhythm of how accounting and CPA firms actually hire. It is subscription-based recruitment. It rewards long term thinking, it brings down total cost, and it turns hiring from a one off gamble into a steady pipeline that protects your client work.
At ePeople, we run both fixed fee and subscription options, with a simple promise. No inflated percentages. Costs that are clear. You pay for outcomes and sustained support. If you hire once, we will price that simply. If you often hire, or you hate the panic that comes with last minute searches, a subscription gives you consistent access to the market and to shortlists that fit.
The real problem with percentage based recruitment
Percentage fees sound easy with no upfront cost. Pay when someone accepts or when someone starts, but that model has hidden friction that accounting leaders feel every quarter.
Percentage fees punish success. When you finally secure the right Senior Audit hire or a brilliant Outsourced Finance Manager, the better the salary match, the higher your fee. That is not alignment, that is a tax on doing the right thing for your clients and your team.
Percentage fees are also volatile. Budgets in firms crave predictability, you need to plan for peak audit periods, quarter ends, and the rush to filing deadlines. A fee that swings with compensation makes planning hard. It delays approvals, turns hiring into a negotiation with finance, and pushes real work to the brink.
Then there is the clock. Percentage based relationships are transactional by nature. Once the role is filled, the partnership ends. You lose momentum, market knowledge fades, and the next brief starts from zero. You step back into the same cycle of urgency, interviews stacked in lunch hours, and partners stepping out of client meetings to index candidates. Everyone pays for that with time you cannot invoice.
What subscription actually gives you
Subscription based recruitment replaces spikes with consistency. It is a standing partnership that mirrors how your firm hires across a year. You get steady market coverage, a living shortlist for your core roles, and a team that understands your interview style, your systems, and the qualities that make someone thrive with your clients. At ePeople, our subscription plans are designed to align with your hiring rhythm rather than force you into one off transactions.
Because the relationship is continuous, the work is proactive. We map your likely needs, we calibrate on skills and salary, we keep a warm bench for recurring roles, and we surface people at the right moments rather than after the panic has set in. You do not pay more when a salary is higher. You do not face a surprise because a candidate negotiated well. You pay for service, not for arithmetic on your wage bill. Our public position is clear. Choose fixed fee or subscription. Expect simple and transparent pricing. Expect outcomes, not surprises.
The money story you can take to the partnership table
Let us make this tangible with a simple illustration. Imagine your London office plans to hire two Audit Seniors and one Assistant Manager in the next twelve months. Under a percentage model at twenty percent, and average base salaries of 65000, 70000, and 80000, you would spend 43000 in fees across those three hires. If scope changes, if offer negotiations lift salaries, the fee rises with them.
Now compare that to a twelve month subscription that keeps a pipeline warm across audit, tax, and management accounting. The finance committee knows the cost in advance. The partners sleep better because there are no peaks and troughs. Your managers waste fewer days on screening because we have been calibrating all year. The fees are not tied to the salary line. They are tied to support, delivery, and keeping your bench strong. The exact values depend on the plan you choose, but the pattern holds. Predictable cost, less waste, fewer bottlenecks, better hires.
It is not only cost. It is quality driven by context
Great hiring in accounting is not just about a clean CV. It is about context. Which audit software have they lived in; which sectors have they signed off; what mix of group consolidations, deferred tax, and revenue recognition have they actually owned; what is their judgement like when a client asks for an extension on a day you are already at capacity.
When we work with you month after month, we learn these nuances. We understand your client portfolio and how it shapes the candidates who thrive in your firm. We notice how your managers structure interviews. We see where first round interviews stall. We tune the brief. We do not send more, we send sharper.
Because the partnership is not dictated by a ticking clock to collect a percentage, we can run a deeper process without pushing you to offers that do not feel right. That patience pays off in retention, in client feedback, and in the confidence of the teams who will carry those new hires through peak season.
Subscription supports the moments that make or break a year
Every firm has its crunch periods. January client deadlines or interim and year end audits. The flood of corporate tax questions that hit the inbox when markets move, you can feel that pressure in your calendar long before a role is signed off. A subscription lets us begin the work early and we build a slate for the roles you always need so your choices are real when the approval comes.
This is where the cadence matters. The work is scheduled, market mapping is always on, hiring updates slot into partner meetings as part of the normal run of business. You never start from a cold start after a resignation.
Subscription aligns incentives
There is a simple truth that leaders feel. Incentives shape outcomes. Under a percentage fee, the recruiter is compensated only when a person accepts. The shortest path to that outcome can be to push volume, to steer toward candidates who are easiest to close, or to nudge salary higher. You have seen that dance.
Under a subscription, your recruiter is rewarded for continuity, accuracy, and fit. The outcome we chase is not a single yes. It is the health of your pipeline and the stability of your team over time. We are motivated to prevent mis-hires, to say no when a profile will not hold during peak season, and to invest in the relationship between your brand and the market.
Better planning, calmer hiring, stronger teams
Partners care about budgets and client satisfaction in equal measure. Subscription based recruitment gives both the respect they deserve, helping finance to plan. Hiring managers get a calmer process. Candidates get a better experience and leave interactions with your firm feeling seen and respected.
It also unlocks smarter internal conversations. You can look across offices and service lines, see likely leavers and likely promotions, and plan hiring with a pipeline already in motion. You can protect your best teams from burnout by filling gaps before they open into cracks. You can expand into new specialisms with less risk because we can test the market and bring you evidence rather than guesswork.
Why this model fits accounting and CPA better than most
Accounting is a relationship business. Clients return because they trust your judgement when the numbers are complex and time is tight. Your hiring should run on the same principles. Percentage fees turn hiring into a transaction. Subscription turns it into a relationship where knowledge compounds.
Firms also hire in patterns. Year on year, the same roles appear. Audit Seniors in London and Manchester. Management Accountants with system experience that mirrors your clients. Payroll leaders who can steady the ship. A subscription model thrives on repetition. It learns with you and pays you back with speed and accuracy when you need it most.
What ePeople’s approach looks like in practice
We set out a simple stance. You can engage us on a fixed fee basis for a single strategic hire, or on a subscription if you want consistent access to curated shortlists and strategic support over time. We keep pricing straightforward and transparent, remove inflated percentages, and focus on outcomes. We also fold in market insights and salary benchmarking as part of the relationship, which helps partners make decisions with clarity.
If you lead hiring for an accounting or CPA firm, this matters. Salary conversations stop being arguments and offers are grounded in live data. You understand where the market is moving before it surprises you. Your plan for the next quarter is not wishful thinking, but backed by names, interviews, and realistic timelines. Subscriptions are designed to meet the pace at which your firm hires, rather than force you into a scramble.
When a subscription might not be right
If you know you will make only one hire in the next twelve months, a simple fixed fee may suit that moment. We offer that, and we will still do the work with care. If your need is uncertain, a short subscription period can be a smart trial. It lets you feel the difference a warm pipeline makes without a long commitment. Many firms begin with one priority role and choose to stay with subscription once they have lived the calm it brings.
A short story from the field
A managing partner wrote to us in late February. Two audits had slipped because a Senior left for a client side role. The team was loyal but tired and the firm had paid percentage fees twice already that year and could not face another surprise bill. We started a subscription. We ran a calibration exercise in week one and rebuilt the pipeline for the recurring roles. By April, interviews felt lighter and lines moved quickly. June arrived and the team met their filings with room to breathe. The fee did not swing with salary. It was a steady cost for steady work. The partner told us the benefit was confidence. She could look at her resource plan without a knot in her stomach.
The choice in front of you
You can keep buying recruitment as an emergency service that charges you more for the very success you want or you can move to a model that rewards foresight and partnership. Subscription based recruitment puts you back in control. It lets you budget with a clear head. It protects your client work. It builds a relationship with the market that reflects the care you bring to every engagement.
If you want to hire once, we will help you with a fixed fee that is simple and fair. If you want to hire well across the year, or you simply want to stop living from vacancy to vacancy, our subscription plans are there to match your hiring rhythm. The door is open. The work is steady. The results are yours to see.
To explore how this looks for your firm, visit our site, read about our transparent pricing, and choose the path that fits how you hire. We would love to become the calm behind your next great quarter.
Visit epeople.net/pricing
Note: ePeople offers both fixed fee and subscription options with a focus on simple and transparent pricing, paying for outcomes rather than inflated percentages, and aligning subscription plans to the way your firm hires across the year. These statements reflect the public positioning on our website at the time of writing.
