Whitefox Recruitment · ROI Calculator

Live model built for Whitefox Recruitment. Adjust the assumptions to see how the numbers move. Everything is directional. Actual performance will vary based on market conditions and campaign execution.

01 · Assumptions

Average salary of placed roles Typical annual salary at time of placement

Placement fee % Standard 15–20%, premium boutique 20–25%

Enquiry → Engagement close rate Modelled conservatively for paid enquiries

Engagement → Placement fill rate Retained 60–80%, contingent 30–50%

Time from signed engagement to invoice paid Notice period + start + guarantee window

wks

Target return per enquiry Lower = more conservative. Recommend 5–7× for first 6 months.

02 · 6-Month Headlines

Committed revenue · first 6 months Placements × fee, earned across the ramp

$86,000

Cash landing in first 6 months Committed revenue shifted by invoice lag

$50,000

Total investment · 6 months Ads + $1,500/mo management

$30,000

6-month ROI on committed revenue Full earning power of the channel

2.9×

6-month ROI on cash landed Cashflow reality · what hits the bank

1.7×

03 · The Math Behind the Model

Unit Economics · Per Enquiry

Fee per placementSalary × fee %

$18,000

Placements per 100 enquiriesClose × fill

Revenue per enquirySets the bidding ceiling

$3,240

Target CPA Range at current ROI target

The three bidding scenarios the media buyer works within. Middle card matches the ROI slider. Adjust it to model tighter or looser bidding.

Safe · 9× per-lead

$300

Conservative bidding.

Target · 6× per-lead

$450

Media buyer target.

Push · 4× per-lead

$675

Ceiling. Use with caution.

04 · Budget Allocation

Monthly split · Set the % client vs candidate per channel

Each channel can serve both audiences to varying degrees. Meta and LinkedIn retarget site visitors regardless of which page they visited. Adjust the split to model different scenarios.

Channel	Spend	Client $	Candidate $
Google Ads Client search campaigns	$	$2,500	$0
Meta · Retargeting Candidate drop-offs only	$	$0	$0
LinkedIn · Client B2B Named accounts, decision-makers	$	$1,000	$0
Total monthly ad spend	$3,500	$2,200	$1,300

Client-facing spend · 63% Candidate-facing spend · 37%

Enquiries are generated primarily by Google client-intent spend. Meta and LinkedIn client-side assist (retarget and warm). Candidate-facing spend keeps the pipeline supplied so won engagements convert to actual placements.

Note: "About 63% of ad spend is client-facing. That's what generates enquiries. The other 37% keeps the candidate pipeline supplied. Without candidates, we can't fulfil the roles we win, so both sides need to run in parallel."

05 · 6-Month Ramp · Realistic Projection

Committed revenue by phase · What gets earned

Paid media does not hit target on day one. Learning phase runs at roughly double the target CPA for weeks. Retargeting activates once audiences are built. This is what real ramp looks like, before invoice timing.

Phase 1 · Learning Month 1–2

Foundation ships. Data collects.

CPA runs at double the target while Google's algorithm calibrates. Retargeting pools building, not yet firing. Landing pages iterating. Data is the deliverable.

Effective CPA$486

Enquiries / mo3.1

Engagements / mo0.9

Placements / mo0.6

Committed / mo$10,000

Cash landing / mo$0

Phase 2 · Target Month 3–4

Approaching target. Meta kicks in.

CPA within 20% of target. Retargeting live and recovering drop-offs. Landing pages optimised. SEO technical fixes shipped. First real signal on what works.

Effective CPA$324

Enquiries / mo4.6

Engagements / mo1.4

Placements / mo0.8

Committed / mo$15,000

Cash landing / mo$10,000

Phase 3 · Scale Month 5–6

CPA at target. Full engine running.

Lookalike audiences firing. Location and industry SEO indexed. Brand searches lifting. CPA consistently at target. Genuine scale conversation starts here.

Effective CPA$260

Enquiries / mo5.8

Engagements / mo1.7

Placements / mo1.0

Committed / mo$18,000

Cash landing / mo$15,000

Cash-in-bank reality: Committed revenue is what's earned (placement made × fee). Cash-in-bank is when the money actually lands, shifted by the 8-week invoice lag. First cash from month-one placements lands around month 3. Full return on ad spend catches up around month 8, not month 6.

Note: "Month one and two will look modest. That's normal. We're paying for data, not just clicks. The revenue you see for those months is earned, not banked. Because of notice periods and guarantees, cash typically lands 8 weeks after a placement. So expect the first invoice to land around month three, and cash flow to catch up by month five or six. Don't judge the channel until month four minimum."

Important note

These figures are directional estimates based on assumptions confirmed during our strategy session. Actual performance varies with market conditions, seasonality, competitive intensity, keyword pricing, ad platform behaviour, close rate variance and site conversion. Paid acquisition leads may close at different rates than warm or referral leads. This calculator will be reviewed and updated every 2 to 3 months as live campaign data becomes available, and assumptions adjusted accordingly. No specific lead volume, placement count, revenue or return outcome is guaranteed.