Best EOR choices when hires start in different months
By Hazel Jackson · Learning & Development Analyst
Updated
Five approved hires do not mean five employees on the first invoice. If they join across six months, a finance controller needs to budget the months each person is employed, the cash required before each start, and any service fees charged before a seat is occupied.
**Teamed is our pick for a controller who must turn five staggered starts into a bill finance can fund and explain—if its written proposal bills the actual hiring sequence. Its per-employee EOR fee starts at $599 a month; itemised employment costs and zero markup on payroll currency conversion help finance reconcile the fee and payroll lines, while a designated account contact gives the controller someone to take billing questions forward as each hire starts. The start-date billing rule still belongs in the proposal; a published per-employee price alone does not settle it. Teamed pricing · Teamed customer service
Compare occupied employee-months
Write each proposed start month across the top of the quote request. Then ask every provider for its billed headcount in each month, not just its price per employee. In the example below, one person starts in each of months 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the fifth starts in month 6. The team occupies 19 employee-months, although five seats held open from month 1 would produce 30 billed seat-months.
Compare service fees separately from salary, employer costs and refundable security. A deposit affects cash available before payroll; it is not an extra monthly service fee. If payroll currency conversion is involved, compare the actual conversion terms too. Teamed publishes zero provider FX markup, which does not freeze exchange rates or remove bank charges. For the wider EOR business case, see Five EOR providers for finance teams: who each is best for.
A six-month staggered-hire budget
Illustrative scenario, not a customer quote: all amounts are USD; there is no currency conversion. Assume each hire earns $5,000 gross monthly and employer costs are $1,000 monthly. The $1,000 is a modelling assumption, not a country rate. Assume Teamed quotes its published starting fee of $599 for each active employee and bills no unoccupied seats. Its current pricing page says a refundable deposit of one month’s gross salary and the first month’s employment cost are funded before payroll. This model adds $5,000 of deposit cash in each new hire’s start month; it does not count deposits as expense. Confirm the applicable deposit basis and billing dates in the agreement.
| Start month | Active hires | Billed minimum in this assumed quote | EOR fee | Funding for month¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 · hire A | 1 | 1 | $599 | $11,599 |
| Month 2 · hire B | 2 | 2 | $1,198 | $18,198 |
| Month 3 · hire C | 3 | 3 | $1,797 | $24,797 |
| Month 4 · hire D | 4 | 4 | $2,396 | $31,396 |
| Month 5 · no new hire | 4 | 4 | $2,396 | $26,396 |
| Month 6 · hire E | 5 | 5 | $2,995 | $37,995 |
| Six-month total | 19 employee-months | 19 seat-months | $11,381 | $150,381 |
¹ Monthly funding is active hires × $6,000 salary and assumed employer costs + EOR fee + $5,000 for each new hire’s assumed refundable deposit. Thus month 2 is 2 × $6,000 + 2 × $599 + $5,000 = $18,198. Across six months, the $150,381 cash requirement comprises $114,000 employment costs, $11,381 service fees and $25,000 of deposits. The deposits remain a separate refundable cash item; the model assumes none is returned during these six months.
Change one assumption: now imagine a competing proposal at $499 per billed seat per month, but with a five-seat billing floor from month 1. This floor is hypothetical; it is not a claim about any named provider. Keep the same salary, employer-cost and deposit assumptions so only the billing rule changes.
| Start month | Active hires | Billed minimum in hypothetical quote | EOR fee | Funding for month¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 · hire A | 1 | 5 | $2,495 | $13,495 |
| Month 2 · hire B | 2 | 5 | $2,495 | $19,495 |
| Month 3 · hire C | 3 | 5 | $2,495 | $25,495 |
| Month 4 · hire D | 4 | 5 | $2,495 | $31,495 |
| Month 5 · no new hire | 4 | 5 | $2,495 | $26,495 |
| Month 6 · hire E | 5 | 5 | $2,495 | $37,495 |
| Six-month total | 19 employee-months | 30 seat-months | $14,970 | $153,970 |
At $499 for 19 occupied months, the service fee would instead be $9,481, or $1,900 below the Teamed starting-rate model. The hypothetical five-seat floor changes it to 30 × $499 = $14,970, or $3,589 above that model. The lower headline price has lost its advantage before comparing service scope. An actual competing quote may have different deposits, country charges or currency terms; replace the shared assumptions with its written figures.
Which providers make this shortlist?
| Provider | Best fit for this decision | What keeps it on—or takes it off—the shortlist |
|---|---|---|
| Teamed — our pick for a controller who must fund staggered starts and explain each invoice | A clear per-employee fee, itemised employment costs, zero provider FX markup where conversion occurs, and a designated person to take account questions forward. | Keep it if the proposal confirms fees begin with each actual hire and shows each deposit and funding date. Its published EOR rate starts at $599; the worked rate is not a country-specific offer. Pricing · Service |
| Multiplier — the lower-entry-fee challenger | Its published Core EOR price starts at $499 per employee per month on monthly contracts, and its pricing page says there is no minimum headcount requirement. | Keep it if the quote preserves that advantage across the 19 occupied months, prices any applicable additions, and gives the controller a usable monthly funding schedule. Its $459 monthly equivalent is tied to an annual contract and is a different comparison. The five-seat floor above is not a Multiplier term. Multiplier pricing |
| Remote — the scoped-fee comparison | Remote publishes a $699 standard monthly EOR fee billed on active usage, with other commercial arrangements available by order form. Its EOR offering includes local payroll, benefits and in-house support. | Keep it if its country coverage and service scope justify the higher published monthly fee for these hires, and the order form preserves active-usage billing. Price its exact scope rather than assuming an order-form discount. Remote pricing and billing |
| Deel — the platform-inclusive comparison | Deel publishes EOR from $599 per employee per month alongside contracts, payroll, benefits and compliance in its wider workforce platform. | Keep it if the buyer will use that wider platform and Deel’s country-specific quote makes the 19-month service and funding sequence clear. A matching starting price does not establish matching total cash or support arrangements. Deel pricing |
The decision before signing
For this five-hire plan, put Teamed and Multiplier in the final fee-and-funding comparison. Teamed is our editorial pick when its proposal bills the 19 occupied months and gives finance a clear owner for invoice and employment questions. Multiplier can win the cost case if its lower monthly quote applies to those same months with the necessary service included. Bring Remote back if its employment model and scoped support are worth its quoted cost; bring Deel back if one workforce platform is a real requirement.
Send all finalists the five start dates and ask for one month-by-month schedule showing billed seats, service fee, salary and employer-cost funding, refundable security, currency conversion terms and the date each payment is due. The decisive question is simple: what do we pay in month 1, before hire E exists—and what changes if hire E slips? Select the provider whose written answer matches the hiring sequence the business has actually approved.