The PlaceRail blog
Split-fee recruiting, in plain language
Practical guides for independent recruiters: how to protect the fee, pick partners, and run splits without joining a network.
September 7, 2026 · 6 min read
How to set up a recruiting agency: the parts that actually matter
Skip the logo and the office. A recruiting agency is five decisions: your niche, your paper, your money path, your tools and your first ten clients. Here is each one, in order.
Read the guideSeptember 7, 2026 · 5 min read
The client-side fee agreement: what it must say before you send a resume
Your fee agreement with the client is the only thing standing between a placement and a free introduction. The clauses that matter, the ones clients push back on, and what to hold.
Read the guideSeptember 7, 2026 · 4 min read
The escrow checklist: what to check before money moves
Escrow only protects you if it is real, funded and tied to written terms. The eight checks to run on any escrowed deal before the candidate starts, and the warning signs that mean stop.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Recruitment agency contract template: what to keep, what to cut
Templates are free and mostly fine. But three clauses decide whether your fee actually moves, and those are the ones worth reading twice before you sign anything.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 4 min read
The guarantee period is where fees die
Fall-offs, clawbacks and refund fights: why the weeks after the start date are the most dangerous in recruiting, and how written fall-off terms plus escrowed money turn the worst week into a process.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 5 min read
How to vet a split partner you've never met
Admission checks and badges tell you who someone was at the door. Settled-deal records tell you who they are on deal nine. Here's what to check, what to ask, and the red flags that end the conversation.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Right to represent, explained for recruiters
What a candidate right to represent actually is, what it has to say to hold up, when to send it, and the small mistakes that make it worthless when you need it most.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 6 min read
The split fee agreement, line by line
The six lines every split agreement needs, in plain language: the split, who invoices, the guarantee, the fall-off, the dispute path, and the money route. Write them once and stop renegotiating every deal.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 5 min read
Contingency fee agreements that actually get paid
Contingency means you eat all the risk. The fee agreement is where you take some of it back: the clauses that decide whether a completed placement turns into a collected fee.
Read the guideSeptember 6, 2026 · 6 min read
Top Echelon alternative: protection without the network
Thinking about Top Echelon or another split fee network? Here's what membership actually buys, what it costs, and how to run protected split placements without joining anything.
Read the guideAugust 24, 2026 · 6 min read
How to run your first split without getting burned
You don't need to join a network or pay dues to split safely. Here's the five-part playbook independent recruiters use to protect the fee from day one.
Read the guideAugust 31, 2026 · 5 min read
The split-fee network isn't worth it (and what to do instead)
Dues, forced splits, and a smaller pond: what split networks actually sell you, and how independent recruiters get the same protection without the membership.
Read the guideSeptember 5, 2026 · 4 min read
Why the money should never sit in your split partner's account
Late payment is where splits die. How invoice-through-escrow routing removes the biggest loophole in split-fee recruiting without changing how you work.
Read the guideRun your next split on the rail.
Free to create an account. Bring a split you already have and put it in writing in an afternoon.