Glossary

Split-fee terms, in plain English.

Every word we use on this site, explained the way a recruiter would say it — with a real example so there's nothing to guess.

The basics

The words you need before you do your first split.

Split placement: Two recruiters fill one job together. One brings the candidate, the other brings the client, and they share the fee.; Example: Dana has the nurse manager. Marco has the hospital. They fill the role together and split the $45,000 fee.
Candidate recruiteralso called Candidate side: The recruiter who represents the person being hired.; Example: Dana found the candidate, so Dana is the candidate recruiter.
Client recruiteralso called Job side: The recruiter who has the relationship with the company that is hiring.; Example: Marco holds the hospital's search, so Marco is the client recruiter.
Fee: What the company pays for the hire. Usually a percentage of the new hire's first-year base salary.; Example: A $180,000 salary at a 25% fee is a $45,000 fee.
Split percentage: How the fee is divided between the two recruiters. 50/50 is the common starting point.; Example: On a $45,000 fee, a 50/50 split is $22,500 each.

Consent and paperwork

What has to be signed, and by whom, before names get shared.

Right to Representalso called RTR: The candidate's written permission for you to present them — to a specific client, for a specific role, until a specific date.; Example: Dana's RTR says: present me to the named hospital for the nurse manager role, valid for 60 days.
Blind listing: A candidate profile that shows what matters — title, specialty, market, salary range — without the person's name or employer.; Example: "Nurse manager, cardiac step-down, Dallas, $170–190k, available in 30 days." No name until both recruiters sign.
Deal room: The private page where the two recruiters talk and agree terms. Until the agreement is signed you're shown as Recruiter A and Recruiter B.; Example: Dana and Marco agree 50/50 and a 90-day guarantee in the deal room, then both sign.
Identity reveal: The moment both names — candidate and client — become visible. It happens for both recruiters at the same second, and only after both have signed.; Example: Marco can't learn the candidate's name before he has signed, and neither can Dana learn the client's.
Split agreement: The signed contract that says who gets what, and what happens if things go wrong.; Example: 50/50, paid within 30 days of the client's invoice, 90-day guarantee, arbitration if you disagree.
Non-circumvention: A promise not to go around your partner to work with their candidate or client directly after you've been introduced.; Example: Marco can't hire Dana's candidate at another one of his clients six weeks later without cutting Dana in.

Getting paid

How the money moves, and when.

Escrow: The fee is held by a neutral party until the agreed conditions are met, instead of sitting with whichever recruiter invoiced the client.; Example: The hospital pays $45,000. It's held, then released to both recruiters on the agreed date.
Inspection period: A short waiting window after the money arrives, so either side can raise a problem before payout.; Example: A 5-day window: if nobody objects, the split is paid out on day 6.
Guarantee period: The time during which the hire has to stick. If they leave early, the company usually gets money back or a free replacement.; Example: A 90-day guarantee: the candidate quits on day 40, so the fee is at risk.
Fall-off: The hire leaves, or is let go, inside the guarantee period.; Example: Day 40 resignation on a 90-day guarantee is a fall-off.
Clawback: Money already paid out being taken back after a fall-off.; Example: Both recruiters return their share of the $45,000 unless the client accepts a replacement.
Holdback: Keeping part of the fee unpaid until the guarantee period ends, so a fall-off doesn't mean chasing your partner for a refund.; Example: 80% paid at placement, 20% held until day 90.
Remittance statement: The one-page summary of who was paid what, and why, on a placement.; Example: $45,000 fee, 50/50, minus platform fee, paid on 12 May — downloadable as a PDF by both sides.
Funded: The paying desk has wired the fee to the escrow provider. The money exists and is out of their hands, but nobody has been paid yet.; Example: Funded on 18 Apr — next the provider locks it and the guarantee clock starts.
Heldalso called Held through guarantee: The money is locked with the provider for the inspection window. Neither recruiter can touch it.; Example: Held until 17 Jul — if nobody disputes, it releases automatically.
Releasing: Inspection passed, so the provider is moving the split to the receiving desk. Last reversible point.; Example: Releasing since this morning — settlement usually lands in a few business days.
Disbursed: The split has settled with the receiving desk. The deal is closed.; Example: Disbursed 20 Jul — nothing further to do.
Release frozen: A dispute or clawback request has paused everything. The inspection clock stops and the provider will not pay out.; Example: Frozen 12 May — respond with evidence, or a reviewer decides.
Rail-only: A deal tracked on PlaceRail without escrow. No funds are held; the two desks pay and confirm by hand.; Example: Payer marks it paid, payee confirms receipt, and the deal closes.

When something goes wrong

The words that show up on a bad day.

Dispute: A formal disagreement raised inside the deal, with a deadline for the other side to respond.; Example: Dana says the fall-off was the client's fault and opens a dispute with the resignation email attached.
Evidence visibility: You choose whether a file you upload is private, shared with your partner now, or released when the case ends.; Example: The candidate's private message stays private; the client's email is shared.
Arbitration: If you can't agree, a neutral third person reviews the record and decides. The decision is final and written down.; Example: The arbitrator awards Dana 60% of the disputed amount and the case closes.
Event log: The running history of everything that happened on a deal. Entries can be added but never edited or deleted.; Example: Signed 3 Apr, revealed 3 Apr, funded 18 Apr, disputed 12 May — all timestamped.
Audit export: A downloadable pack of the full deal history — PDF, spreadsheet and a checksum file — that anyone can check for tampering.; Example: Hand the ZIP to your lawyer; they can confirm on our verify page that nothing was altered.

Want to see these in order on a real placement? Walk through a split step by step.

Now put one on paper.

Free to start. Bring a split you already agreed and get it signed, tracked and paid without the chasing.

Create a recruiter account See how it works