EOR cost and cash planning: a practical worksheet

Five buckets to keep separate

1. Service fees

   Record the employee count, billable months, minimum term, partial-month rule and mandatory add-ons. “Per month” can describe an annual price paid upfront.

2. Employment costs

   Include gross pay, employer contributions and agreed benefits. Employee deductions already contained in gross pay are not another employer cost. Ask for the country, tax year and calculation basis.

3. Other charges

   List implementation, transactions, FX spread and non-recoverable tax where applicable. Confirm which are already included. Keep different currencies separate until an explicit exchange-rate assumption is chosen.

4. Cash held or paid early

   Record refundable deposits, payroll prefunding and prepaid fees, with due dates and credit/refund conditions. Prefunding later applied to an invoice is not an additional cost.

5. Exit and remaining commitments

   Model service cancellation separately from ending employment. Add only extra notice, settlement or remaining service commitments not already included; deduct applicable credits once.

Worked example: three months versus a full year

Illustration only, not a provider quote. One employee; M costs EUR 500 monthly. A costs EUR 450 per month equivalent, paid EUR 5,400 upfront for 12 months with no unused-fee refund assumed. Both require a refundable EUR 6,000 deposit and EUR 6,000 for the first month of payroll and employer costs. All initial amounts are due before the first payroll. FX, taxes, extra charges and exit costs are excluded.

A saves EUR 600 in service fees over a full year, but commits EUR 3,900 more service fees for the three-month project and requires EUR 4,900 more opening cash. The EUR 6,000 deposit is cash tied up, not a final cost if refunded under the assumed conditions. The table does not calculate total employment cost.

Calculate cost, then build a payment calendar

1. Engagement cost = committed service fees + employment costs + other charges + additional exit/residual costs − relevant refunds or credits. Do not add deposits expected to be returned.
2. Opening cash = amounts actually due before your chosen start or first-payroll date. State that date; do not assume every monthly expense is payable on day one.
3. Funding need at a date = cumulative outflows minus cumulative refunds or other receipts allocated to the engagement. The peak is the largest positive balance in that dated schedule. Later refunds do not fund earlier payments.

Your working record

Download the blank text worksheet and edit it locally, or use the country budget tool for a provider-specific brief. Unknown is not zero. Record a currency and source for every amount.

• Scenario: country / work location / role / people / start date / planned months
• Quote: provider and legal entity / version / expiry / currency
• Service fee: unit price / billable months / minimum seats / annual commitment / renewal
• Employment: gross pay / employer contributions / benefits / tax year and basis
• Other charges: recurring / one-off / tax treatment / FX assumption
• Funding ledger: due date | amount and currency | purpose | invoice offset or refund condition | evidence
• Exit scenario: service notice / employment exit / remaining fees / credits, avoiding double counting
• Unknown amounts and next action: owner / document needed / due date
• Result: engagement cost by currency / opening cash and cutoff date / peak funding and date

Download the editable text worksheet

Use this with a country comparison

Related guide

Sources and method

EORInsight prepared this practical synthesis with AI assistance from public sources and the stated fictional assumptions. It has not received independent legal, tax or native-language expert review. It is a preparation aid, not advice or a provider compliance assessment. Obtain advice for the actual arrangement where needed.

Official country sources reviewed on 20 October 2026. Provider prices and terms remain in the country comparisons with their own evidence dates. This page does not independently verify individual provider permits or private quotes.

• AÜG § 1
• Bundesagentur für Arbeit · Arbeitnehmerüberlassung
• GOV.UK · National Insurance rates and categories
• GOV.UK · Workplace pensions: contribution basis
• GOV.UK · Written statement of employment particulars
• nidirect · Employment contracts (Northern Ireland)

Edition 1.2 adds the country applicability notes to the procurement download, and the full worked example and country-budget links to the downloadable records. The original reference briefs date from 18 October 2026. Cite the specific language URL and version.

Suggested citation

EORInsight. EOR cost and cash planning: a practical worksheet. EORI-RB-2026-10-A. v1.2. 2026-10-20. https://eorinsight.com/resources/en/eor-cost-cash-planning/