Invoices & Taxes, Simplified: A Timeline Aligned to 20/30/50 Milestones

If you want fewer finance delays and faster recruiter payouts, anchor your process to milestone-based recruitment payments and make the paperwork boring in the best way. The 20/30/50 pattern—20% at sign-up, 30% at placement confirmation, 50% after a short retention window—turns a fuzzy “we’ll see” into a predictable invoice → client payment → recruiter payout rhythm. On SkillSeek, the rails are designed for exactly this: you operate under a recognizable brand envelope, invoicing and taxes are handled centrally, and you keep a visible 50% fee share—paid promptly after the client pays each milestone. Your focus stays where it belongs: brief, shortlist, interview, offer.

The only practical question left is “who clicks what, when?” This article lays out the exact timeline mapped to those three milestones, with plain-English tasks for the recruiter and the platform. It also includes a simple text-based timeline you can paste into proposals and an arithmetic example you can reuse in calls.

What “invoices & taxes, simplified” really means in practice

A recruiter’s week gets messy when contracts and invoices bounce between inboxes and PDFs. The SkillSeek model intentionally compresses surfaces:

• You send from a professional identity that earns first-touch trust: a professional @skillseek.eu email in your signature, plus standardized one-page profiles and proposals from the Hub.

• Admin is taken off your plate: invoicing and taxes are handled by the platform. You won’t wrestle with reverse-charge phrasing or invoice sequencing; finance teams receive a familiar document from SkillSeek.

• Your economics are simple and public: a 50% fee share, paid after the client pays each milestone. That pairing—deliverable + client payment + payout—keeps cash flow predictable on multi-country searches.

Just as important: the recruiter’s role in paperwork is clear and lightweight. You assist with contract signing between the client and SkillSeek—you prepare the contract, send it to the client, and after signature forward the countersigned file to SkillSeek admin. From there, SkillSeek issues the invoice to the client at each milestone and releases your recruiter payout after the client payment lands. Your job is to keep the recruiting work moving and keep the documentation tidy.

The complete 20/30/50 timeline (text version you can paste anywhere)

Think of this as a reusable block for proposals, project kickoff notes, or email explanations.

• Milestone 1 — 20% (Sign-up).
  Scope and deliverables are agreed (e.g., a three-profile shortlist). Recruiter task: prepare the client↔SkillSeek agreement, send for signature, then forward the signed version to SkillSeek admin. SkillSeek task: issue Invoice #1 (sign-up tranche) to the client. Cash moment: client pays Invoice #1 → SkillSeek releases 20% of your commission.

• Milestone 2 — 30% (Placement confirmation).
  A candidate accepts; start date is set. Recruiter task: confirm placement details in the Hub; attach candidate initials/role for reference. SkillSeek task: issue Invoice #2 (placement confirmation tranche). Cash moment: client pays Invoice #2 → SkillSeek releases 30% of your commission.

• Milestone 3 — 50% (Retention cleared).
  The hire completes the retention window defined with the client. Recruiter task: confirm retention complete in the Hub. SkillSeek task: issue Invoice #3 (final tranche). Cash moment: client pays Invoice #3 → SkillSeek releases 50% of your commission.

That’s the whole loop. Repetition is the feature. Every invoice aligns with a progress event finance can recognize in seconds.

How milestone-based recruitment payments align with contracts

The smoothest projects are the ones where the contract mirrors the milestones. Your pre-intake pack should include:

• A one-page outline of deliverables and dates (shortlist window, interview windows, offer path).

• A contract template that names the three milestones and which project outcomes “unlock” each invoice.

• A sentence that clarifies sequence: “Recruiter prepares agreement between Client and SkillSeek; upon signature, SkillSeek issues the milestone invoice to Client; recruiter payout follows after client payment.”

With that phrasing, procurement knows exactly what will hit their inbox and when. If you ever need to tighten the explanatory sentence for a specific buyer, a quick pass with ChatGPT is fine—keep it literal and under 30 words.

Why finance moves faster when the platform invoices

Finance teams approve what they recognize: consistent fields, predictable triggers, the right legal counterparty, and a sender domain that matches the contract. Because SkillSeek does the invoicing from a central system, each document looks the same—invoice number, client entity, milestone reference, and VAT treatment are in standard places. If the search is cross-border, the platform will apply the appropriate VAT handling and wording; you don’t have to learn it, and you don’t have to argue it. Your visible role stays limited to contract flow and progress updates; SkillSeek handles the billing and the taxes behind the scenes.

Your role at each milestone (clear, minimal, repeatable)

• Before Milestone 1: confirm role scope and business outcome in the Hub; attach your brief; line up two interview slots you will always propose (e.g., Thu 10:30 CET, Fri 14:00 CET). Prepare and send the contract for e-signature between client and SkillSeek; forward the signed contract to SkillSeek admin.

• After Milestone 1 invoicing: focus on delivery—ship the promised shortlist (three one-page profiles), confirm the next steps, and keep all commentary in the same Hub doc to avoid version sprawl.

• At Milestone 2: capture the offer acceptance and start date (candidate initials/role only); SkillSeek issues the placement invoice; you keep the pipeline moving to onboarding.

• At Milestone 3: confirm the retention window is complete; SkillSeek issues the final invoice and releases your final commission payout after the client has paid.

Notice the pattern: you never build an invoice. You never format a VAT statement. You guide the contract and prove the milestone; the platform does the rest.

A buyer-friendly explanation you can copy into emails

“We work on a 20/30/50 schedule tied to clear deliverables. I’ll prepare a simple contract between your company and SkillSeek. After signature, SkillSeek issues the invoice for the relevant milestone. You’ll see the exact same format at each step: sign-up (20%), placement confirmation (30%), retention cleared (50%). My payout only happens after your payment—so cash and progress move together. In parallel, I’ll keep scheduling easy by offering two specific CET slots in every thread.”

Cash-flow arithmetic you can show in one minute

Let’s assume a €60,000 role at a 20% client fee. Total fee: €12,000. As a partner, you keep 50% of the placement fee, so €6,000 is your commission—released in three recruiter payouts that mirror client payments:

• Milestone 1 (20%): €1,200 recruiter payout after the client pays Invoice #1

• Milestone 2 (30%): €1,800 recruiter payout after the client pays Invoice #2

• Milestone 3 (50%): €3,000 recruiter payout after the client pays Invoice #3

If you need a different salary or fee percentage, swap the numbers; the pattern doesn’t change. The point is cash arrives steadily as the project moves, not all at the very end.

A text timeline you can paste under “Commercials” in any proposal

Sign-up → Contract signed (Client↔SkillSeek) → SkillSeek issues Invoice #1 (20%) → Client pays → Recruiter payout (20% of your commission)
Placement confirmed → SkillSeek issues Invoice #2 (30%) → Client pays → Recruiter payout (30% of your commission)
Retention cleared → SkillSeek issues Invoice #3 (50%) → Client pays → Recruiter payout (50% of your commission)

It reads like a conveyor belt because it is one. No screenshots, no infographics, just words the buyer can forward to finance without explanation.

What to include on the client-facing contract (you prepare, SkillSeek countersigns)

Keep your contract prep disciplined. The fewer decisions finance needs to make, the faster they approve.

• Named milestones and outcomes. “Milestone 1 (20%): project start and shortlist delivery commitment” → “Milestone 2 (30%): placement confirmation (offer accepted; start date set)” → “Milestone 3 (50%): retention window complete.”

• Invoice sequence language. “After signature SkillSeek will issue the corresponding milestone invoice to Client; subsequent milestone invoices will be issued as each milestone is reached.”

• Sane dates. Put predictable windows on paper: shortlist window, two interview slots, and the retention period length.

• One line on invoicing owner. “Invoices are issued by SkillSeek; payments are made to SkillSeek per invoice instructions; recruiter payouts are managed by SkillSeek after client payment.”

If you maintain those four ingredients, procurement rarely has questions. For your own pack, format this once and reuse it. The Templates kit makes that easy to lock in house style.

The operational guardrails that prevent slips

A 20/30/50 plan fails only when documents stray from the rails. These habits keep you safe and fast:

• One workspace for meetings, docs, and tasks. Put the brief, shortlist, interview agenda, and acceptance note in the same place so anyone can verify milestones.

• One-page profiles, every time. Managers decide faster when they can read on a phone. The Recruiter Success Kit gives you decision-ready formats; your job is to fill them with evidence, not prose.

• Two time slots in every thread. Pre-offering concrete CET windows (and a CET±1 option when needed) removes calendar ping-pong, so “placement confirmation” isn’t delayed by scheduling.

• Literal subject lines and invoice references. “Milestone 2: placement confirmation for [role] (candidate initials).” Finance likes nouns they can file.

• Keep data lean. Milestones require proof, not diaries. Use initials for candidates, role IDs, and dates—no sensitive personal detail in milestone notes.

A short numbered list: the three-step loop you’ll repeat on every role

1. Prepare & route contract (Client↔SkillSeek), then forward the signed copy to SkillSeek admin so Invoice #1 can be issued.

2. Deliver & document milestones (shortlist shipped; placement confirmed; retention cleared) inside the Hub so the corresponding invoice can go out immediately.

3. Track payouts as client payments land: you’ll see recruiter payouts released after client payment—20%, then 30%, then 50% of your commission.

Common questions (and precise answers)

Who invoices the client?
SkillSeek. You handle the contract preparation and signature flow between the client and SkillSeek; once signed, SkillSeek sends the invoices for each milestone and manages payments and taxes. Your payout follows after client payment at each stage.

What happens if a milestone is reached but the client’s internal approver is out?
Because the invoice is standardized and tied to a clearly named milestone, the approver can act without re-reading the whole contract. Your best move is to include the exact milestone label and date in the email subject so it’s easy to search internally.

How do I explain cash timing to a first-time SME buyer?
Use the text timeline earlier in this article and one sentence: “You pay only as we deliver; we start with a small sign-up tranche, then a placement tranche, then a retention tranche. At each step, you’ll get a familiar invoice from SkillSeek.”

Does this work EU-wide?
Yes. The rails are the same whether the buyer is in DACH, Benelux, or the Nordics: you prepare the contract; SkillSeek handles invoicing and taxes; payouts release after client payment. If the project is cross-border, the platform applies the appropriate VAT treatment on the invoice—you don’t have to.

Where do templates and scripts live?
In the Hub. Use the Recruiter Success Kit to keep your one-pagers and email copy consistent; it’s how you make the admin feel “already known” to new buyers.

Putting it all together on one page for a proposal

If you need a single-page “Commercials & Invoicing” section for a proposal or a website page, stack these components in order:

• Fee model: client fee as a % of salary (e.g., 20%) with your 50% fee share.

• Milestone schedule: 20% sign-up → 30% placement confirmation → 50% retention cleared.

• Sequence line: “Recruiter routes contract for signature between Client and SkillSeek; SkillSeek invoices each milestone; payouts release after client payment.”

• Two interview slots to lock calendars early.

• Brand signals that reassure finance: a professional @skillseek.eu email and standardized docs from the Hub.

• EU-wide operational claim that matches buyer behavior: invoicing and taxes are handled centrally, so cross-border projects don’t stall.

With that content, you’ve answered the real objections: Who signs? Who invoices? When do we pay? When do you get paid? Everything else is execution.