[ Industry advisory · Talent & recruitment ]

Strategic advisory for labour hire and on-hire operators.

Labour hire is a working capital business dressed up as a people business. Contractors are paid weekly, clients are invoiced and pay monthly, and the gap in between is where the business lives or dies. Margin is earned as a spread over on-hired labour cost — not as a placement fee — which means every percentage point of on-cost, payroll tax and workers' comp matters. We help labour hire operators see the real economics of the model and stay compliant in a licensing environment that is tightening.

[ What we hear, again and again ]

The pressures inside labour hire & on-hire firms.

None of these are signs of a poorly-run business. They're signs that the financial relationship around the business hasn't kept up.

  • 01Payroll funding gap — weekly contractor payroll vs monthly client payment cycles
  • 02Margin-on-cost compressed by rising on-costs, payroll tax and workers' comp
  • 03Labour-hire licensing compliance in QLD, Victoria and SA — ongoing obligations and renewals
  • 04Contractor classification exposure scaling with headcount on-hired
  • 05Debtor days creeping out and quietly absorbing the funding facility headroom

[ How we work ]

What strategic support actually looks like.

  1. 01

    Weekly visibility on contractor margin, payroll funding position and debtor exposure

  2. 02

    On-costs, payroll tax and workers' comp modelled per contractor, per client

  3. 03

    Labour-hire licensing compliance tracked and renewed ahead of deadlines

  4. 04

    Cashflow forecast tied to payroll cycle, invoicing run and facility limits

  5. 05

    Structure designed for the working capital intensity and liability profile of on-hire

[ The numbers that matter ]

What good operators in this industry actually watch.

Not a long list — the handful of numbers that, watched consistently, change how the business is run.

  • 01

    Gross margin per contractor

    Revenue less on-hired cost, by contractor and client

  • 02

    Payroll funding gap

    Cash required to bridge weekly pay vs monthly receipt

  • 03

    Debtor days

    How long client invoices actually take to be paid

  • 04

    On-costs as % of on-hired labour

    Payroll tax, workers' comp, super and insurance loading

  • 05

    Licensing compliance status

    QLD, VIC, SA — current, renewal dates and obligations

[ Across the year ]

A real cadence — not a tax-time call.

See the full 12-month cadence →

[ The honest line ]

Labour hire operators who understand the payroll funding cycle, the true cost of on-hiring and the compliance burden make calmer decisions about growth, clients and margin. We help build that visibility into the rhythm of the business.

[ The next conversation ]

See the real economics of the on-hire model.

Bring the messy stuff. The numbers, the pressures, the decisions you've been putting off. The first conversation is structured, candid and obligation-free.

Book an introductory call →See the Command Centre

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