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Preview of the Contingent Labor Cost and Conversion Workbook
Program ModelRoll up a whole contingent program across pay bandsXLSX

Real screenshots from the workbook. Example figures are illustrative.

Calculator workbook

Contingent Labor Cost and Conversion Workbook

Answer the question finance keeps asking: should these agency workers be on our payroll, and what would we save. Four options side by side, on your numbers, with every default sourced.

$39USD

One-time purchase, no subscription. Instant download.

Built to the TrueStep HR standard

  • Four-way cost model comparing agency bill, payrolling, and internal payroll with and without benefits
  • Program-level rollup across pay bands with per-band markup and burden, the CFO view
  • Burden builder that turns the 18% and 30% defaults into your real rates
  • Scenario compare with a recommendation cell driven by the numbers, not a default
  • Sourced assumptions tab with every default dated to its BLS, IRS, or survey source
  • Start Here guide plus the workbook, license, and Google Sheets guide

The workbook prices the decision. You make the call; the model documents the case for finance.

14-day money-back guarantee. If it does not help, email us and we refund you.

Want it set up with you? Add a 60 minute implementation session — $149 →

One-time purchase Instant download Editable files

Planning figures built from sourced, dated defaults. General information, not legal or tax advice; confirm your own rates and terms before acting on the outputs.

Not the right fit? Take the 60-second match.

Buying for clients or multiple entities? The White-Label tier is in the license.

One-time purchaseNo subscription
Instant downloadFiles you keep
Editable filesExcel, Word, PDF
14-day guaranteeMoney back
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What you get

A workbook built for the meeting where the number gets challenged

One Excel workbook, opened on a worked example, plus the guide that tells you the order to work in. Works in Excel or Google Sheets.

PDFStart here

Start Here

How the tabs fit together and the order to work in. One page, read it first.

XLSXExcel

Contingent Labor Cost and Conversion Workbook

Seven tabs: the single-role four-way calculator with a breakeven read, the multi-role program model across pay bands, the burden builder, scenario compare with a recommendation cell, and an assumptions and sources tab that dates every default. Opens on a worked example. Works in Excel or Google Sheets.

PDFLicense

TrueStep HR Product License

What you can and cannot do with the files, including the consultant and white-label tiers.

PDFGuide

Using This Workbook in Google Sheets

The two-minute import path if your team lives in Google Sheets rather than Excel.

How it works

The method in the order the decision runs

The workbook moves from one role to the whole program, then stress-tests the answer before anyone presents it.

STEP 01

Price one role four ways

Enter the pay rate, hours, and remaining need. The calculator prices the agency bill, a payrolling arrangement, and internal payroll with and without benefits, and reads the breakeven.

STEP 02

Build your real burden

Replace the planning defaults with your rates: FICA and FUTA are fixed, your state unemployment and workers compensation are not. The burden builder assembles the real number line by line.

STEP 03

Roll up the program

Model the whole contingent population across pay bands with per-band markup and burden. This is the tab that turns a hunch into a program-level annual savings figure.

STEP 04

Compare scenarios and decide

Status quo, partial conversion, full conversion, side by side, with a recommendation cell driven by your inputs. Print it for the meeting.

The standard

Built to survive a skeptical CFO

A savings claim built on a made-up burden number dies in one meeting. This workbook is built so every figure can be traced to an input, and every input to a source.

The rule behind thisWhat contingent labor costs ›
The markup is not margin. The honest savings case is the burden and margin you stop renting, and the workbook prices exactly that.
Every default sourced and dated. The BLS benefits share, the IRS statutory rates, and the survey markup ranges are named on the assumptions tab with the date each was checked.
User inputs where averages lie. State unemployment and workers compensation ship as your inputs, never hardcoded, because no published average matches your rate notice.
An honest crossover. When the remaining need is short or the buyout is high, the model shows the agency winning. A tool that always says convert is not trusted, and should not be.
A worked example in every tab. The workbook opens on a realistic 40-worker program, not a blank sheet you have to decode.

Where the cost question becomes a legal question

Two exposures ride on every contingent program, and the workbook flags where they start. Classification and co-employment are counsel territory; price the labor here, and route these to a professional.

Converting temps into 1099 contractors Assignments running past a tenure cap Workers under your direction on an agency payroll A conversion plan touching multiple states
Is this for you

Who it is built for

Who this fits, and where to go if that is not you.

Built for

  • An operator or HR lead who needs a defensible answer to the payroll-vs-agency question this quarter.
  • A finance partner who wants the assumptions on the surface instead of buried in a consultant deck.
  • A consultant or fractional HR lead pricing a conversion case for a client.

If you are looking for

Questions

Before you buy

How is this different from the free calculator?
The free calculator prices one crew in your browser. The workbook adds the program-level rollup across pay bands, the burden builder that replaces the defaults with your real rates, scenario compare with a recommendation cell, and the sourced assumptions tab, and it saves your work.
What burden figures does it use?
The defaults are an 18% statutory-only planning figure and a 30% with-benefits figure tracking the BLS finding that benefits run 30.1% of total compensation. Both are inputs: the burden builder assembles your real number from FICA, FUTA, your state unemployment rate, your workers compensation class rate, and your benefits load.
Does it handle overtime?
Yes. Hours and overtime hours are separate inputs, overtime is priced at time and a half on the internal routes and at the billed premium on the agency route, and the worked example carries five overtime hours a week so you can see the effect.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. It is a cost model with planning figures. Worker classification and co-employment carry legal exposure, and the workbook marks where those questions start and routes them to qualified counsel.
Is it a subscription?
No. One-time purchase, instant download, no recurring fee. You keep the files.
Will it stay current as the figures change?
Each file carries a last-reviewed date so you can see how current it is, and the assumptions tab dates every default to its source, so a changed rate is a one-cell update rather than a mystery.
What is the refund policy?
Digital products are covered by a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the refund policy for the full terms.
What happens after I buy?
Checkout delivers an instant download link, and a receipt with the same link arrives by email. Open the Start Here page first; it tells you the order to work in. Questions or want a hand getting set up? Email support@truestephr.com.
Can I expense this purchase to my business?
Most customers buy TrueStep HR tools for business use, and a tool you use for work often qualifies as a deductible business expense. Whether it does for you depends on your situation, so confirm with your accountant. Your receipt arrives by email at checkout and works as documentation.
Free guide

The 6 red flags to check before you discipline or fire someone

A five-minute screen to run before you act. Free PDF, sent to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.

The method behind this

This tool is built on published method and current rules. Read the basis yourself:

What contingent labor costs: markup, burden, and the conversion math›Free Staffing Agency vs Payroll Cost Calculator, run one crew now›The fully loaded cost of an employee›
Get the workbook

Price the conversion once and defend it anywhere

The four-way model, the program rollup, the burden builder, and the sourced assumptions, opened on a worked example.

$39
One-time purchase, no subscription. Instant download.