Pay per reference checking — buy credits when you need them, pay nothing when you do not

How pay-per-reference pricing works

RefAssure uses a credit system. Credits are purchased in packs — 10 credits for £9.99 (99p each), 25 for £23.75 (95p each), 50 for £45 (90p each), 100 for £85 (85p each), 250 for £200 (80p each). One credit equals one reference sent. Credits never expire. When you add a candidate to RefAssure and send a reference request, one credit is consumed. If the reference is not completed within the chasing period, no additional credits are used — automated chasing is included in the original credit. There are no per-user fees, no setup fees, no monthly subscriptions and no minimum purchase requirements beyond the first pack of 10.

When pay-per-reference is cheaper than subscription

A subscription reference checking tool at £99 per month costs £1,188 per year. At 99p per reference on RefAssure, you would need to process 1,200 references per year — 100 per month — before subscription becomes competitive. Most recruitment agencies process significantly fewer references per month than this. For agencies processing 10 to 60 references per month, pay-per-reference at RefAssure's rates is almost always cheaper than any subscription tool. At 100+ references per month, the 85p rate on the 100-credit pack brings the cost close to or below most subscription tools while still carrying zero fixed overhead in low-volume months.

The key advantage of pay-per-reference for agencies with seasonal demand is the absence of fixed overhead in quiet months. A hospitality agency spending £45 in credits for 50 references in December spends nothing in January if no references are needed. A subscription tool charges £99 regardless. Over a full year, the seasonal saving from pay-per-reference pricing can be significant for agencies with predictable seasonal patterns. Credits accumulate and never expire — unused December credits carry forward to February at no cost.