What does reference checking cost an agency per placement?
Two references per candidate costs from £1.60 in credits. The bigger cost is consultant time, and that is where automated chasing pays.
What does agency reference checking cost?
With RefAssure, agency reference checking costs between 80p and 99p per reference in credits, so a placement with two references costs £1.60 to £1.98. There is no monthly fee, no per-user fee and no VAT added. The larger cost for most agencies is consultant time spent chasing referees, which automated chasing by email and text takes off the desk.
Cost per placement, by pack.
| Per reference | Two references per placement | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 credits for £9.99 | 99p | £1.98 |
| 25 credits for £23.75 | 95p | £1.90 |
| 50 credits for £45 | 90p | £1.80 |
| 100 credits for £85 | 85p | £1.70 |
| 250 credits for £200 | 80p | £1.60 |
Where the real cost sits
The credit is the visible cost. The hidden one is the time a consultant spends sending requests, chasing referees, ringing switchboards and turning replies into something a client can read. It rarely appears as a line item, but it comes straight out of billable hours.
Work it out with your own numbers
Take the minutes a consultant spends on each reference from start to finish, multiply by their hourly cost, and add the credit price. As an illustration, if chasing takes 30 minutes at £20 an hour, that is £10 of time per reference before anyone has read a word. Use your own figures: the point is that time, not the tool, is usually the bigger number.
With RefAssure, sending a request takes a couple of minutes. Consent, reminders and the signed PDF report are handled for you, and one credit covers the request, the chasing and the report.
Slow references cost placements too
A reference that stalls can hold up a start date, and for temp desks that can mean a delayed invoice or a client who books elsewhere. Across 229 completed references in October 2026, the median turnaround on RefAssure was about 23 hours, and half came back within 24 hours. 4 in 10 arrived after an automatic reminder, which is the chasing a consultant would otherwise do by hand.
What to check when you compare costs
- Is there a monthly fee or minimum spend, even in quiet months?
- Is there a fee for each consultant or user?
- Do unused credits or allowances expire?
- Is VAT added on top of the price you are quoted?
- Are reminders by text included, or charged extra?
For the full list of packs, see pricing. If you mainly want to avoid a subscription, read reference checking with no monthly fee.
The chasing your consultants stop doing.
5 emails and up to 2 texts over 12 days, stopping the moment the referee replies.
One account for the whole desk.
Add every consultant at no extra cost. Credits are shared, so busy desks and quiet desks draw from the same balance.
- Unlimited team members, with no per-seat fee
- Credits never expire, so a slow month costs nothing
- A signed PDF report with full audit trail you can share with clients
- Most bounced requests are flagged within minutes, so no placement waits on a dead address
Agency cost questions
More in the full FAQs.
How much does a reference check cost per candidate?
Each reference uses one credit. Credits cost 99p each on the 10 pack and fall to 80p on the 250 pack, so two references cost between £1.60 and £1.98. All packs are listed on the pricing page.
Is there a fee for each consultant?
No. You can add unlimited team members and they all share the same credit balance. Growing the team does not change the price per reference.
Do credits expire?
No. Credits never expire, so you can buy a larger pack for a better rate and use it across busy and quiet periods.
Is VAT added to the price?
No VAT is added. The price on the pricing page is the price you pay.
Can I pass the cost on to clients?
How you charge clients is a commercial decision for your agency. Many agencies treat referencing as part of their service. The signed PDF report gives clients a clear record of what was checked and when, which supports your client SLAs.
How quickly do references come back?
Across 229 completed references in October 2026, the median was about 23 hours and half came back within 24 hours. 4 in 10 arrived after an automatic reminder. Speed depends on your referees, so add a mobile number where you can.
Related guides
Price every placement from £1.60.
Your first reference is free. No monthly fee, no per-user fee, no VAT added.