Definition

Transparent Cost-Plus Pricing

A pricing model in which the service provider explicitly shows the cost breakdown to the client, including what goes to the underlying supplier or worker and what is the provider's margin. In offshore staffing, transparent cost-plus means the client's invoice separates the employee's take-home salary from the management fee. The alternative - opaque flat-rate pricing - creates incentives for providers to compress employee compensation without the client's knowledge, a practice sometimes called reverse tendering. Nicolas built Penbrothers on the transparent model from inception because opaque pricing in staffing creates misaligned incentives that ultimately harm the workers being placed.