EOR deposit requirements: who asks for money upfront
The monthly fee is the number everyone compares. The deposit is the number that decides whether you can start hiring this month. Here is what each provider we track actually publishes, and what we assume when they publish nothing.
The short answer
Of the 8 providers we track, 2 state a deposit position on their own pricing page. The rest disclose it in the contract. Budget for one month of total employment cost as a deposit unless the provider confirms otherwise in writing, on top of the first month of actual payroll.
What each provider publishes
Not published on the provider's own pricing page
No deposit policy published; EOR Lens models one month as an assumption.
Modelled here: 1 month of total monthly cost
Not published on the provider's own pricing page
Modelled here: 1 month of total monthly cost
Not published on the provider's own pricing page
Modelled here: 1 month of total monthly cost
Refundable deposit required; number of months not published
Modelled here: 1 month of total monthly cost
Provider source (checked 2026-09-04)No standard deposit; reserve payments only in rare high-risk cases
Modelled here: No deposit modelled
Provider source (checked 2026-09-04)Not published on the provider's own pricing page
Deposit terms no longer published; 1.5 months modelled on EOR Lens from earlier published terms.
Modelled here: 1.5 months of total monthly cost
Not published on the provider's own pricing page
Modelled here: 1 month of total monthly cost
Where a provider publishes nothing, the modelled figure is an assumption we apply consistently so totals stay comparable. It is not a quoted price. Read how we build these numbers on our methodology page.
Questions to ask before you sign
- 1. Is a deposit required, and is it a fixed sum or a multiple of monthly cost?
- 2. Is it refundable, and how many days after the final payroll is it returned?
- 3. Does the deposit grow when I add headcount or when salaries rise?
- 4. Is there a setup fee, an offboarding fee or a minimum term on top?
- 5. What removes the deposit: annual prepayment, higher headcount, a credit check?
- 6. Who holds severance funding in a country with statutory payouts?
Related
FAQ
A deposit, sometimes called a security deposit, reserve or pre-funding requirement, is money you pay the Employer of Record before or alongside the first payroll run. It protects the provider, which is the legal employer and pays your worker's salary and taxes whether or not your invoice clears. It is normally refundable when the engagement ends and all liabilities are settled.
No, and very few of them say either way in public. Of the providers we track, only two publish a deposit position on their own pricing page: one confirms a refundable deposit is required without naming the number of months, and one states no standard deposit applies outside rare high-risk cases. For everyone else the terms surface in the contract, so ask before you sign.
Plan for the first month of total employment cost, salary plus employer taxes plus the provider fee, and add the deposit on top where one applies. On a typical mid-market salary that means two months of budget available before anyone is paid, even though only one month is an actual expense.
Usually yes. Deposits are held as security, not earned as revenue, and are returned after the final payroll, any statutory severance and any outstanding invoices are cleared. Confirm the refund window in writing, since some contracts release the money 30 to 90 days after the last payroll rather than immediately.
Often, yes. Providers use deposits to price credit risk, so a strong balance sheet, an annual prepayment, a larger headcount commitment or payment by wire rather than card are all levers. Ask what would remove or reduce the requirement before you accept it as fixed.