The typical quote, line by line
| Quote line | Amount excl. VAT |
|---|---|
| File opening fee | €300 |
| Writing the ad | €400 |
| Creating the visuals | €700 |
| Campaign setup and targeting | €500 |
| Multi-platform ad delivery envelope (2 months) | €3,500 |
| Monitoring and optimisation | €400 |
| End-of-campaign report | €200 |
| Total | €6,000 |
Let's go through each line, without assuming bad intent: each one can correspond to real work.
- Opening fee. The time it takes to understand your need. Legitimate, but ask what it actually covers.
- Writing and visuals. Useful: a good ad gets clicks. Ask how many versions you receive and whether you can reuse them.
- Setup and targeting. Careful: for a job offer, Facebook and Instagram prohibit targeting by age, sex or postcode. “Targeting” is limited to an area and a job.
- Ad delivery envelope. This is the line that matters. The word “envelope” does not say how much is actually paid to the platforms. Ask for the ad delivery invoices, or at least the number of views (impressions) obtained.
- Monitoring and report. Useful, provided the report gives the basic figures: ad spend, views, clicks, applications.
The envelope test
To find out what you actually bought, ask for the number of views obtained, then calculate:
Suppose the report for this example quote shows 300,000 views:
| Calculation | Result |
|---|---|
| €6,000 ÷ 300,000 × 1,000 | €20 per 1,000 views |
| My average CPM across 17 ads in 2026 | €5.30 |
| What €6,000 would have bought at my CPM | about 1,130,000 views |
This gap does not prove that anyone did a poor job: it says that part of the sum paid for something other than ad delivery. A highly contested job or a channel other than Facebook can also cost more per view. You have the right to know what it is, and it is a question you can ask calmly.
The question to ask: how much went to Facebook?
It fits in one sentence, and it is enough: “Of what I am paying, how much went to Facebook?” An amount, not a percentage. A clear answer tells you something. A vague answer tells you something too.
The same recruitment with me
Same need: one ad, two months of ad delivery. With me, the invoice fits on two lines:
| Line | What it pays for | Example over 2 months |
|---|---|---|
| Ad delivery | Paid to the platforms, with no margin from me for businesses | €10 a day × 60 days = €600 |
| The Plus subscription | My work: the ad, the landing page, the questions, the follow-up | €95 × 2 months = €190 |
| Total | €790 |
With €600 of ad budget, at my 2026 CPM, the ad would be shown about 113,000 times. And how many applications? Half of my 17 landing page ads in 2026 cost between €7.73 and €15.43 per application: with €600, that gives something in the order of 39 to 78 applications. It is a calculation based on my figures, not a promise: one of my ads cost €44.18 per application.
You choose the budget: the minimum is €5 a day. My simplest example: Plus at €95 + €5 a day for 14 days = €165. Whatever is not spent stays in your account and goes towards your next ad.
What a client says
Serge Geneix recruits crew members for his Burger King restaurants. Here is the review he left on Trustpilot on 21 September 2026:
His figures and those in my database are not the same: over four days, my database shows 22 conversions counted by Meta, for €12.59; in total, 30 applications for €20.48. I cannot verify the three hires: I count applications, not hires. I give you both versions, as they are. And this is a fast food ad, one of the most accessible jobs there is: the details are here.
The five questions to ask before signing a quote
- Of the total, how much is paid to the platforms? An amount.
- Will the report give the number of views?
- Whatever is not spent on ad delivery, where does it go?
- What exactly does each line of work contain?
- Is the price the same whatever the job and the town? If so, it is a package, not your recruitment.
In summary
- An “envelope” quote mixes ad delivery and work: ask for them to be separated.
- The test: amount paid ÷ views × 1,000. With me, €5.30 in 2026. A gap calls for a question, not an accusation.
- With me, two lines: ad delivery, with no margin for businesses, and the subscription (Plus at €95 a month).
- Example over two months: €600 of ad budget + €190 subscription = €790.
