---
title: "How to get finance to approve your first overseas hire"
description: "Finance wants three things: the fully loaded cost, the commitment, and how it ends. Here are the seven cost lines to show them, and where each comes from."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/insights/first-overseas-hire-finance-approval
datePublished: 2026-09-15T12:00:00.000Z
---

Last updated: 15 September 2026

Finance is rarely asking about the monthly fee. They want to know three things: the fully loaded cost of this one person, what the company is tied into, and how it ends if the hire does not work out. Answer those three and the sign-off meeting is usually short.

The fully loaded cost of a first overseas hire comes down to seven lines. Salary, employer social security, statutory benefits, the provider fee, any deposit, currency, and exit. None of them are hard to work out on their own. They sit in different places, which is why a first draft of the business case often looks thin.

This page sets out those seven lines, where each number comes from, and how the comparison with setting up your own legal entity is normally framed. A legal entity here just means your own registered company in that country. We have not modelled a single country, because employer costs move a long way between one European country and the next.

A situation we see

A mid-sized UK manufacturer with no overseas entities wants to test one salesperson in the EU before committing to more. The finance director has approved company formations before, but never a hire without one. So the question in the room is not the monthly fee. It is what the business is signing up to, and how quickly it can stop.

## What does finance actually need?

Finance needs a number it can defend, not a quote. That means the full cost of employing this person for a year, the cash at risk if it goes wrong, and the date by which the company can walk away. Most approvals stall because the paper in front of the meeting shows a salary and a fee, and nothing else.

It also helps to be clear about what is being approved. A trial hire is a budget decision, not a change of structure. Nothing about it stops you opening your own entity later, and nothing about it commits you to a second hire. Saying that early tends to remove the fear that the company is locking itself into someone else's model.

## What is the fully loaded cost of one overseas hire?

The fully loaded cost is the salary, plus everything the law in that country adds on top, plus the provider fee. Employer social security is the largest of the add-ons and it varies widely across Europe. Each country sets and publishes its own rates, and the European Commission's [Your Europe guidance for business](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/human-resources/social-security-health/social-security-contributions/index_en.htm) explains how employer contributions work across the EU.

Rather than quote a rate here that may not apply to the country you have in mind, model it. Our [employer cost calculator](/tools/employer-cost) builds the number for a given country and salary, so finance sees the same breakdown you do. Take that output into the meeting. A modelled figure for one country is worth more than a range that covers all of them.

| Line | What it is | Where the number comes from |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Salary | The gross pay you agree with the employee | Your offer, checked against local market pay |
| Employer contributions | Social security and payroll taxes the employer owes | That country's tax or social security authority |
| Statutory benefits | Holiday, sick pay, pension and anything else the law requires | Employment law in the country of work |
| Provider fee | The employer of record charge per employee per month | The provider's published price |
| Deposit | Cash held and given back, so not a cost | The provider's written terms |
| Currency | The rate used to turn local pay into your invoice | Ask the provider how the rate is set |
| Exit | Notice, final pay and any leaver costs | Local law, plus your service agreement |

Two of those lines catch people out. A deposit is not a cost at all, so it belongs in a cash flow line rather than in the annual figure. Currency is the other. Over twelve months of paying someone in a currency you do not hold, the exchange rate on each invoice adds up, and few business cases ever show it.

Teamed charges zero FX markup. Ask any provider you speak to how they set the rate on your invoice, and whether anything is added to it before you pay. It is a fair question, and the answer should be in writing.

## How does that compare with setting up an entity?

An entity changes the shape of the cost, not only its size. Setting one up is a project: incorporation, a registered address, a local director or agent in some countries, a bank account, and registration for payroll and tax. After that it becomes a standing job. Bookkeeping, payroll runs, annual accounts and statutory filings continue for as long as the company exists.

We have left the figures out on purpose. Formation and running costs depend on the country, the legal form you choose, and who does the local work. A number that claims to cover Germany and Poland at once is not a real number. Ask a local accountant in the country you are considering for a written quote, and ask for the annual running cost as well as the setup.

The other half of the comparison is time. A company takes weeks to register, then more weeks before it can run payroll properly. If the point of the exercise is to find out whether one salesperson can sell in that market, spending a quarter on paperwork first answers a different question.

## What is the commitment, and what if the trial does not work?

This is where most of the worry sits, and it is the easiest part to settle, because the terms are either written down or they are not. Ask for them in writing before anything goes to finance. A provider who will not put its fees and its notice period into the service agreement has told you something useful about how the rest will go.

Teamed charges £479 per employee per month, flat. There is no setup fee, there is no exit fee, and you can cancel any month. Offboarding an employee in their first three months may carry a fee. Where a deposit applies, it is one month's gross salary, refundable. Our [pricing page](/pricing) sets out what the fee covers.

Ending a trial hire is a separate question from ending the service. The employee has a notice period set by the law of the country they work in, and some countries add further protections or payments on top. That is country law rather than provider policy, so check it for your country before you promise the board a clean exit.

## When does an entity start to make sense?

There is no single headcount that flips the answer, whatever you have read. It turns on salaries in that country, the employer contributions there, how many people you expect to employ, and what a local company costs you to run each year. The same headcount points the other way in two different countries, which is why a rule of thumb is a poor basis for a board paper.

Work it out instead. Our [crossover calculator](/tools/crossover-calculator) compares the cost of employing through an [employer of record](/employer-of-record) with the cost of your own entity, country by country, so you can show finance the point where the lines cross. Run it again once you know your headcount, because the crossover moves with it.

Teamed runs employer of record hiring in 187+ countries, and a designated person will manage your account. If finance wants the cost lines for a specific country before you make the hire, [Talk to an Expert](/contact?from=insights-first-overseas-hire-finance-approval) at Teamed.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can we hire one person abroad without setting up a company there?

Yes. An employer of record is the legal employer in that country and runs the payroll, contract and filings, while the person works for you day to day. You do not need your own registered company to do it.

### What is the cash at risk if the trial hire does not work out?

Usually the salary and employer costs up to the end of the employee's notice period, plus anything local law adds. The notice period and any extra payments are set by the law of the country they work in, so check that country before you commit.

### How do we budget for currency on an overseas salary?

Budget the salary in the local currency, then agree with your provider how that becomes your invoice. Ask what rate is used, when it is set, and whether anything is added to it. The right answer depends on your own position, so talk it through before you sign.