Bill rate escalator

Definition

The clause that raises what a client pays each year, or the silence where that clause should be.

Why It Matters

Guard work is almost entirely wages, so a contract with no escalator hands every minimum-wage rise and every insurance increase straight to the margin. Long client relationships are sold as a strength here and an old contract at an old rate is the opposite. Ask for the top ten posts with their start dates, current bill rates and escalator language side by side. A post that has run five years at the rate it started on is not loyalty, it is a price increase the buyer has to go and ask for in their first quarter.