---
title: "Customizable ATS for Recruitment Agencies"
description: "Use this field-and-stage worksheet to test a customisable ATS for your agency. Score fields, stages and owners against two mandates before you buy."
url: "https://www.leonar.app/blog/customizable-ats-for-recruitment-agencies/"
lang: "en"
image: "https://www.leonar.app/og/blog/customizable-ats-for-recruitment-agencies-en.png"
tokens: 4811
---

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4.  Customizable ATS for Recruitment Agencies: A Buyer Test

Staffing September 21, 2026 10 min read

# Customizable ATS for Recruitment Agencies: A Buyer Test

Use this field-and-stage worksheet to test a customisable ATS for your agency. Score fields, stages and owners against two mandates before you buy.

[![Pierre-Alexis Ardon](https://www.leonar.app/_astro/pierre-alexis-ardon.ByBiMn-t_1eJ10c.webp)](https://www.leonar.app/authors/pierre-alexis-ardon/)

[Pierre-Alexis Ardon](https://www.leonar.app/authors/pierre-alexis-ardon/) Co-founder

Updated September 21, 2026

![Adrien Tedjirian](https://www.leonar.app/_astro/adrien-tedjirian.BbnmZr4f_18wWaF.webp) ![Dolihane Feddag](https://www.leonar.app/_astro/dolihane-feddag.DkmcuiI8_uRaLP.webp) ![Louis de Froment](https://www.leonar.app/_astro/louis-de-froment.Y5ImtxTq_28zrXp.webp)

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Table of contents

-   [Configuration is not customization, and the difference costs money](#configuration-is-not-customization-and-the-difference-costs-money)
-   [The field-and-stage acceptance worksheet you can run in any demo](#the-field-and-stage-acceptance-worksheet-you-can-run-in-any-demo)
-   [Meet Harbour Lane and Brightpath, our two test mandates](#meet-harbour-lane-and-brightpath-our-two-test-mandates)
-   [Scoring candidate and project fields against your desk](#scoring-candidate-and-project-fields-against-your-desk)
-   [Scoring company and deal fields for the client side](#scoring-company-and-deal-fields-for-the-client-side)
-   [Configurable today versus custom development you must confirm](#configurable-today-versus-custom-development-you-must-confirm)
-   [Required proof versus a confident sales answer](#required-proof-versus-a-confident-sales-answer)
-   [Where Leonar’s configuration fits, and what to confirm](#where-leonars-configuration-fits-and-what-to-confirm)
-   [Turning the worksheet into your buying decision](#turning-the-worksheet-into-your-buying-decision)

A customisable ATS sounds like it will bend to your agency. Then you buy it, and you find the fields are fixed, the stages are locked, and the “customization” is a quote from a services team. The gap between the sales demo and the live product is where agencies lose months.

This guide gives you a way to close that gap before you sign. It is a field-and-stage acceptance worksheet. You run it against any ATS, score each row, and leave a row unproven until the vendor shows it working. No rankings, no hands-on tests, just a checklist you can carry into a demo.

The worksheet works for a retained desk and a contingent desk alike. We will score it against two made-up mandates so you can see how it plays out on real requirements.

## Configuration is not customization, and the difference costs money

Start with the word that vendors blur. Configuration means adjusting a structure the vendor already built. You switch settings on, add fields from a fixed menu of types, and reorder stages that already exist. Customization, in the strict sense, means building structure that was not there before, often with code or a paid services engagement.

Most tools sell configuration and label it customization. For your agency, the label decides your risk. A configurable requirement is a setting you control on day one. A true custom requirement is a project with a cost and a timeline. Sort every requirement into one of those two buckets before you commit to a contract.

That sorting is the whole job. A modern platform should cover the common agency needs with configuration alone. If a vendor keeps answering “we can build that for you,” you are pricing a services relationship, not a tool. For the wider shift in what modern platforms configure out of the box, our breakdown of [what changed between modern and legacy ATS](https://www.leonar.app/blog/modern-ats-vs-legacy-ats/) is a useful companion read.

## The field-and-stage acceptance worksheet you can run in any demo

Here is the worksheet. For each requirement, record seven things: the record it lives on, the field or stage, its type, the owner, a one-line definition, the filtering or reporting requirement, and the result. Score the result as evidence when the vendor shows it live, or unknown until they do.

| Record | Field or stage | Type | Owner | Definition | Filter or report need | Result |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Candidate | Availability date | Date | Recruiter | Earliest date the candidate confirms they can start | Filter shortlists by who can start by the required date | evidence / unknown |
| Candidate | Salary expectation | Currency | Recruiter | Target gross annual base salary, with currency recorded | Match to the mandate’s salary range | evidence / unknown |
| Project | Mandate type | Select (retained/contingent) | Consultant | Whether the search is retained or paid only on placement | Filter retained and contingent searches; report fees by desk | evidence / unknown |
| Project | Pipeline stage set | Stage list | Consultant | Ordered steps a candidate follows through this mandate | Filter candidates by stage; report progress through your real steps | evidence / unknown |
| Company | Account owner | Team member | Account lead | Person responsible for the agency’s relationship with this client | Filter clients by owner to route account work | evidence / unknown |
| Deal | Fee basis | Select or currency | Account lead | Agreed charging method, or fixed fee amount with currency recorded | Filter by charging method or fee amount; forecast revenue by stage | evidence / unknown |

The point of the result column is discipline. A confident answer in a sales call is not evidence. You mark a row as proven only when someone shows the field being created as the right type, or the stage being renamed and reordered, in front of you. Everything else stays unknown and becomes a follow-up question.

Keep the worksheet short. Add a row only for a field you will actually filter or report on. A field nobody searches is clutter that slows every recruiter down.

## Meet Harbour Lane and Brightpath, our two test mandates

To make the worksheet concrete, picture two fictional agencies. Both are invented for this guide. Use them as a script when you sit in a demo.

Harbour Lane Executive is a retained search firm with five consultants. It runs a single confidential mandate: a new chief operating officer for a private client. The desk needs a mandate type field marked retained, a tight five-stage pipeline from research to placement, and one consultant owning the whole search. Fee tracking matters because the retainer is billed in thirds.

Brightpath Staffing is a contingent agency with a dozen recruiters. It fills warehouse and logistics roles at volume for several clients at once. Its desk needs pay-rate and availability fields on every candidate, a fast pipeline with a client-submission stage, and clear account ownership so two recruiters never chase the same client. Its deals track a placement fee per hire.

The two desks stress the worksheet in opposite ways. One wants a small, controlled setup with confidentiality baked in. The other wants speed and volume across many records. A genuinely customisable ATS should serve both with configuration, not custom code.

## Scoring candidate and project fields against your desk

Walk the candidate rows first. For Harbour Lane, the load-bearing fields are few: a decision status, a source note, and a compensation range stored as a currency. For Brightpath, the candidate record carries more weight. Availability as a date, pay rate as a currency, and a location field you can filter by radius all decide whether a recruiter can build a shortlist in minutes.

Test each field as its real type. A date must behave like a date so you can sort by who is free next week. A rate must be a currency so you can total it and filter by band. If the ATS only offers free text, mark the row unknown and ask how you would ever filter it.

Now the project rows. Both mandates need a pipeline that mirrors their real steps, not a generic funnel. Harbour Lane wants research, approach, interview, client shortlist and placement. Brightpath wants a shorter loop with a client-submission stage in the middle.

Ask the vendor to rename and reorder stages in front of you. If stages are fixed, that is a configuration limit you need to know before you buy. This is also where a clear split between candidate work and client work starts to matter, which we cover in [candidate CRM versus client CRM](https://www.leonar.app/blog/candidate-crm-vs-client-crm/).

## Scoring company and deal fields for the client side

An agency ATS is only half a tool if it stops at candidates. Your clients are records too, and they need the same acceptance test.

On the company record, both mandates need an account owner stored as a team member field, so every client routes to one person. Harbour Lane adds a confidentiality flag; Brightpath adds a contract type.

On the deal, both desks track fees, but differently. Harbour Lane bills a retainer in stages, so it needs deal stages that match those payment points. Brightpath books a placement fee per hire, so it wants a simple pipeline it can forecast by stage and by owner.

Score these rows the same way. Ask to see a custom company field created, a deal pipeline built with its own stages, and a forecast that totals expected revenue. Executive search desks in particular should pressure-test the client side hard, and our guide to [the executive search software features worth scoring](https://www.leonar.app/blog/executive-search-ats-features/) goes deeper on the retained-desk requirements.

## Configurable today versus custom development you must confirm

Some requirements need a closer demo check before you can classify them as configuration or custom development. Field-level permissions, where one role sees a field another cannot, are not a given. Mandatory-field enforcement, where the system blocks a save until a field is filled, varies by vendor. For per-client database schemas, arbitrary no-code integrations and automated actions that fire on a stage change, ask what is available as a setting. Confirm any plan requirements or development work.

Do not assume any of these. Put each one on the worksheet with the result set to unknown, and make the vendor confirm it in writing. If a requirement needs true custom development, price it as a project. That is not a reason to walk away. It is a reason to know what you are buying before the invoice arrives.

## Required proof versus a confident sales answer

The single most useful habit in an ATS demo is refusing to score a row on words alone. Vendors are optimistic by design. A demo answer of “yes, that is customizable” tells you nothing until you see the field created as the right type or the stage reordered on screen.

So separate two things on every row: the proof you require and the outcome you observe. The proof is the specific action you asked to see. The outcome is what actually happened when they tried it. When those two match, mark the row as evidence. When the vendor deflects to a follow-up, keep it unknown. A worksheet full of honest unknowns is far more useful than a worksheet full of hopeful passes.

## Where Leonar’s configuration fits, and what to confirm

Leonar is built for agency desks, so it configures the fields and stages this worksheet tests. You can add custom fields to contacts, companies, deals and projects, with 12 field types including text, number, date, currency, select and multiselect.

You can also rename and reorder pipeline stages, run multi-owner projects for shared searches, and build multiple deal pipelines with their own stages. Every field type is filterable, including a radius search on location, so the shortlist filters in this guide are real.

If you want to see the numbers before a demo, the [pricing page](https://www.leonar.app/pricing/) lists plans from $119 per user each month, and the [agency overview](https://www.leonar.app/for-agencies/) shows how the desk fits together.

For field-level permissions, mandatory-field enforcement, per-client database schemas or arbitrary no-code integrations, keep each requirement unknown until confirmed. Ask for a demo of your exact setup and written confirmation of availability, plan requirements and any development work. Apply that test to every vendor, Leonar included.

## Turning the worksheet into your buying decision

You do not need a ranked list of tools to make a good ATS decision. You need a clear picture of which requirements are settings and which are projects, and hard evidence for each one. The worksheet gives you both.

Run it against every shortlist candidate. Score each field and stage as evidence or unknown, sort the unknowns into configuration questions and custom-development quotes, and let the totals speak. The tool that turns the most rows into evidence, with the fewest surprises hiding in a services contract, is the one your agency can actually run a year from now. When you are ready to test Leonar against your own worksheet, [book a demo](https://app.leonar.app/demo) and bring your hardest rows.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does a customisable ATS actually let a recruitment agency change?

It depends on the vendor, and that is the point of testing it. Most agencies want to change three things: the fields on a record, the stages in a pipeline, and who owns each project. A good customisable ATS lets you add fields like pay rate, notice period or a client reference number, rename and reorder pipeline stages, and assign owners per project. Some tools also let you build separate pipelines for different desks. What almost no ATS gives you is unlimited custom development without a services contract. Ask the vendor to show each change live, then record whether it is a setting you control or a build they quote for.

### What is the difference between configuration and customization in an ATS?

Configuration means adjusting a structure the vendor already built. You turn settings on, add fields from a fixed list of types, and reorder stages. Customization, in the strict sense, means building structure that did not exist before, often with code or a paid services team. Most vendors sell configuration and call it customization. For an agency, that distinction decides your buying risk. If a requirement needs true custom development, you are buying a project, not a setting. Sort every requirement into one bucket before you sign.

### Which fields should a recruitment agency add to its ATS first?

Start with the fields you filter and report on every week. On the candidate side that is usually availability, notice period, salary expectation and desired location. On the client side it is the account owner, contract type and fee basis. Add a field only if you will search or sort by it. A field nobody filters is clutter. Test that the ATS lets you add each one as the right type, a date as a date and a rate as a currency, and that you can filter records by it afterwards.

### Does Leonar let you customize fields, stages and pipelines?

Yes. Leonar lets you add custom fields to contacts, companies, deals and projects, with 12 field types including text, number, date, currency, select and multiselect. You can rename and reorder pipeline stages, run multi-owner projects, and build multiple deal pipelines with their own stages. You can filter and search by every field type, including a radius search on location. For field-level permissions, mandatory-field enforcement, per-client database schemas or arbitrary no-code integrations, keep each requirement unknown until confirmed. Ask for a demo of your exact setup and written confirmation of availability, plan requirements and any development work.

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![Pierre-Alexis Ardon](https://www.leonar.app/_astro/pierre-alexis-ardon.ByBiMn-t_2wY0oT.webp)

Author

[Pierre-Alexis Ardon](https://www.leonar.app/authors/pierre-alexis-ardon/)

Co-founder

Pierre-Alexis Ardon is co-founder of Leonar, where he focuses on building AI-powered recruiting systems, assisted sourcing, and search optimization. With a background in engineering and over 7 years working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and talent acquisition, he designs the algorithms that power Leonar's candidate matching and workflow assistance. Pierre-Alexis advises recruitment agencies on their digital transformation and regularly publishes analyses on how AI agents are reshaping HR workflows. He is passionate about making advanced technology accessible to recruiters who are not engineers.

AI recruiting systems Sourcing automation Recruiting analytics AI agents for HR

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ardonpa/)

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