Fountain Source is a sourcing management and analytics platform that provides unified visibility across all your job boards and sourcing channels. Source helps you understand where your sourcing dollars are going, which roles are on track or at risk, and when you can safely pause spend because your pipeline is strong enough to hit your hiring goals.
What is Fountain Source?
Fountain Source connects every job, campaign, and budget that starts within Fountain. It provides:
Unified tracking across job boards and sourcing campaigns
Actionable analytics that reveal which channels drive results
Automated budget optimization based on performance
Integration with Fountain Hire for seamless workflow
Source is built for high-volume, hourly hiring where speed and clarity matter most. It monitors campaigns continuously and helps you make data-backed decisions in real time.
Access Fountain Source
Source is available in the Fountain navigation menu for accounts that have the feature enabled.
Log in to your Fountain account.
In the left navigation menu, click Source.
You'll see the Source dashboard with three main sections: Dashboard, All Openings, and Settings.
Add Openings to the Source Dashboard
Before you can track sourcing performance, you need to add openings to your Source dashboard. Source pulls openings from Fountain Hire that have hiring goals set.
To add openings to the dashboard:
Go to the Source dashboard.
Click the All Openings tab in the navigation menu.
You'll see a list of all openings from Hire. Use the filters at the top to find specific openings by dashboard status, status, brand, position, or location.
Select the checkboxes next to each opening you want to track.
Click Add selection to dashboard at the bottom of the screen.
The selected openings will appear on your main Source dashboard with metrics like Spend, Hires, CPH, CPA, and status.
Understand the Source Dashboard
The Source dashboard provides a unified view of all your sourcing activity. It shows performance across all tracked openings and helps you identify which roles need attention.
Dashboard Sections
Summary Cards
At the top of the dashboard, you'll see summary cards showing:
Openings at risk – Number of openings behind their hiring pace
Active sourcing – Number of openings currently running campaigns
Time Period Metrics
Below the summary cards, you can select a time period to view metrics for that range. Metrics include:
Spend – Total budget spent across all campaigns
Hired – Total number of hires
Avg CPH – Average cost per hire
Applied – Total number of applicants
Avg CPA – Average cost per applicant
Opening List
The main dashboard displays a table of all tracked openings. Each row shows key metrics and information:
Opening name
Status (On Track, At Risk, Goal Met, Goal Not Met)
Hires (current hires / target hires)
Duration (days elapsed / total days)
Conversion rate
Applicants
Budget spend
CPA (Cost per applicant)
CPH (Cost per hire)
Channels (icons showing which job boards are active)
Sourcing status (Active or Inactive)
Brand
Lock Icons for Non-Pausable Channels
Lock Icons for Non-Pausable Channels
Some channels require upfront budget commitments and cannot be paused, refunded, or reallocated mid-campaign. These channels display a lock icon (🔒) next to their budget amount to remind you of this restriction.
Channels with lock icons:
ZipRecruiter
Boost
Why these channels can't be paused:
ZipRecruiter and Boost charge the full campaign amount upfront when you launch the campaign. Once live, the committed funds cannot be:
Paused mid-campaign
Refunded if you end the campaign early
Reallocated to other channels or openings
The lock icon serves as a visual reminder of this commitment when you're viewing campaign performance.
What happens with budget automation:
When Budget Automation is enabled, integrated channels (like Indeed, Joveo, Talroo) will automatically pause when budget thresholds are reached. However, channels with lock icons will continue running until their campaign period ends, regardless of overall budget status.
Understand Opening Status
Each opening displays a status that indicates whether it's on pace to meet its hiring goal. Source calculates this by comparing actual hires against expected hires based on your hiring goal timeline.
Status Types
Started
The hiring goal is active but there isn't enough data yet to judge performance.
On Track
The opening's hires are pacing well compared to the hiring goal and end date. You're on schedule to meet your target. Hover over the status to see detailed progress. For example: "The number of hires is 8% higher than the expected hires by today. To hit the goal, there should have been 12 hires by today, but there are 13 hires already."
At Risk
The opening is behind the expected pace. Hover over the status to see exactly how far behind you are. For example: "The number of hires is 68% lower than the expected hires by today. To hit the goal, there should have been 25 hires by today, but there are only 8 hires." This means you need to take action to get back on track.
Goal Met
The number of hires has reached the target for the active hiring goal. Source may have already reduced spend through automation.
Goal Not Met
The hiring goal period has ended and the target number of hires was not reached. Hover over the status to see details. For example: "The hiring goal for this opening ended on Jan 27, 2026 without reaching the targeted number of 22 hires. Duration: Dec 28, 2025 to Jan 27, 2026 (30 days)"
How Status is Calculated
Source calculates expected hires by dividing your target hires by the total number of days in your hiring goal, then multiplying by the number of days elapsed.
Example: If your hiring goal is 34 hires in 44 days and 29 days have elapsed, Source expects you to have approximately 22 hires by now (34 ÷ 44 × 29 = 22). If you only have 8 hires, the opening will show "At Risk" status.
Active vs Inactive Status
In addition to goal status (On Track, At Risk, etc.), each opening has a sourcing status that appears in the "Sourcing" column:
Active: One or more campaigns are active OR applicants applied in last 24 hours
Inactive: No active campaigns AND no applicants in last 24 hours
Hover over the sourcing status indicator to see this definition in a tooltip.
Note that you may sometimes see campaigns labeled "Active" inside an "Inactive" opening. This means those campaigns are enabled but temporarily paused by you or by automation, and no applicants have applied in the last 24 hours.
Understand Blue Bubble Indicators
You may see blue bubbles in the Hires and Budget Spend columns on your dashboard. These bubbles indicate aggregated data, meaning the number shown is a combined total from multiple openings linked within the same hiring workflow.
Hover over a blue bubble to see a breakdown of exactly how many hires or how much spend came from each specific opening. For more information about aggregate data, see the article Understanding Source Metrics and Attribution.
View Opening Details
To see detailed performance for a specific opening:
Click on any opening name in the dashboard table.
The Opening details page displays comprehensive information including:
Summary metrics (Applicants, Hires, Budget Spend, CPA, CPH, Avg time to hire)
Active hiring goal details (start date, end date, target)
Sourcing openings (other openings that contributed applicants)
Campaign performance by channel
Recommendations for improving performance
Edit Opening Targets
You can set performance targets for each opening to help Source provide accurate recommendations and track progress against your goals.
To edit targets:
On the dashboard, click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the right side of any opening row.
Select Edit targets from the dropdown menu.
In the Edit Targets modal, you can configure:
Target conversion rate (%)
The percentage of applicants you expect to hire. For example, if you enter 3.5%, Source expects 3.5% of all applicants to become hires.
Target applicants
Source automatically calculates this based on your hiring goal and target conversion rate. This shows how many applicants you need to reach your hiring target.
Target budget ($)
The total amount you plan to spend on sourcing for this opening during the current hiring goal period.
Target CPA ($)
The target cost per applicant you want to achieve. Leave this blank if you don't have a specific CPA goal.
Click Save to update your targets.
Source will use these targets to assess campaign performance and provide recommendations. For example, if your actual CPA is higher than your target CPA, Source may recommend adjusting your campaigns.
The target conversion rate directly impacts the target applicant count. If you set a 5% conversion rate and need 10 hires, Source calculates you need approximately 200 applicants (10 ÷ 0.05 = 200).
More Actions Menu
The three-dot menu (⋮) on each opening row provides quick access to common actions:
Edit targets – Set performance targets and budgets (described above)
View in Hire – Opens the opening in Fountain Hire in a new tab
Post Job – Launches the job posting flow to add campaigns to this opening
Filter and Search Openings
Both the main dashboard and the All Openings page provide filters to help you find specific openings:
Brand: Filter by company or brand
Position: Filter by job title
Location: Filter by city or region
Status: Filter by goal status (On Track, At Risk, etc.)
Dashboard status: Filter by whether openings are added to your dashboard
Use the search bar to quickly find openings by name or keyword.
Understanding Spend: Actual vs. Committed
Source displays two types of spend for your campaigns to give you complete visibility into your budget usage:
Actual Spend
Actual spend represents charges that have already been billed by the channel. This is money that has been invoiced and is reflected in your account balance.
Committed Spend
Committed spend represents pending charges that haven't yet been billed. For example, if workers have clicked on your job ad but the channel hasn't invoiced you for those clicks yet, that amount appears as committed spend. Committed spend will eventually become actual spend when the channel processes billing.
Total Spend
Total spend = Actual spend + Committed spend. This is the full amount allocated or used for the campaign.
Understanding the difference between actual and committed spend helps explain why:
Your budget may show as "used" even though you haven't been invoiced yet
Certain channels (like ZipRecruiter and Boost) cannot be paused mid-campaign — the funds are already committed upfront
Your available budget may be less than expected if there are pending charges
Where to view spend:
Opening Details page: Shows actual spend, committed spend, and total spend for each campaign
Edit Targets modal: Shows spend breakdown when managing opening budgets
Global Automation Settings
Source provides centralized control over three types of automations that can be enabled or disabled globally for all openings in your account:
Funnel Automations: Automatically pause tracking when the opening is on track to hit its hiring goal based on current funnel performance
Hiring Automations: Automatically pause campaigns when the hiring goal period ends
Budget Automations: Automatically pause campaigns when budget alerts and automatic pauses when you reach your target budget
Access Settings
Click Source in the left side panel
Click Settings in the Source navigation menu
You'll see the "Enable Automations for All Openings" section with three toggles:
Funnel Automations
Hiring Automations
Budget Automations
Toggle each automation type on or off based on your preferences
How global settings work:
When you enable an automation globally, it applies to all openings by default
Individual openings can still override global settings if needed
Disabling an automation globally turns it off for all openings
Budget Warnings and Auto-Pause
Source monitors your campaign budgets and provides warnings when you're approaching spending limits. When Budget Automation is enabled, campaigns can automatically pause to prevent overspending.
80% Budget Warning
When your total spend reaches 80% of your target budget, Source displays a warning banner at the top of the Opening Details page:
"Approaching Budget Limit: You've used 80% of your target budget. Campaigns will auto-pause when the limit is reached. Update budget to continue hiring."
This early warning gives you time to:
Review campaign performance
Decide whether to increase the budget
Evaluate whether you're on track to meet hiring goals
100% Auto-Pause (Integrated Channels)
When your total spend reaches 100% of your target budget:
Integrated channels (Indeed, Joveo, Talroo) automatically pause
You receive a notification that campaigns have been paused
Non-pausable channels (ZipRecruiter, Boost) continue running until their campaign period ends
Non-integrated channels display a banner prompting you to pause manually
Auto-Resume When Budget Increases
If you increase your target budget after campaigns have been paused:
Previously paused integrated campaigns automatically resume
No manual action required to restart the campaigns
Campaigns resume with their previous settings intact