only price for that which you can see.
by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa
how often have you heard the old saying about having two ears and one mouth because listening is twice as important as talking? hopefully, often, because it is as true as anything i’ve ever heard. scoping is all about listening, so when you make a presentation, you’ll know what you’re talking about, and the client will know you know.
more: getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients | create more meaningful kpis | here’s how profit sharing improves your firm | five areas to ground new metrics other than time | five reasons to ditch timesheets for good | productize services for consistent client value | digitize clients for standardization | six steps to creating a standardized practice | value pricing requires defining your clients | stop selling time | three critical factors drive the value pricing trend | stop looking for talent that does not exist
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here are four basic steps you can follow to make sure you and the client are in alignment when the time comes to start a new project or present to a potential new client:
1. prospect qualification. first, you need to know whether you want this client or engagement. what are the chances of winning the business? is it worth the effort? is the client right for your firm? there are few faster ways to ruin a cpa firm than to fill your client roster with businesses that are not worth the effort or are not aligned with the kind of work you want to do or are even able to do. there’s no reason to waste time at this early stage.
if you want to work with a small business, have an admin ask them a few questions or use a digital questionnaire to determine if they’re right for your firm. do they have an accounting need, and will they be able to meet your minimum fee? do they meet your tech standards? how much cleanup is involved? can they give you all the information you need to scope and price accurately?
set up some baseline criteria they should meet to work with you, such as access to data files and the previous year’s tax return (or the last one they filed). when using a questionnaire, have it ready to go when a prospective client calls.
2. client needs assessment. if this is a desirable client or engagement, it’s time to focus on their needs. as you’re going through your due diligence with a client, you may discover what they think they need isn’t what they really need. they may not even understand the problem they’re facing. or, they may need more services than they initially thought. even when a client thinks they know what they’re looking for, your job is still to ask questions and dig deeper. the goal is for everyone to understand what’s needed and to make sure the project’s scope is something they’re willing and able to pay for.
the client needs assessment is a consultative approach to understanding a prospective client’s needs in terms of services, budget, deliverables and what it will take to get them onboarded.
it’s important to know you are being judged as you gather information. you may be one of three candidates, so make sure you use the information you’re gathering to give them insight into their financials and a few actionable steps they can take to improve their standing. paying attention to what they’re telling you and providing a few helpful tips demonstrates how you will use their information to optimize their business in the future.
some firms charge for this process because it can be pretty involved for larger projects. use your discretion when considering how much brain power and time this needs assessment will take and what the client can afford to pay. do not be shy when it comes to covering your risk. if it’s a small client and a small engagement, adding up to less than $12,000 a year, charging for this assessment probably isn’t going to fly. have a threshold in mind for your engagements.
3. short-term engagements. you’ll often need to perform catchup and cleanup work before you can tackle ongoing services or scope an annual agreement. it’s important to scope this work separately because it may come with unexpected surprises and hiccups. some of the things you’ll discover during this process will inform the scope of a long-term engagement.
during short-term engagements, you’ll also learn what aspects of a new client’s accounting have been neglected. if a client comes in looking for accounting services, don’t be surprised when you discover they have not done any bookkeeping for the past two years. it’s important to scope this work as its own engagement, after which you can choose whether or not to actually charge the client. the client must be aware of the work you’re putting in. if you opt not to charge, use this priced service as an incentive to bring them on board.
separating the front-end work from ongoing service engagements also keeps the dialogue between the firm and the client current and transparent. you can’t commit to doing tax work for them if you haven’t even seen a prior year’s financial statement.
4. scope ongoing services. this tends to be the easiest work to scope because it’s based on individual deliverables: x number of meetings per year, tax return(s), x number of transactions categorized and reconciled per month, etc. each of these will be clearly delineated, and you’ll know what it takes to get them done.
the number one rule in scoping is do not scope what you cannot see. if you get to a point in scoping where you no longer know how to calculate a price, call the client and be transparent. tell them you’ll get back to them when you have more information and can clearly determine what it will take to complete the work. you can only price the services for which you can reasonably estimate.
handling an unknown price
consider an irs notice. some notices are simple and easy, and you could price them up front. however, with some notices, you have no idea how long it will take or what resources will be required. in this instance, you should let the client know you will start with the notice, and it will cost x amount to get to a certain point. then, you can readjust the price, or you’ll let them know what it will take to get to the next step.
the message, again, is to only price as far as you can see. if you can’t see it, take a step back and tell the client you can’t price beyond this point because you are really unsure of the scope. if you do not take this evaluative pause, you may charge the client for something beyond the project scope they thought they were signing up for. this, of course, often ends up with an upset client when you feel underpaid and underappreciated.