the value-pricing con job
versus the law of tax preparer time management.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
pricing, fees & billing rates
the cure for commoditization
managing for profits beats price-cutting.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
in the beginning, the irs created the 1040 and saw that it was good. shortly thereafter, the first cpa crawled out of the primordial muck and asked, “how can i make money preparing tax returns?”
more stitely: what the value-pricers get wrong | four amusing millennial myths | the annual tax meeting is dead. clients killed it. | 3 rules for asking great tax-return questions | where workflow management runs off the rails | three ways your office tech is ruining your firm | when value pricing works | the 4 dark clouds hovering over cloud accounting software | value billing on the 19th hole | the irs and big data gone bad | will zero data entry end your tax practice? | three trends that will transform your tax practice or eliminate it | value, billem & dunn: a value billing case study | how to make an extra $72,000 by working smarter
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
the green eyeshade-wearing neanderthal cpas eventually evolved into cpas experienced in electronic data management, but today, we are still trying to answer that first question.
effective project management isn’t the entire answer, but it’s an essential building block.
survey: small firms see revenues shrink
trend watch: large firms are remarkably more profitable, while firms with less than $1 million annual revenue experienced a downturn in revenue.
source: accounting firm operations and technology survey
what the value-pricers get wrong
and 5 ways to fix it.
by frank stitely
beeeeeep. briiinnnnggg. boooooop. you reach over to turn off the alarm.
but it’s not your alarm, and it’s not 6 a.m. yet. it’s the coffee maker. or is it the dishwasher? or the washing machine? it turns out to be a text message. you glance down at your smartphone, and you see 14 app notifications, 27 e-mails, and three texts. your smartwatch yells at you for not meeting your “fitness” goal yesterday.
by 6 a.m., half of humanity competes for your attention. every computer programmer on the planet believes his notifications rock your world. when everything beeps, do any of the beeps really matter? the rock group, chicago, wrote, “does anybody really know what time it is?” yes, it’s time for another notification.
we don’t suffer alone. our clients share our pain.
the value pricing people tell us that we aren’t selling time. but we are. we aren’t selling our time. we are selling our clients’ time – back to them. 21st-century clients want perfect compliance, fast service, and a competitive price – as a start. most importantly, they want us to save them time.
5 tips for seizing the new opportunities in sec. 199a
25 million hours of more work – and it’s all billable.
by stephen l. nelson
maximizing sec. 199a deductions
the great debate: the case for value-pricing
18 reasons to trash the timesheet.
by ed mendlowitz
the great debate: timesheets vs. value-pricing
the essential managment tool.
by ed mendlowitz
gross profit in a professional services firm: opening a dialogue
plus specific ways to improve in services, marketing, sales, delivery and support.
by august j. aquila
price it right
accounting firms focus on top-line revenue or net profit. but are they focusing on what really matters?
more: tomorrow’s leader in 9 bullet points | checklist: 18 essential steps to effective billing | how to get partners to accept a new pricing philosophy | 12 pricing factors beyond cost | 13 questions about providing value | how to shift from production to marketing orientation
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
profitable businesses involve more than just selling more products and services to increase revenues. there is an old joke in the retail business: a salesperson tells the manager that they are losing $1 on every shirt they sell. the manager says, “don’t worry, we can make it up in volume.”
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is it time to manage your receivables like a real business?
consequences: are there any?
by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great
it never ceases to amaze me how lax many small and midsized cpa firms are when it comes to managing their work-in-process and accounts receivable and optimizing their cash flows.
more on strategic planning: profitability requires discipline | the link between strategy and winning on value | focus on an enhanced client experience | solve the partner comp problem | 6 rocks in the path to growth | use compensation to shape partner behavior | the importance of m&a culture due diligence
sloppy billing and collecting policies often result in lost billing opportunities (i.e., if you don’t bill it timely, clients forget the value you provided and resist receiving a bill 90 days after the work was performed) and for a need to have a relatively large line of credit. sloppy policies also result in year-end fire drills with clients when partners “beg” clients for cash before the end of the firm’s fiscal year end.
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11 ways to move to value pricing
plus: 13 benefits clients will happily pay for.
by rob nixon
as you go through the journey of value belief and client value perception, you have to be conscious of price parity.
more on strategy: are your prices too low? | 6 steps of moving to value pricing | feel good about yourself | how to build enduring relationships | they should all be ‘a class’ clients | accountants are the last trusted advisors | how to structure your firm for success | why average project value matters
if a client has been paying $5,000 for your service and even if you feel it is worth twice as much, the client may not pay much more for it – particularly if it looks like the same service. your client might pay 15 percent or 20 percent more, but double? – give me a break. unless you completely redesign your product offering so it looks completely different, your current client will have a hard time paying the price.
but when it comes to new services that the client has never bought before – different story. there is no price parity with a new service that has not been purchased before – charge at will!
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you cannot prove your value
you can, however, help clients and prospects discover it.
by hitendra patil
accountaneur: the entrepreneurial accountant
you cannot prove your value to your clients (and prospects).
you can not.
more on entrepreneurial strategy: certified blockchain accountant: from cpa to cba | who wants to be a comptometrist? | is blockchain an extinction event for accountants? | blockchain accounting is an oncoming train | how to fly the automation dragon to your dream practice | your clients hold a secret key to your practice growth | seven lessons for accountants from self-driving cars
they need to discover it themselves.
because value is perceived in their heads.
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never charge by a time unit
3 flaws with this business model.
by rob nixon
i would love to meet the person who invented time-based billing. i think this person is a complete business moron and i would have much pleasure in highlighting the unethical behavior that this method causes. this is probably the same person who invented write-offs as well. what a complete idiot.
the premise is that if you get the charge rate right and the time to do the job right, then the price is right. nothing could be further from the truth.
more on strategy: feel good about yourself | you can’t lavish time unless you have time to lavish | changing accountants: 2 true tales | your clients on your terms | how much should partners make? | be a history maker | why ‘steady as she goes’ isn’t enough | how to calculate a value price | boost efficiency and your bottom line | marketing must generate leads
time-based billing does not value the project. the only value of a project is what the market is prepared to pay for it. i am going to challenge your thinking of time-based billing and encourage you to adopt a new model of value pricing.
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checklist: 18 essential steps to effective billing
how to get paid what you’re worth. on time. every time.
by august j. aquila
price it right
is the phrase “effective billing philosophy” an oxymoron? i’m beginning to believe that it is.
more: 6 steps to making your new pricing happen | 5 ways to get clients to accept a new pricing philosophy | 11 alternative pricing methods | applying cobb’s value curve to your firm | the four types of competition | marketing and the 5 p’s
analysis of the results of current billing and collection procedures and policies reveals that, for the most part, they aren’t working very well. the fact is, they have not worked well for decades.
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