pricing rates

tax leads accounting industry in price hikes

by

ppimay15thumbnailaccounting industry shows healthier pricing power than most other industries — and its own clients.

next question: which pricing strategies are best for today’s market? join the survey; get the answers.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

following hefty hikes in billing rates during tax season, the tax, accounting and bookkeeping industry is pushing through price increases three times faster than the rest of the nation’s economy, according to a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 study.

more: fees and pricing reports for pro members only
learn more: go pro here

while most other industries — and, by implication, most of the profession’s clients — are barely managing to maintain price levels, the accounting industry is forging ahead aggressively. the industry’s powerful position in pricing suggests huge demand for the complex services that only accountants can provide. and many practitioners appear to be taking every opportunity possible. to be sure, costs are rising as well, with talent, technology and retirements putting pressure on many firms.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analyzes pricing trends and billing rates for:

  • cpa firm services in general,
  • auditing and assurance services in particular,
  • tax preparation and planning, and
  • bookkeeping and compilations

read more →

tax preparation fees and services

by

screen shot 2015-06-09 at 9.19.17 pmthe national trends and averages

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

while tax professionals taking a well-deserved break this summer, they are also carefully assessing how well – or poorly – they fared in tax season 2015 and they are beginning to lay plans for tax season 2016. chief among their concerns will, no doubt, be a thorough review of their mix of services and fees.

fortunately, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has compiled authoritative data in an easy-to-use set of charts, graphs and infographics to guide the strategizing for 2016.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reveals:

  • the average time it takes an amateur do-it-yourselfer to do a 1040 – useful information in understanding and communicating to clients the true value of a professional.
  • how many tax professionals give away over $100 per client in free consultations – and how competitive the market may be for practitioners.
  • prices by type of form: itemized 1040; state; schedule c’s; 940s; 1065s; 1120ss.
  • prices by region: west, midwest, northeast and south.
  • how many preparers charge to file an extension and how much they charge.
  • trends in 1040 business.
  • practitioners’ age ranges and years in business.
  • the characteristics of the communities in which they operate.

read more →

selling on value vs. fees

by

what’s the difference? compliance sells on fee; advisory sells on value.

by martin bissett
understanding selling

i’ve been asking you to believe in yourself, to get your potential clients to open up to you and to demonstrate to them the outcomes that working with you and your firm would create in their personal and professional lives.

more on selling: 3 ways to convert scheduling practices to new fees | selling vs. attracting to build relationships | when selling, don’t chase new fees, attract them | selling accounting services doesn’t have to be hard! | ‘selling’ isn’t a dirty word | 8 factors in practice development success | in sales, perception is reality | success begins with accountability | do you realize you’re failing? | winning your first client

now here’s a checklist for you to run through before you begin your next business development initiative, and before each new business appointment that you have. read more →

how much should you pay to buy, sell or merge an accounting practice?

by

here are just 19 factors.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: i am in process of buying a practice and would like to know how much to pay.

more practice doctor q&a: when fees don’t keep up with cost increases  | when large (or any) clients need backup assurances | 18 ways to blow a partnership opportunity | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | 10 ways to get new 1040 clients | before you even think about selling your practice…

answer: an alternative question is how much to sell it for. this is a complicated issue with many important variables, some of which are:

read more →

when fees don’t keep up with cost increases

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and ait’s not too late in the year to make changes.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: my expenses have crept up greater than my fees. what should i do?

more practice doctor q&a: lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work | when is it time to merge? | what goes in a client’s permanent file? | why the average fee doesn’t matter | no more printouts at cpe programs? | how to apply value pricing to bundled services | 6 ways to take a client beyond tax prep | 18 ways to blow a partnership opportunity | when experience doesn’t add up | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 6 ways to know what you don’t know | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | client’s difficult daughter balks at bill | 6 simple steps to impress a prospect

answer: very important to increase fees at least enough to keep up with your increasing costs. here is a story i have told dozens of times at speeches. this is one of the things i wrote that i really like. in case you wonder, i have given a copy to freddie.

read more →

lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aplus some exceptions and how to pull them off.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

i actually received the same question from two people in one day. these calls were from two cpas i speak to a lot, have a lot of respect for and who have successful firms with other partners and a good number of staff. 

question:  (1) i lowballed a fee to get a client ($2,000 a month), got the client and the time was running twice what i charged them ($4,000 a month). i asked for an upward adjustment four months later of halfway between the time and the fee (an additional $1,000 per month). they dropped me and went back to their prior accountant, who was charging less than i was ($1,800 a month), but who didn’t do anything close to what i was doing. i feel the client knew it was a lowball and took advantage of it. what did i do wrong? read more →

why the average fee doesn’t matter

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and anot all data is relevant.

by ed mendlowitz
the practice doctor

question: what is the average fee that your firm charges for a review? assume the company is approximately $10 million in sales and $3 million in assets.

answer: what is the average size suit men wear? this might be nice to know but it is not relevant to any specific situation. read more →

how to apply value pricing to bundled services

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and adon’t confuse it with value billing.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: i tried value billing and it didn’t work. i would rather bill my business clients on a fixed fee for my services.

response: actually, you are value pricing when you do the fixed fees. you confused value pricing with value billing. value pricing is where you sit down with the client and you jointly determine the price before any work is done.

more practice doctor q&a: 18 ways to blow a partnership opportunity | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 10 do’s and don’ts for making small business clients happy | 10 (nearly) painless ways to keep up to date with technology | 23 reasons clients really need you for taxes | running an accounting business | 14 ways to switch to value pricing | pricing, billing, costing: don’t blame clients

value billing is where you try to get an extra payment after the work is done. i believe the best way to determine a fee for recurring services is to set the fee with the client in advance of performing any work. i’ll explain. read more →

how to tell a client how the fee was set

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aby ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: i performed some additional services for a client and gave her a bill that she questioned and wanted to know how much time i had spent. i billed more than the time charges, but this client never gets time bills – everything i do is on a fixed fee so i never account for my time with her. what should i say now?

more practice doctor q&a: 18 ways to blow a partnership opportunity | when experience doesn’t add up | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 6 simple steps to impress a prospect | making meetings more productive | 5 time management tips for an overworked accountant | running an accounting business | 14 ways to switch to value pricing | pricing, billing, costing: don’t blame clients

response: if a client is on a strict time basis, they are entitled to a breakdown of the hours and person performing the services.

otherwise, when clients ask me how i arrived at a bill i tell them something similar to this:

read more →

readers sound off: value pricing vs. hourly billing

by

bullhorn
reader sound-off

the gloves come off.

in his recent q&a column, 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing, ed mendlowitz addressed a question about moving completely away from time-based billing but noted that as much as he liked and suggested value pricing, he did not believe it could be used in every situation.

our readers’ opinions were both strong and divided. read more →

8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and aand when it doesn’t.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: i am trying to switching to value pricing and am having trouble getting completely away from time-based billing in certain situations.

response: value pricing is a great method and concept. i suggest reading, and thoroughly understanding ron baker’s “implementing value pricing: a radical business model for professional firms.” i like what he suggests, have used some of his techniques even before he started writing and speaking about them, and recommend it in many situations.

read more →

client’s difficult daughter balks at bill

by

ed mendlowitz cpa the practice doctor q and ado you talk to the dad?

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: i have a very good client who pays us to prepare his daughter’s tax return. the daughter was going through a divorce and asked us to assist her and her attorney and she said she would pay us herself, and we shouldn’t ask her father to pay us and she also asked us not to tell her father what was going on. we did a lot of work and because of what we did she got a much better settlement than if we did not help her. additionally a lot of what we did was rush on-demand work and some of it was quite difficult. also, she was not the most pleasant to deal with on many occasions. read more →