answer: analyzing time records is a very effective practice management tool and is an essential part of most professional services organizations. some people contend that timesheets should not be used since they should not be the basis of any pricing, with fees solely based on the value to the client.
you should know your relative costs and assumptions to value. when i say, “know your cost,” you’re not going to know every freaking minute that it takes to do something. but you should know approximately what the accounting file is like.
when you’re thinking about pricing your cleanup work with either a cloud-based product or let’s say you’re not even in the cloud, you should have already done a diagnostic on that quickbooks file or whatever accounting software the prospect is using.
all you need to do is think of any services, professional or commercial, that you have purchased over the last few years. would you pay a premium rate to a bonsai gardener just to trim a regular tree or shrub? most likely not, since there would be many a gardener available to do this simple task. however, the price of an open heart surgery would not matter, if the operation would save your life.
when pricing your services you need to carefully analyze the three key factors
demand,
competition and
costs.
for example, it’s hard to get a premium price for a basic 1040 return because there are thousands of competitors offering the same service as very competitive prices. however, if you are offering litigation services for high net worth divorce cases, then you need to look at the unique characteristics of your services, what is potentially at risk for your clients and the firm’s overall marketing and pricing strategies.
to find out how marketing oriented your firm’s pricing strategy really is, just complete the following brief pricing strategy questionnaire. there are no incorrect answers. the purpose of the survey is to give you a snapshot of where you are today. you goal, then, is to lay out a plan to get you where you want to be tomorrow. read more →
the pricing index at cpa firms stands at 116.8, just one-tenth of one point below the six-month average for the year, suggesting firms are maintaining their strong grip on fees. read more →
live online cpe at july 28 virtual conference. in its fifth year, the ultimate accounting vcon is now offering day-long summer intensives on selected topics. the next one, how to implement value pricing and give yourself a raise is july … continued