Accounting firm pricing: set and raise your fees

Not the best move. Value pricing suits work worth far more to the client than the time it takes. Routine bookkeeping with a known scope usually fits a fixed fee better.

Reasonable, but not the best. Hourly works, but it rewards slower work and leaves the client unsure of the bill. A known, repeating scope is easier to price up front.

Best answer. When work repeats and its scope is well known, you can price it up front with confidence. The client knows the cost and you benefit from doing it efficiently.

Reasonable, but not the best. Hourly is simple, but it ties the fee to your time rather than to what the advice is worth to the client, so it tends to undervalue work like this.

Not the best move. Borrowing another service's fee ignores both the work involved and what it is worth. Each service needs its own pricing basis.

Best answer. When work is worth far more to the client than the time it takes, pricing on that value is fairer to you. Packages let the client choose how much help they want.

Not the best move. Guessing a fixed fee for an unknown amount of work means either losing money or overcharging. Fixed fees suit work with a known scope.

Best answer. Hourly suits work whose scope is genuinely unknown, and a cap protects the client from a surprise bill. If the work nears the cap, you talk before going further.

Not the best move. An open-ended hourly bill leaves the client exposed and makes a fee dispute more likely.

Not the best move. Once the client has the work, you are the one chasing. Without signed terms, any disagreement about scope or fees has nothing to fall back on.

Best answer. Agreeing scope and fee first means both sides know what is included before any time is spent, and you are not chasing money for work already done.

Not the best move. Even a small start is unpriced work outside any agreed terms, and it signals that the letter is optional.

Not the best move. That turns extra work into a favour, and the client learns that extras are free.

Best answer. A second company is new work. A written rule for scope changes lets you price it as an add-on without an awkward negotiation.

Not the best move. This year's work goes unpaid, and a big jump next year is harder to explain than a price agreed today.

Best answer. A review makes sure it fits the rules that apply to you. Using the same letter every time means no job starts without agreed terms.

Not the best move. The out-of-scope list is what makes extra work, like a catch-up year or another company, clearly chargeable. Keep it.

Not the best move. Templates are general. Rules on engagement terms, privacy and professional obligations differ depending on where you practise, so it needs checking first.

Not the best move. Older clients are often the most underpriced, because their fees were set years ago. Comparing letters with real work shows who needs repricing.

Best answer. Comparing what each client signed up for with the work they actually needed shows where the fee has fallen behind, so each increase rests on real work.

Reasonable, but not the best. A flat rise is simple, but it ignores how far each client's work has drifted from what they pay for. Some stay underpriced and others are overcharged.

Reasonable, but not the best. That meets your obligation, but a tight deadline tends to invite pushback. A little more time respects the client's planning.

Not the best move. A good explanation does not replace notice. Changing fees without the notice your letters promise can breach your own terms.

Best answer. Your own letters set the minimum notice you owe. Giving more leaves clients time to adjust and plan, which usually means less pushback.

Not the best move. A ready-made discount undoes the rise for anyone who pushes back. Offering less work for the old fee is a better answer than a cheaper price for the same work.

Best answer. Deciding this in advance means a refusal from one of those clients is a choice you have already made, not a surprise that tempts you to back down.

Not the best move. Decisions made under pressure tend to end in discounts. Settling it beforehand keeps you consistent across clients.

Not the best move. That is still a cut in the price of the same work, and it tells every client that the letter is a starting point for haggling.

Not the best move. Holding the fee is a discount on the same work, and it only puts the same conversation off for a year.

Best answer. Changing what is included, rather than cutting the price of the same work, keeps your fee honest and gives the client a real choice.

Not the best move. Matching the price cuts your fee on the same work, and the old accountant's fee says nothing about what your work involves.

Best answer. Clients compare prices when they cannot see the difference. Explaining what they receive, and how the work has changed, moves the conversation from price to value.

Not the best move. Talking about your hourly rate invites a haggle over time. Clients care about what they get, not how you calculate it.

Not the best move. A later start date is a discount by another name, and other clients will expect the same.

Best answer. Holding the date keeps the change fair across all clients. If cost is the real problem, offer a smaller package instead.

Not the best move. This still moves the date and invites every client to negotiate it. Hold the date and offer a choice of scope if the fee is the problem.