get your legacy clients on board with value pricing

seven steps to transition your firm.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

until this point, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the advantages of building a client-centric practice on a foundation of value pricing. now it’s time for the rubber to hit the road. let’s talk about how you can painlessly move from a past filled with billable hours to a bright new future built on value by exploring your current client base.

more by jody padar
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let’s start at the beginning: finding the right clients to embrace your new way business model. take a look at your current clients and bucket them into three categories:

  1. those who love you and will follow you to the ends of the earth
  2. those who’ve been with you for years and are reliable
  3. those difficult, tech-challenged clients who are somewhat less than ideal

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how to structure agreements for value pricing

latina woman working on laptop

plus how to automate getting paid.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

a well-structured agreement can make or break an engagement. we see this happen every day.

were you a fan of the television show “two and a half men”? remember when charlie sheen was fired? he ended up suing for what he thought he was owed for the remainder of his contract. and, surprisingly, there was not a comprehensive agreement detailing the terms. no one likely thought sheen would end his run on the show in this manner and didn’t plan for it.

more by jody padar
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a similar scenario could happen to you, albeit with fewer global headlines i suppose. that’s why, once your client is ready to start working with you on a value basis, you’ll need to create a contract to finalize the deal.

there are two main agreements used by accountants today – the engagement letter and the service-level agreement. both are legally binding but look a bit different.
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irs funding pays eye-popping 415x roi

from a business perspective, funding the irs is an excellent investment.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service’s taxpayer services and business systems modernization accounts got short shrift in the big-time funding provided by the inflation reduction act. but still, the combined total of $8 billion they got has gone a long way to improve the taxpayer experience.

more: tax season 2025 begins. ready or not. | every tax reviewer should be able to answer these ten questions | art werner: corporate transparency act and fincen reporting | quick tax tip | taxpayer advocate sees big improvements at irs | ask tax clients the right questions | major changes to circular 230: implications for tax professionals | cornerstone report | art werner: due diligence and irs enforcement | make ‘done but’ tax returns a thing of the past | six methods for getting paid faster this tax season | use humor to get tax documents in early | art werner: busy season predictions
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here’s the breakdown of the original account allocations at the irs:

  • enforcement: $45.6 billion, 58 percent of the total
  • operations support (e.g., rent, phones, paper, etc.) $25.3 billion, 32 percent of the total
  • business systems modernization (including tech upgrades): $4.8 billion, 6 percent of the total
  • taxpayer services: $3.2 billion, or 4 percent of the total

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costs matter

illustration of estimating costs

the three stacks you need to consider.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

true story. i once knew the cfo at a local mental health nonprofit agency. she had been manager of the accounting department at a large manufacturer but now considered herself semi-retired. she had recently moved into a new condominium and was overwhelmed by the renovation needs.

more by jody padar
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she was competent but had a lot going on. as a result, she wasn’t paying attention as the nonprofit agency began to experience cash flow problems. the management team resolved to start booking more psychiatric services because they could bill medicaid the most for those types of services. sure enough, the organization’s gross sales increased substantially. unfortunately, no one had paid attention to the cost of delivering these services.
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offer three tiers of service

hand drawing a rainbow-colored 3

are there ways to add on other services? of course.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

a tiered service offering should provide your clients with three options. according to experts in mindset and pricing, if you provide three options, people will usually choose the one in the middle. that’s the one you are aiming for them to buy.

more: how to create price packages | seven steps to determining your price | how to scope before you price | seventeen questions to ask when scoping | four steps to scoping for alignment … and the #1 rule to remember | here’s how profit sharing improves your firm | productize services for consistent client value | four ways automation pushes the paradigm shift | how value pricing impacts your employees | why pricing is so disruptive | accounting disruptors are heading your way … with deep pockets | advisory work must be priced by value, not hours
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also, don’t forget that people buy the payment, not the car. there’s an entire mentality around monthly pricing. if you tell a client it’s a $24,000 engagement, they will balk. they would rather pay $2,000 a month than the full amount all at once. of course, some clients will offer to give you the full engagement amount up front if the price is discounted. from a cash flow perspective, you can offer a small discount if a client is willing to pay this way.

creating your service packages is not a one-size-fits-all activity. there should be different tiered service options for each client persona. it is also important for clients to know that they can upgrade or downgrade their service level when needed.
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how to create price packages

hand moving triangle along beam to indicate balance between price and value

three steps to setting your monthly fee.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

packages are the first step toward productizing your services. your packages define your services as discrete offerings with defined parameters around what they include and what’s excluded.

more: seven steps to determining your price | using change orders with scope | when to increase scope and when to let it go | which clients should you scope? | getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients | five areas to ground new metrics other than time | digitize clients for standardization | are you the key signal caller for your clients? | six steps to start value pricing | the radical pricing model: start with $25k | the convergence of trends makes pricing changes imperative
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the secret sauce to creating a fixed price package with a value add consists of combining several variables:

deliverables + client persona = well-priced packages

client-specific price point + market price point = well-priced packages

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better starting pay calls for a new revenue model

young woman holding giant dollar sign in modern office

considering pe? beware focus on the next five years.

by michelle golden river
the rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics

pricing and talent are related. we’ll see another wave of fee increases as well as more firms feeling compelled to establish higher “minimum” fee thresholds. but these increases still won’t be enough. until firms earn a lot more revenue per person, they simply cannot pay enough to overcome starting salary gaps.

editor’s note: every year, the 2024 rosenberg national survey of cpa firm statistics asks the profession’s top consultants two sets of questions:

    • how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? trends? predictions? other thoughts?
    • how would you assess the last 12 months? trends? observations? struggles?

more: business models continue to evolve | accounting firms must consider capital resources | artificial intelligence plays role in analytics, optimization | people development still a concern | tech anxiety paralyzing some accounting firms | solving staffing requires intention | as private equity closes in, firms seek new answers to staffing problems | next five years are critical for accounting firms | the new pipeline: outsourcing and offshoring
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our would-be hires choose higher-paying professions like finance and tech, and who can blame them? to offer commensurate starting pay (and raise legacy salaries, accordingly), we must change our revenue model. our current 5-10 percent annual increases cannot get us there. we fell behind more than a decade ago and, at this pace, we’ll never catch up.
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jackie meyer: earn more with fewer clients | the disruptors

create a win-win with “the roi method of value pricing.”

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here

 subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: applegoogle/youtubespotifyiheartdeezer, amazon music, audibleplayer fmaudacy, rss.

the disruptors
with liz farr

in 2016, jackie meyer needed a change.

long hours, health issues, and missing out on her kids’ activities forced her to make a radical change. she leaned into tax advisory and tried a new value pricing methodology, which “tripled to quadrupled revenue for our clientele,” even after selling 60 percent of her clients. 

more podcasts and videos: jack fleherty: don’t be a ‘yes’ person | greg adams: from finance to storytelling | the disruptors | jody padar: make radical changes now if you want to be relevant in 2030 | rebecca driscoll: amplify reach by helping other firm owners | rory henry: create the return on relationshipsmike maksymiw: be the leader you wish you hadterrell turner: build a solid business showing up as yourselfkelly mann: be the bull in the china shopalicia katz pollock: create a human-centric businessnancy mcclelland: be the one your clients ask first |alan whitman: stop accepting the status quo | sean duncan: discover your own genius | ingrid edstrom: true wealth is not financial | caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles |

goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

“but the clients were equally happier to pay more, which is crazy.  

her pricing methodology revolves around a calculator she calls “the roi method of value pricing.the aicpa will be sharing her pricing method with members, which meyer calls “a huge win for the profession. 

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find clients with the right fit

businesswoman smiling at two clients, man and woman

not everyone is ready for a new you.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

a friend who owned a business services firm in the marketing industry once told me he would rather face waterboarding than resign a hard-won client. however, even he cast a big one aside after his key employee returned from a client meeting in tears. some things just can’t be tolerated. your job is to determine where the line should be and to make the decision before a bad client has the chance to negatively affect your company.

more: seven steps to determining your price | using change orders with scope | who needs to understand scope? | how to scope before you price | when to increase scope and when to let it go | determining a price … and when to change it | seventeen questions to ask when scoping | which clients should you scope? | perfecting the client needs assessment | four steps to scoping for alignment … and the #1 rule to remember | getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients | create more meaningful kpis | here’s how profit sharing improves your firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

a client’s fit with your firm is every bit as important as their behavior and payment practices. after you adopt a new client-centric, value-based business model, some clients won’t fit in. some will want to stick with the transactional model of the billable hour. they may not be comfortable with your new direction. some clients may not even want to pay for your smallest service bundle despite the enhanced service levels it includes.
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seven steps to determining your price

businesswoman using calculator while reviewing something on laptop screen

plus four things to learn about each prospective client.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

how much would you pay for a bottle of water in the checkout line of a grocery store? maybe $2 or $3, right? you know it costs more per unit than buying a case of water, but at that moment it’s worth it even though it’s the same bottle of water. now, let’s assume you just made the long trek back to your hotel room in las vegas. they have the same bottle of water sitting there for $10. you’re thirsty and don’t want to walk to find a store, so you pay $10 for that bottle conveniently located in your room. the water isn’t different, but the value at that moment in time is subjective.

more: using change orders with scope | who needs to understand scope? | determining a price … and when to change it | perfecting the client needs assessment | create more meaningful kpis | five reasons to ditch timesheets for good | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

when we think about price, we really need to think about worth. what actually are you bringing to the table? lots of training. many years of experience. vision into similar businesses. it took you years to get here; don’t sell an answer to a question the client asks for the three minutes it took to answer.
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jody padar: make radical changes now if you want to be relevant in 2030 | the disruptors

your pricing isn’t aligned with the future, and neither is your business model. plus 18 more takeaways!

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: applegoogle/youtubespotifyiheartdeezer, amazon music, audibleplayer fmaudacy, rss.

the disruptors
with liz farr

jody padar, the radical cpa, has been pushing for big changes in accounting for years. her latest book, radical pricing, is a blueprint for firm owners who want to fully transform their businesses to serve clients better, make employees happier, and be more profitable. padar maintains that combining pricing with standardization and productization drives firm profitability.  

more disruptors here | more podcasts and videos: rebecca driscoll: amplify reach by helping other firm owners | rory henry: create the return on relationshipsmike maksymiw: be the leader you wish you hadterrell turner: build a solid business showing up as yourselfkelly mann: be the bull in the china shopalicia katz pollock: create a human-centric businessnancy mcclelland: be the one your clients ask first |alan whitman: stop accepting the status quo | sean duncan: discover your own genius | ingrid edstrom: true wealth is not financial | caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles |

goprocpa.com exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this handbook isn’t just about “putting pricing on something,” padar says. “that’s putting lipstick on a pig.” many firms that have tried value pricing say it doesn’t work, but padar says that’s because their business model isn’t aligned with their pricing. “if you leave the old school model and you just put pricing on top of it, you’re going to struggle,” she says. radical pricing walks readers through a process of standardizing and productizing services, defining the ideal customer, developing pricing, and even explaining how to bring legacy customers on board.  

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ten ways to manage price increases

communicate your value, not your rising costs.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the ignition 2024 accounting and tax pricing benchmark survey indicates that most accounting firms are planning modest price increases in 2025 – in too many cases somewhat less than what they need to provide decent salaries and top-notch services.

more: survey says 57% of firms are raising prices next year | how will private equity impact accounting careers? | eleven questions about kids, wealth and the family business | twelve years and out: seasoned accountants join the exodus | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage | gen ai in accounting: epic transformation, or overheated hype? | survey shows big opportunities in small business | salary guides for accountants vary widely: whom do you believe? | are you earning what you deserve? | the slow, painful death of the 150-hour rule | partner comp earnings gap: what’s the right spread? | main street accountants see turbulence ahead for small business
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the survey offers 10 tips for managing price increases without losing clients (unless you want to). here they are, with a bit of commentary.
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survey says 57% of firms are raising prices next year

bar charts

are you charging enough?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

more than half of american accounting firms plan to increase their prices next year, according to the 2024 u.s. accounting and tax pricing benchmark survey just issued by software developer ignition.

more: how will private equity impact accounting careers? | eleven questions about kids, wealth and the family business | twelve years and out: seasoned accountants join the exodus | how accounting firms are handling the staff shortage | gen ai in accounting: epic transformation, or overheated hype? | survey shows big opportunities in small business | salary guides for accountants vary widely: whom do you believe? | are you earning what you deserve? | the slow, painful death of the 150-hour rule | partner comp earnings gap: what’s the right spread?
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the survey finds that 57 percent plan to jack up their invoices across all services, with 31 percent of them going for a 10 percent increase. but 37 percent will limit their increases to just 5 percent.

and a gutsy 6 percent will go for 20 percent more.
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