pricing, fees & billing rates

four steps to scoping for alignment … and the #1 rule to remember

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only price for that which you can see. 

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

how often have you heard the old saying about having two ears and one mouth because listening is twice as important as talking? hopefully, often, because it is as true as anything i’ve ever heard. scoping is all about listening, so when you make a presentation, you’ll know what you’re talking about, and the client will know you know.

more: getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients | create more meaningful kpis | here’s how profit sharing improves your firm | five areas to ground new metrics other than time | five reasons to ditch timesheets for good | productize services for consistent client value | digitize clients for standardization | 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
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here are four basic steps you can follow to make sure you and the client are in alignment when the time comes to start a new project or present to a potential new client:

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don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients

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keep the right kpis and the right clients, and you’ll keep the right staff.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

audit in the future will be much different than in the past. it’s going to require different skill sets. in the future, we need to teach more thinking and interpretive skills. the ticking and tying can be automated, but we’ll need people to interpret the anomalies that the bots and automation tools kick out. they’ll need to develop a deeper understanding of the industry, the client, and general business sense to discern whether an anomaly is just a mistake or a sign of something more profound.

more: can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages? | don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master | wanted: great audit mentors | closing the audit expectations gap
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as the owner of a business myself, i understand the need to ensure there is enough cash coming in to keep the lights on and everyone paid. but sometimes, firms take on work just to keep people busy all year round. a prime example of this is ebp audits, which seem quick and easy but have their own risk factors. doing only one or two a year can be especially risky for your firm.

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ask for what you’re worth

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

how to prepare for a value pricing opportunity.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: i just heard from a client we hadn’t heard from in seven or eight years and he says he has an “emergency.”

more: the top tip for reviewing tax returns | you have to start somewhere | nine reasons not to specialize | hiring experience vs. training inexperience | a friendly chat or a billable discussion? | when selling a firm to staffers is tricky | courting a client? don’t give too much away for free | nine tips for a healthier tax season | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors
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here’s the story: he had started a business eight years ago and he used us for a couple of years until some big money was raised and they switched to a big four firm. he also stopped using us for his personal return, switching to the big four firm. then, just last week, he called us to ask for assistance in evaluating a multimillion-dollar termination package. he needed to meet with me right away because he did not want the offer to slip away. he then asked what the rates would be and could he have a discount because he was once a good client (he was – seven and eight years ago!). the asking for a discount left a bad taste in my mouth.
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getting aligned on scope helps your team and your clients

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master the map to success.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

there are two basic ways to drive from door county, wisconsin, to new orleans to attend mardi gras in february. the first is to chart a course using a map or gps app. it will tell you the route to take, where to stop along the way and how long it will take to make the drive. the second way is to start the car, back out of the driveway and head south, hoping you’ll bump into new orleans along the way.

more: create more meaningful kpis | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

which do you think gives you the better opportunity to arrive in new orleans in time for the festivities?

scope is a lot like creating a project map showing what you want to accomplish, who’s going to do what, how you’re going to do it, what you’ll need along the way and how long it will take to get there. it includes all the specific details of what you’ll deliver to the client, including, for example, tax returns, quarterly planning, bookkeeping and cash flow management.

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three ways to thrive with limited capacity

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smiling man working at laptop in office with glass walls

turn the staffing shortage into a new opportunity.

by frank stiteley
the relentless cpa

charles dickens had to be writing about the accounting profession when he wrote, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

clients are plentiful. i met a new client coming out of the restroom at our office complex. we get four to five inquiries a day – out of tax season. during tax season, we turned down four out of five prospective clients.

more on staffing: tax and accounting jobs and salaries show strength | olympics of outsourcing and offshoring for accountants | new study: strong and steady growth for accountant jobs and salaries | can’t recruit? retain! | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist
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staff are not plentiful – at least not good ones. i’m getting two or three resumes a day, but they’re the warm body sort most of us learned the hard way not to hire during the pandemic. you’ve seen these resumes too. they are people with six employers in eight years. you are certain to be number seven in nine years. they claim eight years of experience, but you can see from their job history that it’s really two years of experience repeated four times. and – they want $100k for those two years of real experience.

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can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages?

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providing superior client service eliminates the perception of audit as a commodity.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

most firms have abysmal project management, which makes it nearly impossible to see if there’s any room to take on extra work. plus, piling all the work into busy season means your people already work far beyond 40 hours a week. and, if you’re relying on timesheets as a measure of capacity, you may not be capturing the time your staff eats because the work is taking more than 40 or even 60 hours in a week to complete.

more: don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | is audit in crisis because of definitions?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

during the 2020-21 covid-19 pandemic, some audit firms had to lay people off, or reduce work hours as projects got canceled or curtailed. but the long-term trend for years has been a shortfall in talent that will only get worse. burnout from overwork is the number one cause of employee turnover.

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create more meaningful kpis

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employees must understand what they’re working toward.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

key performance indicators separate the signals from the noise. throwing timesheets into the trash is your opportunity to focus all your attention on what is most important to your firm’s continued success.

more: five areas to ground new metrics other than time | five reasons to ditch timesheets for good | productize services for consistent client value | digitize clients for standardization | six steps to creating a standardized practice | four ways automation pushes the paradigm shift | are you the key signal caller for your clients? | value pricing requires defining your clients | how value pricing impacts your employees
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good kpis are quantifiable measurements agreed to beforehand. they must be important to the organization as a whole and specific. here are a few examples you might consider adopting:
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don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand

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don’t try to wear too many hats. pick your specialty area and become a guru.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

industry expertise is essential for businessmindedness. for me, the primary ingredient for building a successful audit practice is to avoid taking on work that you don’t understand. too many firms say they can audit any balance sheet, but that’s when they can get into trouble. many firms get sued because they made a bad business decision. they thought they could take on this unique industry and get it right. if you dabble in any industry, you will put your firm and yourself at tremendous risk.

more: four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | move to advisory and assurance with relevance | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | say adios to audit fee pressure | eight items to cover in the audit exit to deepen client relationships and prove value | know your three audit w’s | planning lays the foundation of audit relevance | how do we drive relevance in audit? | before the audit: more than just planning | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization
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when the u.s. department of labor looked at the quality of employee benefit plan (ebp) audits, they found plenty of problems. that 2014 study found “a clear link between the number of employee benefit plan audits performed by a cpa and the quality of the audit work performed.” almost half of the firms the dol looked at performed only one or two ebp audits per year, and 75 percent of those had deficiencies. over half of those (56%) had five or more deficiencies.

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chris hervochon: be the leader you want to work for

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avoid the mental gymnastics required to switch between customers in different industries and niche your services.

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

subscribe to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 podcasts anywhere: apple, google, spotify, iheart, deezer, amazon music and audible, player fm, audacy, gaana (india), and boomplay (africa).

the disruptors
with liz farr

chris hervochon is building his firm, better way cpa, “in a very specific way, for our tribes.” he explains, “not everyone needs to be our customer, not everybody’s our tribe, not everybody needs to be our employee.” leading with their core values, the process for bringing on new customers and new employees “weeds out the bad or the potentially poor fit customers,” which, in turn, helps with managing their time, the most valuable thing they have.

more podcasts and videos: ira rosenbloom: don’t merge for the money | adam lean: get out of the accountant’s trap | geraldine carter: charging more is better for your clients | vimal bava: when working smarter, not harder, is the only option | dawn brolin says grow your firm by shrinking it | jason blumer & julie shipp: move leaders out of client service | james graham: drop the billable hour and you’ll bill more | karen reyburn: fix your marketing and fix your business | giles pearson: fix the staffing crisis by swapping experience for education | jina etienne: practice fearless inclusion | bill penczak: stop forcing smart people to do stupid work | sandra wiley: staffing problem? check your culture | scott scarano: first, grow people. then firm growth can follow |

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his tribe includes marketing agencies, which he started working with by accident. then, one day, he realized that “i like working with these people. they need help. their model fits into what i’m doing. they’re professional services. they work roughly the same way that i do.” so he leaned into his niche.

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here’s how profit sharing improves your firm

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pay for performance to reap greater rewards.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

as long as you’re changing how your firm operates, you should also look at how your staff is compensated. if your customers are paying for value, shouldn’t your teams be paid on the same basis? once your firm turns to a value paradigm, the people delivering the knowledge work – your staff – are your most valuable asset and should be compensated as such.

more: five areas to ground new metrics other than time | 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.

 

it’s all about alignment. clients pay on value. staff should be compensated on value. there are proven ways to make sure this alignment takes place.

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four questions to make your firm more successful as a business

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where on the spectrum of accounting firms do you want to operate?

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

many firms limit their consideration of businessmindedness to the narrow focus of growing their top line. however, generating sufficient revenue to cover costs and generate profit is only a baseline measure for businessmindedness.

more: move to advisory and assurance with relevance | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master | wanted: great audit mentors
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the inward component of businessmindedness concerns how the firm operates. this includes the kinds of projects and clients the firm takes on. to provide relevance, you need to consider whether your firm can deliver on relevance for a particular engagement or client and whether that work makes sense for your firm.

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revenues rising as pricing models evolve

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bar chart

boosting your bottom line could come down to better billing.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one thing cpa practices aren’t complaining about is revenue. according to a thomson reuters survey conducted in the first quarter of 2024, 72 percent of 500 respondents say their firms’ revenues increased over the previous 12 months.

more: 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | seven enticements to keep talent on board | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | seven steps to a stronger future | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

average increase: 24 percent.

not bad, if you like money.
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five areas to ground new metrics other than time

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you need to measure your progress and success, but not by the hour.

by jody padar
radical pricing – by the radical cpa

it may sound ridiculous, but the only people who are married to timesheets are professional services firms staffed by people who spend their professional lifetimes building their knowledge. every other company in the world has figured out how to sell and price products or services without relying on timesheets.

more: five reasons to ditch timesheets for good | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

why do professional services firms believe you should sell knowledge in increments of time? ron baker, an accounting visionary and author of “firm of the future,” once asked, “when you’re a knowledge worker, should you be selling your time?” i don’t think so.

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