11 Alternative Pricing Methods

Woman in officeWhen to use each, plus the marketing and operational perspective.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right

There are many ways to price professional services.

MORE: 12 Pricing Factors Beyond Cost | Ethical Issues in Pricing | How Utility and Value Affect Pricing | Understanding the Product Pricing Life Cycle | 4 Ways a Production Orientation Can Harm a Firm | Price to Get the Maximum Fee | 7 Issues in Partner Retirement Planning | Is It Time for a Partner Compensation Checkup?
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Alternative pricing methods in the legal profession have received much more attention than in the accounting profession. In fact, entire publications have been issued by the American Bar Association (ABA) on this particular topic.
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13 Questions about Providing Value

Hand moving triangle along beam to indicate balance between price and valueRate both yourself and your firm.

By August J. Aquila
Price It Right

There are things that you can do to help your clients perceive a higher value in you and your services. These are not activities that will immediately increase your fees, but if done consistently, they will reinforce to your clients the added value that you bring to them.

MORE: How Utility and Value Affect Pricing | The Four Types of Competition | Marketing and the 5 P’s | Why Choose a Marketplace Orientation? | Why Value Pricing?
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Innovative firms realize that it takes more than just a seminar or newsletter to provide added value to the client. Everything revolves around the personal relationship that ultimately develops between the professional service provider and the client.
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Your Time Has No Inherent Value

Head shot of Ed Kless
Kless

… but here’s what does.

By Ed Kless, as told to Sandi Leyva and Michelle Long

Do you believe your time has inherent value to your clients?

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Ed Kless: What Is Strategic Pricing? | How to Keep Current | Best Practices for Growth: Network, Specialize, Share | 10 Easy Tips to Boost Your Business Cash Flow | 2 Ways to Serve Clients Better | How to Fire a Client | How to Manage Client Expectations | Trashing the Spreadsheet: Best Practices in Modern Expense Management
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Sorry, but no. Your time has no inherent value; it certainly doesn’t have any value to anyone but you.
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Take the Focus Off Price

Red Dollar Sign Label3 other ways to differentiate yourself.

By Sandi Leyva
The Accountant’s Accelerator

I hear more accountants grumbling every day about how price-sensitive their prospects and clients have gotten. And they are right, to a degree. The economy has caused even the rich to count their pennies, and the percentage of people who look at a price tag before they buy has increased over the last five years.

MORE ON SMALL-FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Stop Thinking Small | 5 Solutions When Clients Balk at Price | Make Your Services an Investment, Not an Expense | 9 Ways to Boost Your Value (and Your Fees) | 9 Ways Accountants Throw Away Profits | 9 Ways to Increase Sales through ‘Power Networking’ | 5 Things You Know That Clients Don’t | 3 Ways to Test Your Revenue Forecast

Yet studies show that roughly 54 percent of buyers are NOT price-sensitive, and I would be willing to bet even more are selectively price-impervious depending on what they buy: women’s shoes, men’s cars, personal services, jewelry, vacations, cosmetics and hair, to name a few exceptions.
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Lowballing: How to Stop Under-Pricing Yourself

Coins and small bills in a plastic boxBONUS CHECKLIST: 10 questions to help you reconsider your prices.

By Martin Bissett
Business Development On a Budget

Undercharging or lowballing as it’s also called is the scourge of the profession. It has always been present, and unfortunately, it will probably be with us for the foreseeable future.

MORE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT for PRO MEMBERS (Go PRO here): Appraise Your Prospects |The Science of Pipelines |Do You Have a Pipeline or Just a List? | Develop the Habit of Consistency |Prepare Your Next Generation of Professionals |Overcome Recurring Fee Apathy |Banish the Idea that Selling is Difficult | How to Win Your First Client|5 Ways to Make Selling Easier to Swallow | You’re Selling All the Time

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Undercharging is directly related to fear fear of rejection.
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Increase Fees and Keep (Most of) Your Clients

Growing stacks of blocks with an arrow tracing upwardBONUS: A sample letter you can send clients.

By Sandi Leyva and Michelle Long
The Ultimate Accounting Virtual Conference

When is the last time you increased your fees? Was it the past year, the past one to two years, over three years … or never? If you haven’t, you should.

How do you increase your fees?

Sometimes it’s a sticky situation but you should start setting a policy where you’re going to increase your fees on a regular basis, maybe every year or two. That allows you to avoid having large increases.

If you haven’t increased your rates for five years and you have to go up quite a bit at once that will be harder for the client, but once they get used to an annual or every other year increase and accept it then it’s easier to keep your fees.

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CPA Firms Hit the Brakes on Increases in Billing Rates

CPA firm price index through August 2015
CPA firm price index through August 2015

The good news? A lot less volatility.

By CPA Trendlines

After a period of rapid price increases, CPA firms appear to be backing off on rate hikes.

The price index for U.S. CPA firms reached 117.2 in August, representing a 15.1 percent price increase since the January 2005 baseline. This is the second time this year the index has reached this mark, with the other in March, and the highest point except for February’s 117.5. It denotes increases of 0.6 percent for the month and 0.3 percent for the year.

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Tax Leads Accounting Industry in Price Hikes

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
CPA Trendlines 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 CPA Trendlines study.

MORE: Fees and Pricing Reports for PRO Members Only
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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, CPA Trendlines 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

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