Standard rates too often leave you short.
Accountants face only two major restrictions in determining their fees – the restriction against contingency fees under certain circumstances and the taking of commissions or referral fees. We have also seen that for the most part, accountants bill their time based on a cost-plus method.
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We don’t have to go far to find a source that suggests “that no business can survive and grow in the marketplace unless it is profit-oriented and motivated,” and “time charges at standard rates should only be the starting point for determining the amount to be billed. The real criteria is the value of the service to clients.” The source for these words of wisdom is none other than the AICPA Management of an Accounting Practice Handbook. The Handbook goes on to say that “standard rates should not represent a maximum that can be billed for services; rather they should represent a minimum.”
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