How the $25K Rule Works in Pricing

Toss the timesheets and give your clients more value.

By Jody Padar
The Radical CPA

Consider the $25K Rule.

Because this method requires heavy lifting on the front end, a good rule of thumb is to only value-price engagements of $25,000 or more. If the client falls below $25,000, they are eligible for a fixed price or fixed price plus a value add. This rule is important because if your client is a small business, it doesn’t matter how much value they perceive in your services; they will not be able to afford value pricing above a certain level.

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Most services are fixed-priced, but based on conversations with the client, those prices may drop or be raised accordingly. Some of the data points used to set pricing are the PITA factor (pain in the a#%) and the client’s gross revenue.
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Advisory Opportunities Expand as FICA Tip Credit Rules Shift

Advisory Revenue Strategies: Navigating the New FICA Tip Credit Landscape with Jody Padar – Register | Learn more

Webinar with Jody Padar, Jan. 16 – Register | Learn more

By CPA Trendlines

A major shift in the federal FICA Tip Credit framework is opening new advisory revenue opportunities for accounting firms, as lawmakers and regulators move to redefine who qualifies for the long-standing payroll tax incentive.

CPE Webinar: “Advisory Revenue Strategies: Navigating the New FICA Tip Credit Landscape.” With Jody Padar. Jan. 16, Noon ET. 1 CPE. $49.50. Register | Learn more

Those changes will be the focus of a Jan. 16 webinar led by Jody Padar, CPA, titled “Advisory Revenue Strategies: Navigating the New FICA Tip Credit Landscape.” The one-hour session runs from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET.

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Why Offer Three Service Levels?

Hand drawing a rainbow-colored 3

You still can add on other services.

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.

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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The Three-Step Formula for Setting Your Monthly Fee

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

How to create price packages.

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.

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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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Some Clients Just Don’t Fit

businesswoman smiling at two clients, man and woman

Your team has to talk to them every day.

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.

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GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO 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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