Clients are charged based on the number of hours worked, multiplied by a predetermined hourly rate. If you hire self-employed bookkeepers from another country, you can also experience major cost differences. debit memo and credit memos in accounts payable For example, a freelance bookkeeper located in India or other low-cost countries can charge less for their services compared to an independent bookkeeper in Europe or Canada.
Fixed Pricing
Additionally, if you come highly recommended by other local businesses, you can typically charge higher prices. Make sure to keep your clients happy and let them know you appreciate referrals. On the other hand, if you offer more complex services, like tax preparation or strategic planning, you may want to charge a higher price. Also, consider the value you are providing for your clients. The size of the client company is also an important factor to consider when pricing your bookkeeping services. You should also consider your experience level and expertise.
I work a maximum of five hours per month for this client, which means sometimes I get my job done in less time. Figuring out the right price or the right way to package your services isn’t easy. But breaking it down and building your pricing model by considering all the relevant factors will give you a reasonable solution to test. Though extraordinary items under gaap you must be willing to make changes if it isn’t working for you—even if that means having tough conversations with clients. Bookkeepers, especially new businesses (the ones who don’t have to make the sometimes messy transition to another pricing model), should avoid hourly billing for that reason. A full charge bookkeeper has a larger responsibility and full oversight over a company’s finances.
The 10 steps of value pricing
- Increase your accounting firm valuation by cluing into what buyers are looking for in a modern accounting firm today.
- If you think they’re too high for you to set reasonable rates, consider lowering them.
- Otherwise, you could wind up losing clients to other firms (and no bookkeeper wants that).
- The thing that takes the most time with this client is the invoicing.
- Full-service bookkeeping is everything you’d find in basic bookkeeping with additional accounting services and financial statement analysis.
- Most likely, you already have an hourly rate in your mind that you’d like to be working at, and you likely did not get into bookkeeping to be making $10 an hour.
If you think they’re too high for you to set reasonable rates, consider lowering them. A major and effective way to do that is to move to a remote or hybrid work set-up. So to bill correctly, it’s important to identify what you’re charging for, the way you charge, and what adjustments you can make to improve your bottom line. Effective client communication is an art that’s mastered over time. Fortunately, there are resources available that can help you refine your approach.
The Pricing Playbook: Double Your Firm’s Prices in 4 Easy Steps
These tasks might require different certifications, specialized skills, or additional time, which means they can be billed at a different rate. Small clients can be categorized as those who only need basic bookkeeping services. They might be sole proprietors or small businesses that require a professional to handle bank reconciliation, categorize transactions, and prepare financial statements. To decide which type of pricing is best for you, consider your experience level, the type of work you’ll be doing, and the needs of your clients.
I’m an entrepreneurial CPA that founded Xen Accounting, a100% cloud-based accounting firm, in 2013. Following its acquisition in 2018,I started Future Firm to help accountants fast-track the growth of a modern, scalable accounting firm of their own. This approach works well with a productized service, bundling various services and features into one tier or a fixed-price monthly subscription. In this example, the Monthly and Weekly options are examples of value pricing.
Types of services you offer
Outsourcing accounting services allows you to reap the benefits of an accountant without the costs of a full-time employee, such as insurance and other benefits. Bookkeeper salaries vary state by state (see our chart below), and depending on where you live, you could be paying a large difference in one place versus another. Bookkeepers have a wide variety of skills, so one of the factors you need to consider is what you need them for. If it’s basic client billing and documentation, a good solution may be turbotax official site accounting software that can assist you if you still want to play a more hands-on role.