Determining Value in Your Firm – What Items are Included in Your Fees?

Let’s go back to when you created the fees you are charging your clients…

Did you simply look at how many bank statements and transactions were involved each month and throw out a number?

 

If you did, you might want to take a few new actionable steps to change how you charge for your services. After all, there is so much more to the work you do for your clients. Yes, in the beginning, you may have only done the bookkeeping. But then, the scope kept changing, as you learned more about this industry and the work you love. So, now is the time to determine the value of your firm and charge accordingly for every task you do for your clients.

 

Create a List of Tasks You Do

First, I want you to write down exactly what you do for compliance work for your clients. This list will include items like:

•       Bank reconciliations
•       Closing out the month or quarter
•       Complete everything for sales tax filing
•       Payroll
•       Getting ready for year-end

 

Your list will most likely include other items, but these will get you thinking of those tasks you must do for simple bookkeeping.

At the end of your compliance list, I want you to draw a line across the paper. Anything underneath this line is considered a value add and you should be charging more for those services. 

After you have completed your compliance items, you should write down everything else you do for your clients.  Those items can include:

•       Meetings with clients
•       Cash flow planning
•       Monitoring AR and AP
•       Meetings with clients’ CPAs
•       Train clients’ office staff to do certain tasks
•       Liaison with different client staff members

 

There are other items that need to be added to your value-adds list too, but those items will have even higher fees. Those items include:

•       The urgency of the work requested
•       How much work is needed from your team if the client is unorganized
•       Turnaround time of regular bookkeeping work
•       Does work for a client require you to be available on nights or the weekends?

 

You should not be doing any item on those last two lists for free! While you can charge extra for each one, I recommend grouping them into categories and then creating package fees. Use those package fees for all potential clients and share them with existing clients too.

 

Value adds are an excellent way to determine your value, increase your business revenues, and show your clients you have their best interests in mind. I would leave room on your list once you think you have completed it, because you will definitely think of other items you do for clients for a few days. You may even add more to your list over time, as you learn other things that will be helpful for your clients.

 

Value-adds are only one of the items we are discussing over in my free Facebook group. If you want to join in on the discussions, you can join my group here.