Quoting fees can feel like playing darts blindfolded. You hope for the bullseye, but more often than not, you end up way off target. Maybe charging so much that you lose the prospect.
Then there are those occasions when you kick yourself if a prospect agrees immediately to your fee quote, making you think you might not have charged enough!
It’s not easy getting your fees right so that they are fair to you and to your clients.
Before explaining the ten mistakes promised here, I want to clarify an often misunderstood point. It relates to the idea of there being a ‘going rate’ for your services. Much like there might be a ‘going rate’ for a cleaner, a babysitter or a gardener.
There may well be a ‘going rate’ for anyone providing a service that is largely interchangeable. But most people would pay a little extra for someone whose service goes above and beyond that of a ‘bog-standard’ cleaner, babysitter or gardener. It’s the same for accountants of course.
If you are simply promoting yourself in much the same way, or you appear to be much the same, as any other local accountant, then price (your fees) may be the only obvious distinguishing factor.
In reality, most accountants I have interviewed and/or worked with have distinct personalities. They also have different backgrounds, qualifications, experiences, preferences, style and approach. Of course their fees will be different as they are not interchangeable and they know how to make this obvious to prospective clients. ‘Obvious’ in a way that makes clear that their fees are good value for money, given the value they will be able to provide.
In recent weeks I’ve had even more conversations about fee quotes than usual with a number of the accountants I mentor. And we’re likely to return to this topic at an upcoming meeting of my Sole Practice Club.
I’ve summarised below the ten most common mistakes I see and suggest how you can avoid repeating these:
1. Premature quotes
This often happens when you are so keen to win the work that you forget to clarify key factors such as: exactly what the client requires, the quality of their books and records and other matters that will impact the time and effort you will need to devote to serve the client.
2. Focusing on the fee, not the value
Too many accountants concentrate on the amount of the fee. But your quote will be more acceptable if you also also explain the value the client will receive and the extent of the service you are going o provide. You can do this by providing some form of breakdown of the fee and relating it to what they personally value – whether that’s peace of mind, less hassle, better cashflow advice, or support to grow.
3. Keeping your quote too short
Brevity might feel efficient, but if your quote lacks detail, you’re relying on the prospect’s past experiences to fill in the blanks. Big risk. Do their expectations align with your style and approach? If not, you might lose the work – or win it and regret it.
4. Not understanding the prospect’s pain points
If you haven’t clarified why they’re looking for a new accountant, how can you connect with what they care about? You’ll struggle to demonstrate how your service solves their specific problem.
5. Assuming it’s all about price
As I explained in my preamble, unless you’ve positioned yourself as the cheapest option, it should never be all about price. If your marketing is attracting bargain hunters, you’ll always be fighting to prove your worth. And even if they do sign up, they’ll likely leave next year for someone cheaper.
6. Using unclear or vague language
Terms like “general advisory work” can mean different things to different people. Be clear about what’s included and what’s not. Equally you want to avoid jargon, acronyms and abbreviations that prospects may not understand.
7. Making choices that should be left to the client
If you really genuinely are able to serve every client in the same way, that’s fine. But, in most cases, accountants find that some clients need more handholding than others, some take more time and some want more advice than others.
The two most popular alternative ways to avoid this mistake in fee quotes are:
– Menu pricing – allowing the client to choose from your range of services and making their own decision as regards which to drop if they don’t like the total fee
– 3-tier pricing – allowing the client to choose whether they want your lowest priced offering (in terms of the level of service and support), the middle-tier level of service (being the level that most of your clients get) or the top-tier (for those clients who want more than you usually provide). There’s an example of this approach on the mentoring page of my website.
8. Overcomplicating your pricing structure
If your quote is full of confusing terms, nested footnotes and multiple disclaimers, it can overwhelm the prospect. Clarity builds confidence. They don’t need to see your internal logic – they need to see that the quote makes sense for them.
My final two mistakes are things that often get left out of accountants’ fee quotes:
9. Examples of additional work
Let them know what other services you offer and how additional fees would be agreed for each of these. This plants a seed that you do more than the basics – and builds trust.
10. What sets you apart
Many accountants offer similar headline services. But YOU are different. Share stories, examples, and specific experiences that evidence what makes you stand out.
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Knowing how you can avoid these 10 mistakes will be a boost to what I call your ‘pricing’ skills in my talks about the four P skills every accountant needs to thrive:
- Promoting – how you market yourself, online and offline.
- Pitching – how well you engage 1-2-1 with prospects.
- Pricing – your ability to quote promptly and fairly.
- Performing – doing the actual work (which is the bit we have plenty of experience doing)
Many accountants excel at the Performing side of things but only really get the chance to do this after they have Pitched and Priced their services. If either of those is off, even the best marketing won’t convert your ideal leads into loyal clients.
Want to stop struggling with your fee quotes?
We regularly tackle these kinds of challenges in the Sole Practice Club. It’s a safe, supportive space where you can swap ideas, test out approaches and get honest feedback from others in the same boat.
Or if you’d prefer more personal support, we can have a 1-2-1 chat to review your quoting process. I’m happy to help you avoid common pitfalls and boost your conversion rate.
