new trends emerge in net profit margins and accounts receivable.
after years of intensifying and debilitating pressure on bottom lines, profits at tax, accounting and bookkeeping firms appear to be hitting 10-year highs, according to information obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 from sageworks, the specialist in tracking private-company financials. read more →
plus five more clauses you might want to consider.
by ed mendlowitz
101 questions and answers
question: you state on the bottom of your invoice that you charge 1.5% for balances over 60 days. do you actually implement that or is it just warning? do you do it on all clients or just some? do clients pay that or complain? if they send in payment without that, do you write off the finance charge or leave it open? read more →
competitors vie for clients on price and promises…
economies of scale found in supply chain.
audit fees can be costly for many public and private companies, but an accounting professor has discovered a way they save some money when going through the process.
read more →
by ed mendlowitz
“tax season opportunity guide“
question: a former client owes me a lot of money and will not pay or even discuss a settlement. i want to sue him. what can you tell me about this?
response: i don’t know the details so cannot address your specific situation. however, i have some comments about suing that i would like to share with you. read more →
by ed mendlowitz
“tax season opportunity guide“
question: i have many clients who always expect me to do extra work as part of our fixed fee agreement. how can i get paid extra for work beyond the scope of our agreement?
response: this is a recurring theme, and one that has many answers. one approach: don’t take on the extra work.
here is another approach. read more →
executive summary
by rick telberg
cpa trendlines
most tax practitioners across the nation are preparing for the 2014 busy season with the hoping it can’t possibly be as bad as last year’s “worst tax season ever,” according to exclusive 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 polling.
about 61% of accountants today expect at least a “somewhat” or even “much” better season this year, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, a tracking poll now approaching its 11th year. some 26% expect no change from last year, and 13% are bracing for “somewhat worse” or “much worse.”
in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 special report, responses and comments from more than 400 practitioners surveyed have been tabulated and analyzed. key findings:
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rates drop by $4 an hour for basic accounting services.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 staff
a new survey of mostly solo and small-firm tax and accounting practitioners shows average rates and fees for standard accounting and bookkeeping services tasks are tracking downward. read more →
any billing method that relies on client ignorance is certain to fail.
by frank stitely, cpa
stitely & karstetter, pllc
value billing advocates exhort us to bill based on the benefit a client receives, but that’s just the demand side of the economic equation. competition is the supply side. here’s a little fable based on ed mendlowitz’s “value pricing: a lesson in applying judgment,” where a cpa asks for billing advice and then bills a client $7,000 for three hours’ work.
“great day, al. have you ever shot an 80 before?”
“no, jay. this is my first. this round of drinks is on me.”
jay continued, “you’ve had quite a week. first, you got your line of credit. now the best golf round of your life.”
al had just finished a round of golf with his banker, jay; a neighbor, john; and john’s cpa, greg.
“jay, i am blessed with having great friends and advisors. you did a marvelous job. but, i should give some credit to my cpa, frank. he put the entire package together for seven grand. that seems like a great price.”
al saw the puzzled look in greg’s eyes. read more →
by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator
i hear more accountants grumbling every day about how price-sensitive their prospects and clients have gotten. and they are right, to a degree. the economy has caused even the rich to count their pennies, and the percentage of people who look at a price tag before they buy has increased over the last five years.
yet studies show that roughly 54% of buyers are not price-sensitive, and i would be willing to bet even more are selectively price-impervious depending on what they buy: women’s shoes, men’s cars, personal services, jewelry, vacations, cosmetics, and hair, to name a few exceptions.
so why are so many accounting clients and prospects price-sensitive? read more →
how to focus on value first.
by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator
how do you talk to a prospect or client about your fee?
some of the answers i have heard are:
most accountants spill the beans about their rates way too early in a conversation with a future client. so when should you talk rates?
the best answer is: read more →
ed mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs author of “implementing fee increases“ question: i helped a client get a bank loan, negotiated the rate and fees with the bank and had a tight covenant loosened. i prepared a personal financial statement, prepared … continued
…as accounting firms redefine value. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 today’s modern accounting firm — and there are more of them than we think, and fewer of them than we’d like to think – is still evolving. … continued