The Value Pricing Podcast

On average, accounting and bookkeeping firms that bill based on the hour are losing 8% of their profit by writing time off. When you look at the bill at the end of the work and see it’s really high because of all the extra unexpected work you had to do, it’s considered standard practice to just write some of the time off and give a lower ‘more reasonable’ price in order to avoid a conflict. A few years ago, I taught a seminar on scope creep to a room full of accountants and bookkeepers. There were some larger multi-partner firms and some smaller firms…During the break, one of the partners of a large multi-partner firm came up to me and told me something INSANE!He told me that he knows their business writes off AT LEAST £2,000,000 every single year!2 MILLION I was FLOORED by the amount of money this business was losing just through scope creep.Just think of how much money YOU could be losing out on!All those odd little jobs that crop up whilst doing the work that you never charge for, they all start to add up.The first step in overcoming the problem with scope creep is identifying what it is and when it happens. When you know that, you can put systems in place to never lose out on profits again and stop doing work for free!In today’s episode you will learn:Uncovering the telltale signs of impending scope creepDiscover the four distinct varieties of scope creepStrategies for effectively combating each scope creep categoryIntegrating project scope into your pricing modelNavigating client expectations to prevent fee disagreementsWhen you can see scope creep happening, you can put a stop to it BEFORE you lose out on your hard earned profits!

ChatGPT is taking the world by storm (and for good reason). This AI marvel is revolutionising the way we work.It’s scarily good… it might make you worried for the future of your job. But don’t worry, the only threat to your business is how your competitors are using it.And the good news is it sucks at math – so for now accountants and bookkeepers get to keep their jobs, but with the way it’s going you are going to need to be ON IT with ChatGPT to stay ahead of the curve. So breath a sigh of relief… but don’t get too comfortable.Whilst it’s still very new and growing – and is not without it’s flaws and limitations – this tool has the potential to save you literal HOURS of time and increase your productivity and efficiency IMMENSELY. The possibilities are endless and the benefits abundant.ChatGPT is going to be a gamechanger in the accounting industry – you need to get on board.In today’s episode you will learn: 🤖  What ChatGPT is and does⚠️ The 3 big DANGERS you must be aware of5️⃣ things you can start doing straightaway in your firm to get results🤔 How to ask better questions, so you get better answersIt’s time to embrace the future and elevate your business by using ChatGPT in your accounting or bookkeeping firm now.

You may have heard the term ‘Virtual CFO’ or even the term ‘Fractional CFO’, but what does it mean? And what does a Fractional CFO do? And how do you become one? Well, today's podcast episode is going to answer all of these questions and more! We have a special guest, Tatiana Tsoir, who is an award-winning accountant, speaker, and business expert with over 18+ years of experience.She's going to give us the lowdown on everything we need to know aboutFractional CFO services, including what it means to be a CFO, the differencebetween a CFO, a controller, and a fractional CFO, and how it can benefit yourbusiness.In this episode, Tatiana also shares her insights on what to look for inpotential clients and the common pitfalls that other CPAs, EAs, and bookkeepersoverlook, contributing to the business failure rate of 50%.You will learn:What is the role of a CFO vs Controller vs Fractional CFOWhat it can look like for a tax-accounting firm as well as a bookkeeping firm How do you know which clients are a good candidate for an upgrade What you should beware of (what other CPAs, EAs, Bookkeepers aren’t doing at all and contribute to the business failure rate of 50%) If you're ready to take your career to the next level and become a Fractional CFO, this episode is a must-listen!

I recently got the chance to meet up and interview one of my academy members Melanie Jury.Melanie has only been in the academy for a few months, and in that time she has made some HUGE changes to her business. She has changed the way she prices and increased the fees of her business by 3 times, all by doing one thing…Taking action!At first Melanie thought:“I was scared to charge too much. So, I kept increasing my hourly rate because I wasn't making enough money. Then I hit the $50 an hour mark and thought I couldn’t continue to raise my prices.”But after using the Effective Pricing software and learning about value pricing…"I couldn’t wait to increase my pricing, so I just went for it. And I was confident. I have good relationships with my clients. If clients wanted to go, they would have to go.  I wasn't going to be scared. And nobody left. In fact, I've gotten more clients.”Listen to the interview now to learn the exact steps Melanie took, the changes she has made to her business, and her new-found confidence when it comes to giving high prices. In today’s episode you will learn:✅ Melanie’s struggles with pricing and how she overcame them and took action!✅ How Melanie re-priced her clients and didn’t lose anyone✅ How Melanie found the courage to raise her prices and stick to them✅ The impact of these changes on Melanie’s business✅ Melanie’s top tips for getting started on re-pricingMelanie took what she learnt in the academy and went ahead and DID IT, and now the results are flooding in. I hope her story inspires you to take action and make those needed changes in your business. Listen now.

Have you ever heard that dreaded phrase:“That’s too expensive!”When clients say that to you, it makes you instantly want to start throwing discounts at them, desperately trying to keep their business. Honestly, it’s embarrassing.But you really don’t need to discount – EVER. Here’s why ‘that’s too expensive’ is actually the best thing you could hear…Most accountants and bookkeepers are undercharging for their services. If you have never had a price objection it means you are clearly one of them. But your service is VALUABLE and DESERVES a high price.When someone says your price is too expensive it most likely isn’t, you just need to communicate your value better. When you under price and the client immediately says ‘yes’ you have left money on the table. But when you price too high, you know you are above your clients’ willingness to pay and you can work with them to bring the price down by altering the service.  In today’s episode you will learn:✅ Why ‘that’s too expensive’ should be your favourite phrase✅ 4 reasons that people object to your price ✅ How to identify the 4 different types of buyer✅ A 6-step process for handling price objections When you can change up your mindset and understand that price objections are actually an opportunity to deliver more value to your client, you will no longer be afraid of hearing that dreaded ‘it’s too expensive’ phrase’.

Here is a common myth about having a niche:“If I focus on just one niche I will have less clients to choose from”.So many people think this, it seems logical that the pickier you are with your clients, the less clients you will have…But the opposite is actually true. When you position yourself as the expert people will flock from far and wide to work with you because you are the best. Think of it this way…If you had to have brain surgery, would you pop along to your local hospital or would you seek out the best, most reputable brain surgeon you can find and travel a long way to have them specifically perform the surgery?Your clients will do the same thing when choosing their accounting professional. They want to know that their business is in the safest possible hands. Now, let’s say you were a restaurant owner, and you had these 2 options for your accounting professional:-        ‘We do everything for everyone and we are really cheap’-        ‘We specialize in restaurants, have experience in the industry and have successfully and consistently saved restaurant businesses thousands in tax.’Who are you going to choose to work with?Being the expert makes you valuable, it makes you sought after, and it means people will be willing to pay a higher price to work with you (because they will recognize your authority and expertise). In today’s episode you will learn: ✅ 3 steps to positioning yourself as the expert✅ 3 opportunities for speaking✅ 3 types of content that will help position you as the expert When you position yourself as the expert you will win more of the right type of client that is well suited to your business, appreciates the work you do, values you as their accounting professional and is willing to pay a high fee to work with you.   

Getting the right price is so infuriatingly difficult. And the bad news is… your current prices are most likely WRONG!People always ask me “So, how do I know when my prices are right?”There is a really simple answer to this – you can’t. (Well, that’s a really short podcast episode…) Look, you are never going to know if your price is correct because every client is willing to pay a different price. We aren’t mind readers – we don’t know what their maximum budget is (and it’s not like we can just ask them). But the thing is, the fact your prices are never ‘correct’ can actually be a good thing.And there are plenty of techniques that you can use to make sure are getting as close as possible to that maximum price. In today’s episode you will learn:✅ The 7 essential factors to consider when coming up with your price✅ Why there is no such thing as a market price✅ How to alter the perception of value so clients are willing to spend more✅ 5 top strategies for getting the highest price possibleYou will never know what the right price is because the right price simply does not exist. People value things differently and supply and demand are constantly changing – so your prices need to constantly change as well.Listen now!

2022 was the year that was billed to be an economic boom for the UK which was allegedly going to be comparable to the post WW2 boom. The post COVID boom has come but things are not turning out as expected though.- Brexit- Post COVID employment and labour shortages- Post COVID supply chain issues- Inflatio- The war in Ukraine- Political and societal uncertainty.... are all contributing to significant uncertainty in all aspects of business and life.Why is this important?Accountants are critical in creating certainty in uncertain times but that is difficult when there is uncertainty in our own businesses.Accountants were the front line heroes that kept businesses and their owners on track when the pandemic landed. It's different now but we are needed more than ever before.Never before have we been as busy. Never before have we been in as much demand. There are more clients and there is more work but never before has it been as difficult to secure the people and the resources to get the work done.We need to get really clear on what we are doing? What is important to us? How we are going to get a better result?The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: Facing into challenging economic headwinds with Des O’Neill In today’s episode you will learn:⓵ Changing our Strategy and Business Model to reflect the realities of business and the world we are operating in, in 2022.⓶ Adopting a different approach to people and accessing resources Post-COVID.⓷ Regaining clarity on who the clients are that we are meant to serve and identifying the ones we may need to let go of⓸ Refocusing on our pricing and product and adopting new tactics that will get a better result for the firm, the team and the clients⓹ Creating a predictable pipeline of the new clients that we want and need that fit in with our new strategy and business model⓺ Relieving the short-term pressures on you, the firm owner, and your team. Join Des and I as we discuss the current trends in the industry and the 6 steps accounting firms need to take now to stay successful in these ever-changing times.And check out the CPD Store here: https://www.cpdstore.co.uk/pages/cpd-club-200

I hear problems like this all the time…“The client hasn’t done what they promised!”“The client has asked for me to do more work that I didn’t price for.”“It’s taken me longer to do the work than I initially thought.”“The client’s business has grown and there is more work now.”These are all examples of scope creep.Scope creep is a huge problem for a lot of accountants and bookkeepers – so many are losing money because they don’t know how to price for these scenarios and end up just taking a hit rather than asking the client to pay up.The main reason these problems arise is because there was not enough clarity in the original agreement. When you sign up a new client for one of your services, you need to manage their expectations. If the client understands exactly what they get with your service (and what they don’t get), what’s expected of them, and how the price might be altered if their circumstances change, it will prevent any fee disputes and stop you from losing out due to scope creep.  You can manage your client’s expectations through a Fixed Price Agreement. This is a document that lays out the details of your service and how the fixed price is determined. Should the client’s circumstances change, they request some additional work, or they fail to deliver on a promise, you can simply refer them back to the Fixed Price Agreement to explain the resulting adjustment in price. The client has total clarity – and you will never make a loss from scope creep again. The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: How to Set Out Your Fixed Price Agreement In today’s episode you will learn:✅ How scope creep can be the biggest financial drain on your business ✅ How to manage your clients expectations to avoid scope creep✅ The 9 essential elements to add to your Fixed Price Agreement ✅ What to do if something changes, or the clients doesn’t do what you expectedListen now!

In life, ‘you get what you pay for’. Everyone knows this. Whether you are paying your cleaner, having your boiler replaced, or going on a vacation – everyone understands as a general rule the more valuable option comes with a high price. So, when you charge a really low price for your accounting and bookkeeping services, what do you think people are people going to assume about the quality of your work?Your price represents your value. A low price means low value – at least, that’s the perception.  The thing is – accounting and bookkeeping work is hugely valuable. Accounting professionals can be the difference between a business failing or succeeding. It can be the difference between a business owner being able to pay their staff or put food on the table for their kids. Your impact is immense – and immensely valuable.So, it’s only right you charge a high price for that service. When you charge a low price, it means you have to work crazy long hours just to make ends meet. That can leave you burnt out, but even worse…You are doing your clients a disservice when you charge low prices.You’ll miss out on extra opportunities, you’ll miss small details in the work, or you’ll rush to get the job finished. Not because you are bad at your job – far from it! But when you are stretched so thin, something will inevitably slip. When you charge the high prices you deserve, you can dedicate time to each client and deliver them a service that is hugely valuable. Your clients will be happy to pay that high price because they understand ‘you get what you pay for’.The latest episode of the Value Pricing Podcast is now available: How to Be Comfortable with Charging High Prices In this episode you will learn: ✅ How a bookkeeper got C$128,800 for one client after just one month of value pricing✅ The reasons why the accounting profession is underpricing (and how to avoid making the same mistakes)✅ Why charging a low price is unethical✅ Powerful strategies for charging higher prices without resistance Listen now!