How to Future-Proof Your Firm
Hourly billing is dead. Well, okay, it’s not completely dead, but it should be. Why? Because clinging to the billable hour is keeping firms from growing, keeping clients from loving us and keeping our profession stuck in the past.
I’ve been preaching about pricing for years, and I even did a webinar series for my friends at ADP on this very topic late last year. And let me tell you, the firms that get it — those who shift to value pricing, fixed fees or subscription models — are absolutely killing it. They’re more profitable, their clients are happier and they’re running their businesses with intention instead of just reacting to whatever walks in the door. And guess what? You can do this too.
Why Now? Because the Perfect Storm is Here
Automation and AI are changing everything. The work that used to take hours? It now takes minutes or maybe even seconds. So, if you’re still charging by the hour, you’re stuck in a losing game. How do you bill for something AI completes in two seconds? You don’t.
Meanwhile, consumers are already comfortable with subscription pricing. My daughter’s dog, Howie, has a vet on subscription pricing. If veterinarians can do it, why can’t CPAs?
Oh, and let’s not forget that the accounting tech startups (the ones trying to replace us) are already doing this. If we don’t evolve, they’re going to eat our lunch. We have to stop competing with the firm next door and start competing with the tech companies productizing tax and accounting services.
The Six Steps to Pricing Like a Pro
So, how do you get started? Here’s the simple version:
Define Your Ideal Customer – Stop taking everyone who walks in the door. Get intentional about who you serve and who you don’t.
Productize Your Service Offering – Standardize what you do so it’s repeatable, scalable and clear.
Define Deliverables & Scope – Clients need to know exactly what they’re getting (and so does your team). No more scope creep!
Determine Your Costs – If you’ve always billed by the hour, this might feel weird at first, but knowing your real costs is key.
Set a Fixed, Transparent Price – Clients LOVE knowing what they’ll pay. No more surprise bills!
Market and Sell With Confidence – A clear, repeatable offering makes sales so much easier (and you don’t have to be a natural salesperson to do it!).
But Wait, Will My Clients Really Pay More?
YES. And they’ll actually be happier about it. Clients don’t mind paying for certainty. In fact, studies show that people will pay 20% more for a fixed price over an unknown variable price. Why? Because they don’t want surprises. Nobody likes surprises when it comes to their bills, especially not your clients.
The Customer Experience Connection
Here’s where it gets even better. When you move to value pricing and productized services, your entire customer experience improves. You have time for real conversations. You can be proactive instead of drowning in compliance work. You can schedule meetings ahead of time and actually uncover new revenue opportunities.
Clients want to talk to their CPA, but they hesitate because they’re afraid they’ll get charged just for picking up the phone. That’s crazy! When pricing is aligned with service, clients feel like they’re getting MORE value, not less.
This is Already Happening
Some of the most successful firms today are already doing this. They’re defining their personas (aka, their ideal clients), structuring their service offerings and making their business models work for them instead of against them.
Want proof? Think about R&D tax credits. That’s been a productized service offering for years. Why? Because firms realized that you don’t start an R&D credit engagement unless you know the client qualifies. So they scope the work upfront, price it upfront and deliver it in a structured, repeatable way. This exact model can apply to ANY part of your firm.
Take it One Step at a Time
I get it. Change is hard. But you don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. Start with one persona, one service offering, and one pricing model. Get that working, then expand.
And if you need a roadmap, I lay it all out in my book, Radical Pricing. It’s time to stop selling time and start selling outcomes. Because when you do, your firm will run better, your clients will love you, and you’ll finally feel like you’re building something scalable and sustainable.