Minutes Don’t Matter. Outcomes Do.
“As AI comes in, as more technology comes in, you can't bill by the minute. You have to price on outcomes.”
Yeah, I said it. And I’ll keep saying it until every partner in every firm finally gets it…the billable hour is dead.
AI and automation have already blown up the math on hourly billing. The second a machine can do in seconds what used to take a human two hours, your “time-based” revenue model falls apart.
So why are so many firms still clutching their timesheets like security blankets? Keep reading as I highlight what Michael Bird, president of Rightworks, and I covered in a recent Fireside Chat on making sure your firm is relevant in 2030.
Time Isn’t Value Anymore
Look, there was a time when billing by the hour made sense. Effort and value were closely tied.
But that world is gone.
Clients don’t care how long something takes. They don’t want to see a timesheet. They want results:
Are my books clean and accurate?
Did you save me money?
Did you give me clarity and confidence in my decisions?
You can’t put a stopwatch on that kind of value. And you sure as hell can’t build an AI-first firm on 6-minute increments.
Pricing Is the Lever That Changes Everything
When you stop billing for minutes and start pricing for outcomes, your whole firm shifts.
Your people see their worth. They stop thinking they’re worth a line on a timesheet and start seeing the real value they deliver.
Your client relationships get stronger. You’re no longer a vendor; you’re a partner in their success.
Your margins improve. Efficiency stops being a threat and becomes a growth driver.
I learned this the hard way. It wasn’t until I sold my own firm that I realized what had actually transformed it. It wasn’t the tech. It wasn’t the processes. It was pricing. Pricing was the thing that forced us to reimagine everything.
You Can’t Lead with AI on an Hourly Model
Right now, most firms are dabbling in AI. They’ve got a tool here, a workflow there. But there’s no true AI-first firm yet.
And you know why? Because you can’t build one on an hourly foundation. The math doesn’t work.
Outcome pricing gives you the freedom to innovate. It gives your people room to experiment without partners freaking out about “lost hours.” And it lets you deliver more value, faster, without tanking your revenue.
That’s how we move from dabbling in AI to truly leading with it.
Lead the Change or Get Left Behind
Stop waiting. Stop pretending the world hasn’t changed.
If you want your firm to survive this shift, here’s where you start:
Stop billing minutes. Start pricing outcomes.
Make pricing a team sport. Get everyone involved in scoping and defining value.
Let AI elevate your people. Use the tech to clear the grunt work so your team can focus on the work that really matters.
Focus on relationships and results. That’s what clients value. That’s what they’ll pay for.
AI isn’t a someday conversation. It’s today. The only question is whether you’re going to keep fighting to stay in the past or step up and build the future.
Because in this new world, minutes don’t matter. Outcomes do.
Ready to lead?
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