Pricing is the question small practice owners avoid longest. Charge too little and you work harder for less. Charge inconsistently and clients notice, then talk. Charge with no explanation and every invoice becomes a negotiation. A clear approach to pricing recurring bookkeeping and annual tax work protects your margins and makes your fees easy to defend.
Start with your real cost of delivery
Before you pick a number, work out what an hour of your team's time costs. Include salaries, benefits, software, insurance, rent, and the time you spend on admin that nobody bills. Divide by the hours your team can realistically bill, which is rarely more than seventy percent of the working week. That figure is your floor. Any price that falls below it means the practice is subsidising the client.
Choose the right model for each service
Not every service should be priced the same way. A useful split is:
- Fixed fee: for work with a known scope, such as a T1 personal return or a corporate year-end package.
- Monthly retainer: for recurring bookkeeping, where the effort is steady and clients prefer a predictable bill.
- Hourly: for advisory work, clean-up projects, and anything where the scope is genuinely uncertain.
Fixed fees and retainers reward efficiency, because you keep the margin when you work faster. Hourly pricing protects you when the scope is unclear. Most firms blend all three.
Price bookkeeping by complexity, not just volume
Bookkeeping is easy to underprice because it looks routine. The number of transactions matters, but so do the factors that make them harder to process. Consider how many bank and credit card accounts the client has, whether they collect HST or GST, whether they have payroll, how clean their records are when they send them, and how quickly they answer questions.
A short intake form that scores each of those factors lets you place the client in a tier. A simple tier table is often enough:
| Tier | Typical client | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Sole proprietor, one bank account, few transactions | Low monthly retainer |
| Standard | Small company, HST registered, a few accounts | Mid monthly retainer |
| Plus | Payroll, multiple accounts, higher volume | Higher retainer with defined scope |
Price tax work by the story of the return
A basic T1 with a few slips is a different job from a T1 with rental income, self-employment, and capital gains. Rather than one flat price, publish a base fee and clear add-ons. Clients understand paying more when their situation has more parts, and you avoid the quiet loss of absorbing every extra schedule.
Write the scope down
Most pricing arguments are really scope arguments. A good quote says what is included, what is not, and what happens when the work changes. Include the number of months or returns, the documents the client must provide, and the response time you expect. When a client later asks for something outside that scope, you can reply with a calm, specific add-on rather than an awkward debate.
Review prices once a year
Costs rise, your skills improve, and your client list changes. Set a date each year, ideally outside busy season, to review your fees. Increase them modestly and communicate early, with a short note explaining what has changed. Clients rarely leave over a thoughtful, well-timed increase. They leave over surprises.
Keep your catalog consistent
Inconsistent pricing usually comes from convenience. A staff member quotes from memory, a partner offers a discount to a friend, and soon nobody knows the standard. Keep a single catalog of services with their standard fee and tax, and let every quote start from it. Adjustments are fine, but they should be deliberate and recorded, not accidental.
Make the number easy to say yes to
- Show the price next to what it includes.
- Offer a monthly option for recurring work.
- Send the quote quickly, while the client is engaged.
- Turn the accepted quote into the invoice without retyping.
When pricing is clear, the rest of the relationship gets easier. Clients know what to expect, your team knows what to deliver, and your invoices stop being a source of surprise. FirmBoard stores your service catalog with fees and tax so every quote starts from the same, trusted number. If you want help setting yours up, get in touch.
