Why pricing by company size fails
Many accountants price by appearance: a small shop gets a low fee, a larger company gets a higher one. But size says little about effort. A small retailer may generate piles of minor transactions, while a consulting firm with big turnover may send only a handful of invoices.
A better starting point is the volume and complexity of the work, plus the level of responsibility you take on.
What drives the workload
Before quoting, ask for data from the last few months. Real numbers beat the phrase “our books are simple”.
- number of source documents and transactions;
- bank accounts and payments, including incoming money through Click or Payme if it flows into the books;
- tax regime and VAT status;
- staff: payroll, HR records, employee reporting;
- foreign trade: currency operations, contracts, customs paperwork;
- industry, inventory tracking, number of branches or business lines;
- client discipline: do documents arrive on time and in order.
Fee models and packages
Monthly retainers suit ongoing bookkeeping and reporting, and they work best as packages. For example, one for a sole proprietor without employees, one for a company with staff, one for a business that imports or exports. Each package should list included tasks and clear limits.
One-off work is priced separately: restoring past records, preparing for a tax audit, registering or closing a company, filing a single report. For advice on complex deals or tasks with unknown scope, hourly billing is usually fairer to both sides.
Building the number from your own costs
Start with your own data, not competitors’ price lists. Estimate the average time each type of task takes across your current clients. Then work out the cost of a specialist hour: salary, software, office, taxes and your margin. Add up the hours inside a package and multiply.
Next, add a risk premium. The tighter the deadlines and the higher the cost of a mistake, the larger it should be. Only at the end compare the result with the market. If you are well above peers, explain why in your proposal; if far below, you are probably undervaluing your time.
Liability and scope limits
An accountant is responsible for correct records and timely reports, and a mistake can turn into a penalty for the client. That responsibility is part of the product, so describe it in the contract: what you answer for, what the client answers for (such as handing over documents on time), and who covers the consequences of an error. Professional liability insurance, if you carry it, also affects price and trust.
Scope limits are the second must-have. State the maximum number of transactions, employees and reports per package, and what happens when the client exceeds them: an upgrade or a surcharge. Without this, the client grows, your workload doubles and the fee stays put.
Explaining the price to a client
Good accounting is invisible: no problems means everything worked. So show the work in parts: how many transactions are processed, which reports are filed, how payroll is calculated, who watches deadlines. Then add what the client actually feels: no penalties, a clear picture of cash, calm before an inspection.
Agree in advance on regular reviews, for example once a year or whenever the client outgrows the package. Set a clear communication channel too, such as a work chat in Telegram with defined response times.
Common mistakes and the strategy behind a fee
These errors cut margins most often.
A fee is more than arithmetic. It signals who you serve, which packages you sell and how you talk about them. If you need help choosing a segment, shaping your offer and marketing it, you can discuss the task with the markdev team.
- one price for every client;
- restoring old records “for free” inside the monthly fee;
- no volume limits in the contract;
- ignoring how disciplined the client is with documents;
- dumping prices until overload causes errors;
- never revisiting fees after the client’s business has grown.
FAQ
Why not price accounting by company size?
Size does not reflect effort. A small business can produce many transactions and a large one very few. Base the fee on transactions, staff, accounts and complexity.
Should record restoration be included in the monthly fee?
No. Restoring past periods is priced separately by complexity and time. The monthly fee covers current bookkeeping and reporting.
What must the contract include?
The list of services, package limits, client deadlines for documents, split of liability for errors and rules for revising the price.
How often should fees be reviewed?
Agree on a regular review, for example yearly, and an extra review whenever the client exceeds package limits for transactions, staff or reports.
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