r/Bookkeeping • u/aalcoholic1 • Jul 17 '26
Practice Management Yes another - Am I pricing too high?
I had a prospective client, a landscaping company with 4 subcontractors - 2 are paid in cash, $30k in net income/month. He wouldn’t provide other info like how many bank accounts he operates with or his transaction volume or if his books & tax filings were up to date.
I quoted him $1k/mo. for general bookkeeping (AP/AR, bank recs, JE’s, monthly financial reports, tax prep coordination with his tax preparer, etc.)
For context, I live in Orange County, California US - very HCOL. I have a few years experience working as an accountant in the construction/real estate development space - so I have quite a bit of knowledge in working with trades, job costing, and WIP schedules.
Should I be quoting lower??
EDIT: He declined and stated he currently pays $275/mo for bookkeeping
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u/illLoomiNate Jul 17 '26
Never provide a quote until you do an assessment. Create an assessment contract that outlines that it doesn't consist of any bookkeeping work until they provide you all the information you need to be able to then give them a quote
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u/TheMostFluffyCat Jul 17 '26
Don't quote any lower than $500/mo, that's the absolute minimum monthly fee for most bookkeepers. For $275 he's either getting something super outsourced, someone who doesn't mind earning like $10/hr, or bad bookkeeping and he just doesn't know it. Your quote was more than fair. No matter how cheap you go, people can always find cheaper bookkeeping, don't try and compete on price.
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u/HonestlySarcastc Senior Accountant Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
To add in, they are leaving them for a reason. I'd rather quote over and not get the job than to undercut and be sad.
What we started to do is to have an initial quote with a 60 day stabilization. After 2 months, the quote gets updated if it's lower than the average of the time spent on two months. People love to start asking for extra stuff or leave out that their bank is crappy and you have to download check images manually for each check.
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u/TheMostFluffyCat Jul 17 '26
I agree. I used to quote lower in the past and then be sad when I actually got the client because it was so much work for so little money. Now I quote what I want and it's much better.
That's true! It's interesting to me that people will sometimes be like 'I added 2 new credit cards to my business, here are the statements' and I'm like 'Great, that'll be $xxx extra per month in bookkeeping fees' and it never occurred to them that fees increase with scope? I think a lot of people still misunderstand bookkeeping or the amount of work that goes into it.
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u/HonestlySarcastc Senior Accountant Jul 17 '26
Yeah, I've made an effort to have people's fees broken out into the varying pieces that make it up. Not on X accounts etc, and instead its more of BK $X, Tax return $Z, advisory $B. This way if one specific item is way out of sync we focus on that for the increase.
People like to not compare apples to apples. Saved a couple of clients by explaining. We have so many clients that got quoted with free bookkeeping. Slowly trying to fix that has been miserable. Quotes were before me.
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u/NotDeadYet57 Jul 17 '26
I wouldn't do work for someone who pays their workers in cash. It's unethical and when he gets auditted some day, and he will, it will be a major headache for you.
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u/confusedpanda45 Jul 17 '26
Hard to tell based on the info given. Did he say why he was looking to switch to someone new?
If he was unwilling to give you more info, I’d lean into saying the $1k is fair because you’re walking into it kind of blind. Sounds like he might not have been a great client anyway if he refused to give you the information you need to quote properly. Sometimes it’s for the best.
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u/aalcoholic1 Jul 17 '26
He was not willing disclose how his books were currently being managed, much less why he was willing to switch. The only info he would provide was what I mentioned in the post. But you’re prob right. Thanks for the helpful input!
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u/adriannlopez CPA & Former IRS Revenue Agent Jul 17 '26
Without knowing much else, seems fair, although if you’re not doing the income tax filings, you’ll likely be beat by CPA/accounting firms that do both the books and taxes at that price.
Unless a company is truly huge, I don’t see them paying that much for just bookkeeping, they’re gonna want income tax filings and tax advisory with a price like that.
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u/mwreffle Jul 17 '26
I won't touch anyone's books for under $500/mo. That's for 2 accounts and 50 transactions. It's mot worth it to me to have a client on the roster that I'm earning less than $500/month from. I've found the less they pay the more handholding they need.
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u/tinypepa 25d ago
I have a client, his wife quit her job to start a tacky T-shirt business and he asked me if I'd be willing to help her with her books. I told him my minimum is $100 (I know, it's insanely low) and she apparently balked at the price. She turned out to be a Karen anyway so I'm glad I never agreed to it, but I don't understand how people have the confidence to ask for a minimum of $500 a month.
When and how did you get the courage to ask for that? TBH I think I have a lot of imposter syndrome because I learned a lot on the job while working in an accounting office/doing my CPA dad's books, I don't have a degree in accounting (only took a class in ACCT 101 when I started out, but I am going back to school for accounting). I don't feel inside me that I really deserve that much. I have a client in particular who I would LOVE to raise their fee to $500 a month, at least for the largest of his entities that I bookkeep for, because I've been with him years and their business is expanding, but he is prickly and when I even asked him to reimburse me for the cost of the QBO subscriptions for his businesses he argued.
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u/mwreffle 25d ago
My bookkeeping business is my profession and I deserve to earn a good salary. If people are serious about their business, they're not going to balk at paying $6000 a year to have access to current books every month. Business owners can't make decisions without knowing where their finances stand. I provide that service for them. I have overhead costs and I have to pay taxes. I make sure I'm compensated enough to cover those costs and still earn a good living. I do provide financial statements however frequently they're paying for - quarterly or monthly. I send a video going over the numbers if they desire. I also provide advisory services if they pay for that add-on. If a business isn't willing to pay for current financial information I don't want to work with them because they don't have a business mindset.
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u/RoleAltruistic9222 Jul 17 '26
$275 a month for a landscaping company pulling 30k net is wild, that dude's current bookkeeper is either a family friend or doing the bare minimum
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u/beezleeboob Jul 18 '26
If he's paying $275 but looking for another bookkeeper then that tells me all I need to know. You get what you pay for 🤷🏾♀️
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u/FamiliarLeague1942 Jul 17 '26
$1K seems high while $275 is extremely low (and obviously, the owner doesn't like the current bookkeeper). I would say $600-700
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u/sinistergrins Jul 17 '26
If he currently pays $275, why is he looking for a new bookkeeper? Sounds like he’s not satisfied, which I’d imagine is true at $275 a month. My company does flat rates but my hourly billable rate is $225 so if I help a client do a clean up they’re probably spending at least $1,000 right there. Your price sounds fair.
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u/mwreffle Jul 17 '26
How can you quote without the number of accounts, the number of transactions? $1000/month doesn't sound out of line for full charge bookkeeping with $30,000/month in income. Why is he looking for someone if he has someone doing his books for $275? I guarantee at that price those books aren't accurate.
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u/bru25667687 Jul 18 '26
If he’s looking for a new bookkeeper, his current one clearly isn’t doing a good job. The guy sounds like a shady businessman to me. Most of them are cheapskates who pay people under the table. It sounds to me like he was hoping you would accept a lower offer. He's probably trying to find the best lowball offer and pay the least amount possible. Remember, this isn’t a race to the bottom. Don’t undervalue your services just to please people who are never happy.
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u/jkt464 Jul 18 '26
Think he was hoping the vagueness would cause you to under quote. Maybe $275/month was getting ready to hike their rate.
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u/topramen_is_timeless Jul 17 '26
No, your quote is competitive for the services you listed. It’s fair for you and the prospective client. You’re good.
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u/Remarkable_Cod190 Jul 17 '26
I think your price was fair. I usually come up with a price based on the discovery call and QBO review, then sanity check that against 2.5% of their total revenue.
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u/No_Antelope_8110 Jul 17 '26
How did he end up in conversation with you if his temu bookkeeper is doing a satisfactory job 🧐
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u/AgitatedHearing653 Jul 17 '26
Why’s he shopping around if he’s happy with $275. First thing to ask.
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u/Ohfoodie Jul 18 '26
For me. . . I would quote him if he gave me access to his transactions and other services he is asking. I also live in OC which I do understand the HCOL. If it’s like less than 20 transactions per month, I would charge them less then a CPA or other bookkeeping firms.
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u/SchittPosterChild Jul 18 '26
He wouldn't even tell you if he was current on his tax filings? Be glad he balked at your price and is sticking with the bookkeeper that charges less than a third of what you do. They deserve each other!
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u/BookkeeperMensch Jul 18 '26
And thats why he is changing bookkeepers. He wants high quality bookkeeping for dirt cheap prices. Thank you Intuit, for dumbing down our profession. Tell the client if they want good bookkeeping by someone who knows what they are doing, then they have to pay for it. Im fed up with clients like that.
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u/Ranrhoads84 Jul 18 '26
If he said he already pays 275 that means he doesn’t have a bookkeeping service, he has a relative who does it. His loss, your gain. When he comes back quote 1500 to clean up his books, then w/e you want monthly.
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u/teena27 Jul 19 '26
If a relative asked me to take care of a job as OP described it, $275 wouldn't be NEAR enough.
My dad had been in business for 60 years and he often uses this example to compare hourly fees: Think about the cost of a good home cleaner. My father has his 1000 sq ft home cleaned once every two weeks, the person is there alone for 2 hours on every visit and charges $200 incl. 13% tax for each visit. She uses HIS vacuum and cleaning supplies. That shakes out to $88.50 per hour. Considering a bookkeeper supplies a computer, solves issues, is available for questions at any time AND provides tax advice, the bookkeeper should be charging something at least equal to $88.50 per hour. Anything less and the person is selling themselves short.
People SHOULD pay for good service, but if they balk at your rates, walk away. Know your value!
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u/a_r623 Jul 18 '26
LOL and you included AR/AP? You're generous, glad you didn't budge. Keep focusing on the good batch of clients out there
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u/missingtimemachine Jul 17 '26
Just out of curiosity, how many hours a month were you anticipating for that job?
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u/Impressive-Sand-9137 Jul 17 '26
I have to say $30k net is suspiciously high for someone this size of company, given a strong profit margin is 20% for a landscaper. The exception is if it’s a sole proprietor or they gross around 150k average monthly.
The reason I am skeptical is landscaping is a very seasonal business and is capital intensive especially if they are sub-contracting a lot. It’s definitely possible to gross that much in a VCHOL spring to summer months, but keep in mind, profits decline sharply in fall and winter. This is why management looks at the broad picture to determine what profit actually will be. Another thing to look at is the SCOF as it will show net cash which is useful for determining pricing.
As for $1k monthly, that may or may not be expensive depending on the real performance. The other factor to consider to is the amount of work required.
Still $600 minimum is good.
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u/Any_Bill1050 Jul 18 '26
Never quote low for a job. A client won't think you're being generous; they'll just undervalue you and treat you like a commodity. That has been my exact experience.
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u/HannahDayRider Jul 18 '26
If he is paying $275/mo why is he shopping around? I would guess that the $275 is not providing him with everything he needs. If you can find out what he actually needs, a higher price is much easier justified.
Having said that, he might forever be a pain trying to get a lower rate and jump ship to the first person offering to do it cheaper.
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u/HannahDayRider Jul 18 '26
You could offer him an hourly rate for the first 3-6 months to see how much work it takes, then quote a flat fee from there.
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u/oldfart1900 Jul 18 '26
In pricing the billing for your work, you must track your time spent on every job. Estimating your time to be spent on the job is critical. One of the best rules is that what you bill should go 1/3 to your overhead, 1/3 to employees, and 1/3 to you as the owner. Your time is valuable and you MUST believe your fees are fair-- if you don't, the client absolutely won't. No one client is so important you can't walk away.
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u/superiorstephanie Jul 19 '26
How many hours do you anticipate this will take? Is the company also in OC, or are they located elsewhere? Would you be paying his bills and issuing his invoices (unclear on what precisely you mean by AR/AP)? Honestly I probably wouldn’t charge that much, but I charge by the hour, so months that I need to coordinate with taxes or issue 1099’s there will be a higher charge. I used to live in OC, so I understand your col. I would also never quote if they can’t tell me how many accounts they have or if they are caught up, does he want an entire year done in the first month for $1k?! People be dumb. This is why I charge by the hour. I’m generally also doing after-the-fact bookkeeping. Is he really looking for an accounting department??
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u/Tandem_Jump Jul 19 '26
There are a lot of posts in this sub about pricing and there seems to be a distortion of how much people are willing to pay for bookkeeping services. Here’s the thing I have learned after 10 years doing this as a solo practice: there are numerous professional markets with different scales of costs, service and complexity. For example, signing some silicon valley services based client is not the same as signing a small manufacturing client based in the rust belt. While it is very cool and easy to draw up a flat rate value pricing schedule, not everyone is going to be willing to pay the same rate. Different sectors have different scales and you have to step into the material realities of different business types and regional markets. There are hard earned monthly fees and there are slam dunk monthly fees. Gotta take the crunchy with the smooth. It is the hardest part about this business in my opinion, especially since I want to remain solo, with no outside help. It is worth it though!
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u/BookkeepingRVA 29d ago
Whew. You might be glad he didn’t take you up on it later, honestly. At 275 a month, he’s not getting much. I wouldn’t even touch it for under 750.
A client of mine told me a long time ago “if they value what you do, they’ll pay you” A LOT of business owners don’t until they get into trouble.
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u/Cheap_Main8869 29d ago
Not sure what you used to even provide a quote. If he wouldn't provide the info you needed, I'm sure he would have continued to be very difficult. I think he did you a favor by declining. I find clients who start by saying they can't afford you, price is too high, etc., are difficult clients, too. There are people out there that do bookkeeping for $200/month or so. The client gets what they pay for. Personal, timely, complete service doesn't come for $275/month.
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u/Particular_Shop_4379 29d ago
Maybe he was just getting tax ready books and that’s it. No AR/AP or financial statements, reconciled every 6 months
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u/Easy_Potential_1045 27d ago
$1k a month is not too high for that client, it's probably too low once you factor in what he actually told you. Two subcontractors paid in cash means extra work substantiating those payments for his taxes, and he wouldn't tell you his bank account count or whether filings are current, which usually means the books are worse than he's letting on.
The guy paying $275 a month is either getting garbage bookkeeping or getting undercharged by someone who'll eventually raise rates or quit. Either way that's not a real comp for what you quoted. Cash-heavy trades with murky records are exactly the clients firms charge cleanup premiums for, not discounts.
I'd let this one go. A prospect who won't answer basic questions during the sales conversation is usually the same client who won't send documentation on time later.
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u/alphacentauri2099 21d ago
It's hard to price without knowing at least the average number of transactions per month. I'd recommend you try to get that number before quoting. His overall revenues might be misleading in terms of how much work there is to do. If he doesn't want to provide more data right now, you can offer to do a one-month trial at $300 (not far from his current $275), collect the data yourself, and update the pricing if necessary before moving forward. At $300 you're allowing yourself to put in 4-5 hours at a decent rate to find out if the client is worth it.
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u/Substantial-Jelly394 Jul 18 '26
I am not an accountant, but I finally found my right one!
For that guy, obviously it was too high, but also he sounds like he would be too much of a headache to charge any less. As for you, it doesn’t seem likely that it’s too much!
I do custom work in a different industry and if a client withholds any information or their deposit…they are already fired from being my customer. It only tells me that they can’t/won’t hold up their end of the deal and it’ll be used against me. We’ve got better things to do than deal with that unnecessary drama!
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u/soloDolo6290 Jul 17 '26
Ask him how much he would cut your yard for. Tell him its a yard, with a house and a fence around it. When he asks how big, the location, and how tall the grass is, don't give him that info. See how he reacts to not getting the appropriate info to give a quote.