Hey {{first_name | there}},
There are two approaches to raising prices in an accounting firm. Most firms get this wrong. The result is they either don't raise prices for years (eroding margin) or they raise too aggressively and lose clients.
Here's the right way.
Approach 1: Raise prices on net-new clients first.
This is the easiest move and most firms underuse it. You don't have to raise prices on existing clients to start improving your overall margin. Just quote new clients at a higher rate. Same offer, same service tier, just higher price.
The new clients don't have a previous price to compare against. They're evaluating you against the market and against what they get out of working with you. If you've positioned correctly, the higher price is just the price.
Within 12-24 months, this approach alone will significantly raise your firm's average revenue per client without touching a single existing relationship.
Approach 2: For existing clients, roll out in 10% increments.
Here's where most firms blow it. They raise everyone at once with a generic "due to inflation, prices are increasing" email. And the predictable result is that a solid chunk of clients walk.
The better way is to roll out new pricing in segments. The first 10% of your client base gets the new pricing with a clear "reasons why." If too many of them say yes (low pushback), raise the next 10% even higher. If too many push back, recalibrate before you hit the next group.
This works for two reasons:
→ You're testing the market, not betting the whole firm on one move
→ The "reasons why" framing makes the price increase feel like an upgrade, not a tax
What goes in "reasons why"? Whatever you're actually adding or improving. Office hours every other Friday for quick questions. A 48-hour response time portal. Quarterly tax planning calls. A new member of the team handling rapid response. Real changes that justify the new price.
Most accounting firms have been adding services and capability for years without ever raising prices to match. The 10% method lets you correct that delta without dropping clients.
This is one tactic my business partner Ryan Bakke used to scale his firm to $5.5M/yr since 2022, and he’s going to be sharing this and other strategies during our Summer Scaling Strategy workshop this week.
- Peter
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