Prices

[Possi]

I know we talk about pricing, and you have probably already seen this, but here goes:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-should-you-pay-for-tax-prep/

[spanel]

I know we talk about pricing, and you have probably already seen this, but here goes:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much...-for-tax-prep/

WAYYYY out of date... 2010 prices.


Chris

[kathyc2]

Here is one from 2015: http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/ne...reased-in-2015

I'm printing it out to show to the very small minority of clients that have the audacity to complain about MY fees. LOL!

[Possi]

New prices!

WOW! Thanks for posting that new page!

[JohnH]

Here is one from 2015: http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/ne...reased-in-2015

I'm printing it out to show to the very small minority of clients that have the audacity to complain about MY fees. LOL!

If some people aren't complaining, then you're not charging enough.

[JoshinNC]

Based on this

I'm about 20% under avg on personal returns with just an A, on point with biz (Sch C and entities). Might bump the Sch A's up half that difference.

[ATSMAN]

I'm about 20% under avg on personal returns with just an A, on point with biz (Sch C and entities). Might bump the Sch A's up half that difference.

These prices are based on very informal surveys from a mix of tax preparers. Some are kitchen table and other are CPA shops. I would like to see a much finer breakdown and detail based on the type of tax preparer and size of their shop.

At the end your prices are capped at what your local market will bear!

[kathyc2]

If some people aren't complaining, then you're not charging enough.

I definitely could charge more but choose not to.

[Super Mom]

WOW! I definitely don't need to feel bad about raising my fees!!!! I'm in the country though, so I'm sure that demographic is different. If these are really the averages, how come big box places advertise so much cheaper? I know they have hidden prices and fees, but THAT much??? I wonder if those are for RAL returns?

[lenboush]

Fees

We are considering a significant increase in fees next year as a means of reducing our overtime. Our client load is large enough that the only way we can see to decrease the incredibly long hours (along with the accompanying stress) is to raise prices significantly. That should drive away enough clients to reduce or eliminate the problem. If it doesn't, then at least we'll get more fees to make the long hours and stress a little more worthwhile.

[ATSMAN]

We are considering a significant increase in fees next year as a means of reducing our overtime. Our client load is large enough that the only way we can see to decrease the incredibly long hours (along with the accompanying stress) is to raise prices significantly. That should drive away enough clients to reduce or eliminate the problem. If it doesn't, then at least we'll get more fees to make the long hours and stress a little more worthwhile.

Instead of increasing fees across the board to reduce workload, have you considered analyzing your book of business to figure out which clients are a resource drain relative to the revenue you get from them. I went through this exercise 3 years back and sold around 20 clients to another tax preparer who was expanding his operations. The transition was smooth because I explained to my client that they could be better served by someone who had the necessary resources to service their account in a way that they like. I am a one person shop with seasonal part time help!

[Burke]

. I went through this exercise 3 years back and sold around 20 clients to another tax preparer who was expanding his operations.

And I am considering the same. What formula did you use to decide what the sale price would be? I had an offer which I felt was way too low! I have at least 100 to pare down. You can send me a PM if you would rather.

[ATSMAN]

And I am considering the same. What formula did you use to decide what the sale price would be? I had an offer which I felt was way too low! I have at least 100 to pare down. You can send me a PM if you would rather.

Because it was a small batch of 20 clients my deal was 1.5 times the annual billing if client agreed to be switched. About half of the clients were very happy with the quoted fee for the following year so I got my price at the time of the switch year. The rest were not "too happy" with the switch so there was a question if they would stick around so for them I accepted 50% the first year and the balance the next year if they came back. If I recall about 3 of them never came back the second year.

I tried to work with the buyer because I knew he was cash strapped because of the expansion, so I was ok. getting paid on a monthly basis from his cash flow!

[AZ-Tax]

1.5 annual billing.....sale price

Because it was a small batch of 20 clients my deal was 1.5 times the annual billing if client agreed to be switched. !

While in a different industry, I was going to purchase a P&C Insurance agency. Agency did not offer tax prep. He wanted 3 times gross commissions and that was in a spread out city of 40K pop.