Practice Tip - Pricing

Well, I shall get a barrage of upset responses for this posting, but here goes.

I agree completely (i) any quote will necessarily contain good faith beliefs and assumptions (ii) such beliefs and assumptions should of be based on proper enquiry, and not be ignorant guesses in order to produce low quote (iii) (ideally) they are better spelt out in writing (iv) in the nature of things, not all the beliefs and assumptions (excluding swings and roundabouts)will be proven correct.

But if the accountant does not have the necessary negotiating and people skills to sort out a sensible deal, should he/she be in the business?

Ah, I hear the anguished cry, what about all those nightmare clients who turns out to be 100% bad and unreasonable, so that even a saint with exemplary negotiating skills could not achieve a fair compromise?
Er, how many such clients does any practice have? If more than one, urgent need to examine client acceptance and retention process - including accountant's ability to judge folk. Much more sensible and cost effective to ditch such clients as soon as such an issue comes to light rather than having pathetic fight over legal rights and liens for a few hundred quid. Unless of course it's a regular event, in which case, who exactly needs examining?