Put fees on website

Put fees on website

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While I offer some advisory services, most of work is compliance based.

We offer a fixed fee services which varies within a fairly narrow range.  It would be possible to publish these fees.  Fees charged would be typically within 5- 10% of those quoted on the website.  The pricing would not therefore be misleading.  This is because we rarely offer considerable accounts preparation or bookkeeping services.

Perhaps we would benefit from publishing our fees.  Prospective clients would have another reason to proceed with our service.

My main misgiving in the past has been that published prices would cheapen the brand, discourage further enquiry or somehow make clients feel that they are not receiving a tailored service.  However, I have always been upfront about our fixed fee pricing during meetings and I cannot find much evidence that it has dissuaded clients.

Your views would be appreciated

Replies (6)

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By Maslins
06th Jul 2015 17:05

You'll probably find a broadly even split of respondents in both camps.

Us, we've publicised our prices since not that long after starting.  I don't think it cheapens the brand at all.  Having prices on a website doesn't mean they need to be low.  It does however mean you need to "package up" your services to some extent, being fully bespoke doesn't work too well with publicised prices.

To my mind it does mean you don't waste time with a lot of people with a budget half of what you'll charge.  Accountancy isn't a homogenous service, so whilst some clients will choose their accountant based on price, many will choose based on recommendations and appreciate that your service is (or at least should be!) better than those much cheaper.

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By rorydowney
06th Jul 2015 17:24

Competition

I found that it gives the competition too much information, and people also have a limited understanding of what they are asking for

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Universe
By SteveOH
06th Jul 2015 17:24

I have in the past

With my previous website I published my fees for fairly standard compliance work. I haven't on my current site, though I will do so in the near future. Up to a certain level of turnover I have a good idea of what work is involved and can accurately determine the fees. I have never had a fixed fee for bookkeeping work as that is the great inponderable.

Whether it helps or hinders, I really don't know. It's a personal choice. All I will say is that whenever I am looking at websites with a view to buying something, and the site doesn't give at least an indication of price, it drives me round the bend.

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By AJF499
06th Jul 2015 17:52

We have always published our fees on a 'Starting from' basis to stop us wasting time dealing with enquiries from people who want to pay below our minimum levels, but also gives room to negotiate upwards depending on how straight forward the work is.

 

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
06th Jul 2015 19:13

I am currently renewing my website
And for me you almost need two faces for your practice. The first is your local presence which relies on local contacts, client referrals and draws probably from a geographical location of around 15 mile from where you are based.
The second persona is your web presence where you can potentially draw work from the whole country. If you look at many of the on line only accountants they all quote prices usually on a "prices from" basis.
For me putting prices on site does not cheapen brand unless you are advertising that do accounts for £99.
Quoting minimum prices will hopefully weed out those who want a set of Limited Compnay accounts for £200.

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Kieran Phelan
By KPEM online
06th Jul 2015 20:24

Pricing
I've steered away from prices on our site despite having well bundled packages available. There are a number of reasons for this:

1. Avoiding giving info to other local firms (and a race to bottom on pricing ensuing!)
2. Every client is different in terms of their attitude to price/value
3. Every client will require different level of service (some need my input more than my team for example)

We have a facility where prospects can select a package and request a quote. Our experience is that these prospects are initially interested in the service offering so it does help weed out price shoppers.

If they are service satisfied but still a little price wary, an initial meeting helps either alieviate their concerns (by demonstrating the value of our work) or helps waste little time in letting them move on to a cheaper alternative.

Service value is often eroded if prices are disclosed alongside. We have achieved much better pricing with clients by demonstrating value first, price second.........never at same time.

An exception can be the most basic type of recurring work, such as company formations.

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