ForumsStarting a Business

Good idea about having a written agreement or contract for your clients. A good one will protect both you and your client. This prevents future misunderstandings, etc. down the road. Best of luck Luckiest!

First of all, congratulations and good luck!

The advice that has been given is excellent. Your industry usually charges by the hour, and a contract does protect both parties. My wife is an account and owns a bookkeeping firm, so my background in your field is well founded. You shouldn't worry about scaring off business as long as you keep your prospects informed about how many hours it takes to do their books each month. By spelling it out, you can show them the big picture -- demonstrating that the monthly investment is worth the service that you are providing to them and the benefits that they derive from your services.

Don't worry about giving more than you probably should. Over delivering is essential in today's economy. It generates word-of-mouth advertising, and gives you the greatest opportunity to hold onto your clients. Just be sure that your hourly rate is profitable enough that it makes overdelivering reasonable from your perspective as well.

As for determining what rate you should charge, determine who your direct competition is -- those who service the kinds of clients you are looking to work with. Find out what they are charging. Then, whatever else you do, do not undercut them. The only one who loses in that situation is you. In fact, one of the things I often suggest to my clients is to charge a slightly higher fee. But to do so successfully, you must consistently deliver more than your competitors.

Good luck in your new endeavor.

Peter George, The Marketing Coach

I would recommend the hourly charge. With a new client you may not know what problems you could run into especially if they do not submit the information in good order. If you have to spend more time you should get compensated more. You can be selective in what hours you charge for. If you do something extra for them you may consider it good will building and decide not to charge for it. I think $65 would be a reasonable rate unless you have stiff compensation that charges much less. You could put the hours on the billing and if they are unusually high you could itemize the extra hours with a detail as to what they were spent on. In this way you can train the client to submit the work to you in such a manner that you do not have to spend the extra time again. Communication with the client about the billing will build their confidence in your service.