What to charge Clients!?

This is one of the toughest things to do; setting a price. There is no hard and fast rule. But at the end of the day you want to make money. Your pricing must make sense for your bottom line, whether your rate is fixed or variable. Generally, small businesses like fixed rates however I always quote potential clients a fixed rate that includes a number of bookkeeping hours per month. I estimate how long it would take to prepare their books each month and give them a fixed rate. I always include a clause in my agreement that states time that exceeds the estimated hours per month will be billed at an hourly rate. This prevents anyone from downplaying how unorganized they may be or the number of transactions they have from month to month. It's is best that you provide you client with steps they can take that can keep their bookkeeping expenses down i.e. sending you receipts that are generally organized, keeping personal and business expenses separate...etc. All things that make bookkeeping more time consuming for you the accountant. It is a win when because your fixed estimate will allow you to make money and your client keeps his/her cost in check.

You can look in Craigslist or Backpage.com to see what others charge. I charge $35/hr. which is very reasonable in the DC area. I also offer a volume discount.

According to the annual Intuit survey the average charge for Bookkeeping is $50.00 per hour and $75.00 per hour for all other work. I have had a Tax Prep business in Oklahoma City for three years now and for the first two years I charged $65.00 per hour [although most returns were charged by the form]. Last year, for the sake of ease in billing we went to $60.00 per hour. YUP! That's right...a Dollar Per Minute. Makes it REAL easy for the client to understand.