It sounds like a fairy tale, but it was anything but…

I recently contacted a local electrician to fix our porch light and fit some plugs in the baby’s room. I emailed him on a Sunday asking for a quote and by Monday he was here, great.

He arrived and just started fixing the porch light, but I had no idea how much it was going to cost; £50, £100, £150+, not a scooby!

I mentioned the quote and he replied saying their call-out fee is £90 + VAT. He finished the porch and I reminded him about the plugs in the baby room, he then left saying he would email the quote through.

It arrived… £120 + VAT, £144.

The figure was completely random, I had no real idea of how much it was going to cost other than the brief mention of £90+VAT.

Price certainty

I had no concept of how the pricing worked, was I being taken for a mug?

I hate the feeling, I want to know where I stand, and how much something costs, then make a decision on it. We all want certainty.

It used to be a bit like that when working in practice, clients would have no idea what sort of bill they were going to receive, then it would land through their letterbox, SURPRISE!

Clear transparent pricing

I am a huge advocate of clarity, it’s beneficial for everyone, consequently, all business owners I work with are on a set package.

Here’s how it works:

  1. You book a discovery call.
  2. We have the call – I go through a series of questions, getting an idea of what services you want and the size of your business.
  3. I will send a detailed proposal for the services discussed.
  4. If we work together you pay a set monthly direct debit.

The only way a package then changes is:

  • If the scope changes, services are added or deducted.
  • A standard small inflationary increase, which I haven’t even done yet.

Knowing exactly what you’re going to pay

I want you to know exactly how much you would be paying, then make a decision on it and factor it into your business decisions. No grey area that doesn’t get talked about and then you dread receiving a bill for 3 months.

The same goes for hourly fees, you will always pay a set package, sometimes it works for me sometimes it doesn’t but at least you know what you’re paying.

Would I have said yes if I knew it was £144?

Honesty, probably not, it felt a lot for a couple of light switches. You wouldn’t order from a menu in a restaurant if you didn’t know how much each item was.

A logical pricing structure

You also want to understand how the figure was arrived at, with a logical structure for pricing.

I add two apples, that’s going to increase the cost by X, I remove three apples, that’s going to decrease the cost by Y.

You want to be charged fairly. All proposals I send have the fees broken down, so you can clearly see that payroll may be £15/month, tax fee protection £10/month, which obviously increases or decreases the package depending if you have it or not.

Otherwise, you come away thinking have I been overcharged or undercharged? Was the figure just picked from thin air?

Clear, transparent, pricing that’s all we want.

If you would like to work with an accountant, where you know exactly how much you will be paying, with no surprises, book a discovery call.