I must have seen more than a thousand Chinese takeout menus. I always look at them, although I pretty much always order the same thing. Last week I noticed something that I have never seen before — a suggestion section for what to order. There were five suggestions. They all looked good and were slightly upscale. That got me thinking about whether CPAs should offer suggested services, and if not, why don't they?
I did not order any of the suggestions on the menu as my mind was made up about what I was going to order, but the suggestions planted a seed in my mind. I suspect I will order one of them in the near future.
I liked the idea and, while I've never directly presented suggestions as such to a client, I have offered suggestions in the form of a listing of services that were not included in my fixed-price engagements. One example of such wording is: "Not included are services in connection with reviewing your accounting system and its controls that would offer a higher degree of protection against employee theft or embezzlement. This would be a special single-purpose engagement at prices and timing to be decided upon along with a catalogue of benefits and value to be conferred upon you."
This rarely resulted in added engagements. Perhaps a better way of presenting this, using the Chinese menu idea, would have been:
Suggestions of additional high-value single purpose services (prices fixed and guaranteed for one year):
- Analysis and review of your accounting system and its controls that would offer a higher degree of protection against employee errors, theft or embezzlement: $7,200
This suggestion also provides a fixed price and a deadline for the client to engage you for this service. i.e., one year. At the point of offering this service, you should have a pretty good idea of what would be involved, how it would be staffed and the time it would take. Even if you are too low, you will still receive the added revenue, help your client with a service they need and can benefit from, open the door to further services at a later date and establish a stronger relationship with that client.
Further, if you did not offer a fixed fee, the client might have trepidation about the cost and would be hesitant to ask what it might be or for an estimate or range. In my experience, any estimate on a time-based project becomes a "fixed" fee, plus or minus 10% or 15%, so why not just quote a fixed fee? If you feel you are not able to reasonably estimate a fee for this service, then perhaps you are in the wrong business.
Here are some other suggestions of added engagements:
- Special services in connection with a surprise bank reconciliation and a review of the client-prepared bank reconciliations during the previous year, including a reconciliation of any differences in the cash balance the client is working off of compared to the most recent month-end reconciled bank balance. The internal bank reconciliation procedures, and their thoroughness and timeliness, will be reviewed and changes will be suggested if we believe that is necessary. Price: $8,000.
- An informal valuation of your business will be performed to determine an estimated value of your business, identification of value drivers, how a buyer would value your business, how our valuation could be used as a benchmark to measure growth in the form of value creation, and how this value would interface with your personal financial plan and estate plan. Price with a written valuation and template to measure future changes in value: $12,500. Price with the template but without the written valuation: $8,500.
- An analysis of your eventual estate liquidity and cash flow based upon your present and projected individual financial statement, your estimate of the current value of your business, your estimate of your cash flow needs in retirement, a review of your will and any trust documents, designations of beneficiary forms and life insurance: Price $9,500.
The above are examples of added high-value services that could confer substantial benefit along with the client having a heightened feeling of financial security, comfort and empowerment. All prices mentioned are illustrative and would be based on the client's situation. A client with a business with sales of $3 million would have a much lower price for a valuation than a business grossing $30 million a year. Likewise, a client with $3 million net worth would have a much less complicated financial and potential estate situation than a client with $30 million net worth along with multiple trusts, real estate and business investments.
My motive with this column is to pique your interest and imagination about what your clients might need. Examine your clients' situations, their pain points, and expressed and unmentioned concerns, find ways to help them, and then prepare a listing of three or four suggested services that would allay their fears and concerns.
If my local Chinese restaurant could do it, then you and I should also be able to do it for our clients. Do not wait for the client to ask about added services. Suggest them now!
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