Back in the day, billing by the hour was the standard, and because the work was generally either compliance, consulting, or project-based, that model made perfect sense. You tracked time, sent an invoice, and the clients paid for the work. But the times they are a-changing, and if you bill your CAS clients by the hour, you’re working against yourself by penalizing efficiency, incentivizing dragging your workload out, and creating stress for the client because every time they call, they know the meter is running.
What you’ll learn
What you’ll learn
Key takeaways
- Shifting from hourly billing to monthly subscriptions creates steady recurring revenue for your firm and eliminates price anxiety for clients.
- Structuring services into distinct subscription tiers makes it easy for clients at different growth stages to choose the right level of support.
- Charging one-time implementation fees for initial cleanups and software setup keeps setup labor from eroding recurring subscription profits.
- Conducting annual pricing reviews and executing change orders for out-of-scope work safeguards the firm’s capacity and profitability.
Why shifting to fixed-fee billing works
Moving to flat monthly fees gives your clients price predictability and helps your firm build steady, reliable recurring revenue. In fact, according to the 2024 CPA.com CAS Benchmark Survey, 84% of firms running CAS practices reported shifting to fixed-fee billing. That trend alone tells you that it works!
When you bill on a fixed monthly fee, both you and your clients can plan cash flow predictably, your team spends less time chasing payments, and when out-of-scope work pops up, you handle it through separate change orders instead of it bleeding into your margins and cutting into your profits.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to price your services, structure client tiers, and manage one-off requests as client needs evolve. But before you calculate a single fee, you have to make a mental shift: moving away from billing by the hour and stepping into pricing outcomes.
Move away from tracking hours to pricing outcomes
Here’s a little sales tip on pricing: adjusting your mindset is one of the most impactful steps you can take. When I transitioned my firm to CAS, I realized that dropping time-and-materials billing required a complete perspective shift. I needed to be fully committed and hold a strong belief around why the services I was offering justified the monthly fixed fee. Otherwise, when the topic of pricing inevitably arose during the sales pitch, I was going to crumble under the pressure.
So how do we do that? Well, if the end goal is to get the customer to understand the value in what you’re providing, you must understand it first. And the good news is that if you have been following along in this series, you’ve already established the cornerstones for confident pricing!
Let me give you an example. According to CPA.com’s “6 things to consider before pricing your CAS services,” in order to ensure that your services are perfectly priced and aligned with your firm’s strengths, you must:
- Understand your vision and mission
- Determine your client focus
- Establish and grow your team
- Choose the right tech stack
If you want to scale these CAS bundles without cannibalizing your fixed-fee margins, using dedicated payroll software for accounting firms can be a difference-maker.
“By establishing those pillars, you’ll have the confidence to sell your services to potential clients by identifying their needs and pain points and then tying your fees directly to the outcomes you can deliver.”
— Marit Burmood, CPA, EA, and contributor
Next, let’s discuss how to package these offerings into clear bundles — making them simple for you to sell and even easier for clients to choose.
Structure your recurring fees with clear subscription tiers
Now that you have a clear value proposition, the next step is presenting it in a way that makes clients say yes. Most CAS firms accomplish this by packaging services into three distinct tiers, ranging from baseline compliance to high-touch advisory value. Next, they decide how to market the packages to their specific clientele.
“The marketing may look different, but the bones are generally similar. You have the freedom to label them for business owners in different stages, from basic to white glove, or whatever makes your business stand out and speak to your niche. Have some fun here!”
— Marit Burmood, CPA, EA, and contributor
Finally, the fees are applied to the tiers, and you’re off to the races!
An example would look something like this:
- Baseline compliance tier: $695/month: For early stage business owners who need predictable bookkeeping, payroll processing, and tax filing.
- Controller level tier: $1,295/month: For growing businesses who need the baseline compliance, but is also ready for deeper financial analysis, cash flow forecasting, and quarterly advisory meetings.
- Virtual CFO tier: $1,995/month: For scaling organizations that need everything in the first two tiers plus advisory meetings more frequently, advanced strategic planning and comprehensive financial management.
Quick note on fees
As with time-and-materials rates, CAS pricing varies by firm. While average packages tend to sit in the range of $750-$2,500 a month, some firms will price much lower or higher, depending on their own unique circumstances. Instead of getting discouraged, work on a number that feels right for you and your firm.
Generally, every tier starts with the same foundation, both in services and in pricing, and then additional layers get added to cover the complexities that every growing business faces. An illustration of what this may look like for your form is shown in the table below.
| Service tier | Est. monthly fee | Target client | Core compliance & strategic value |
| Baseline compliance | $695 | Early-stage business owners who need predictable, foundational financial reporting. | Core bookkeeping, payroll processing, and annual tax filing. |
| Controller level | $1,295 | Growing businesses ready for deeper analysis, cash management, and ongoing guidance. | Baseline compliance plus cash flow forecasting, deeper financial analysis, and quarterly advisory meetings. |
| Virtual CFO | $1,995+ | Scaling organizations needing a dedicated, high-touch strategic financial partner. | All baseline and controller services plus high-frequency advisory sessions, advanced strategic planning, and full financial oversight. |
While these subscription tiers handle ongoing work, we still need to account for baseline setup services. Because these usually consist of one-time tasks, they are better left in their own category rather than lumped into your recurring packages.
Charge separate upfront fees for implementations or audits
Onboarding new clients generally requires significant upfront work, such as:
- Cleaning up old accounting files
- Catching them up on past tasks
- Configuring software to your firm’s standards
Because of this additional work, you need to price accordingly and take care not to let that labor absorb into your recurring fees and chip away at your margins.
Separate implementation fees protect your profitability and make it clear to clients that you’re doing distinct work with distinct value that is outside the scope of their monthly subscription.
This is also where your pricing structure can be flexible. Some firms charge an initial consultation fee and credit it to the onboarding fee if the client signs on. Others evaluate the client’s books first, requiring the implementation payment upon signing the engagement letter. Regardless of your approach, charge a one-time implementation fee and communicate it clearly to the client before you start.
Because client needs evolve and the cost of doing business increases almost every year, pricing should never be a set-it-and-forget-it proposition.
Establish a pricing check-in cycle to prevent scope creep
Once a client is onboarded and things are running smoothly, your packaging and pricing shouldn’t just sit static forever. It’s important to state in the engagement letter that there will be an annual package review, and to build it into your calendar. Whether you choose to do it as part of your fourth quarter meeting or as a separate event, pull the client’s financials beforehand and review them with your team to determine if their current package is still the right fit or if their business has shifted enough to warrant an updated service tier moving into the new year.
With this review, you’ll likely find opportunities to adjust pricing.
- Some of your smaller business clients who started at the baseline compliance tier may have grown to the point of needing controller-level services.
- Others might be winding down and no longer need such a robust package.
- Additionally, consider implementing a modest yearly increase across all tiers to account for inflation and rising costs, and communicate that transparently in the meeting. Price adjustments are not intended to feel like surprise hikes, but rather to reflect the natural evolution of their business, and should be framed that way.
Even with the dollars and cents clearly defined across your tiers and onboarding fees, unexpected client requests will inevitably crop up. Let’s look at a scenario almost every practice runs into: out-of-scope work.
Spot the
creep
Monitor client requests against the core compliance and strategic value outlined in your initial tier agreement.
Pause and communicate
Before executing the work, gently notify the client that the new request falls outside their current monthly subscription.
Price the outcome
Determine a flat, upfront fee for the additional advisory service or project before drafting the official change order.
Build a change order process for out-of-scope tasks
Finally, let’s address the thorn in every accountant’s side: out-of-scope tasks. Just because your client is now on a monthly subscription doesn’t mean they can ask for anything they want. According to the 2024 CPA.com CAS Benchmark survey, 57% of firms actively monitor for out-of-scope work and charge for change orders, proving that managing scope creep with change orders is standard practice across the industry.
If you clearly outlined your scope of work in the engagement letter and they’ve signed it, you have permission to present a separate bill and change order for the additional work or refer them to a specialist if needed.
Pro tip
Before beginning any out-of-scope work, communicate with the client and secure their approval. If the project is particularly large, consider having them sign a separate engagement letter as well
Your monthly fixed fee covers only the processes that you have both agreed to. Everything else must be billed separately to protect your team’s capacity and firm’s profitability.
Bottom line: Setting tiers helps you offer CAS confidently
Don’t let pricing your CAS practice overwhelm you. It really isn’t that complicated once you understand that you are pricing based on outcomes instead of hours. You’ve already done the work to establish your fees confidently by standardizing your processes, choosing a niche, and creating efficient systems.
Now you have the framework for fixed monthly subscriptions with clear tiers, separate implementation fees, annual pricing reviews, and change order processes; all of which are best practices in the industry. The only thing left? Believing in the value that you deliver and pricing accordingly. You’ve got this!
See how easy it is to offer payroll services your way.
Marit Burmood is a tax advisor, small business coach, and financial educator dedicated to helping entrepreneurs achieve financial success. She holds a Master’s Degree in Taxation and is a CPA and EA with over a decade of experience guiding small business owners and tax professionals through the complex landscape of entrepreneurship.