Does your accountant charge by the hour?
While it's a common practice, hourly billing no longer serves the best interests of businesses or their accountants. Traditional hourly billing might seem straightforward, but in practice, it often creates unpredictability, inefficiency, and unfairness.
More and more accountants are moving toward value-based pricing—an approach that shifts the focus from time spent to the outcomes delivered.
If your accountant is still charging by the hour, it may be time to rethink what you’re getting—and what you’re paying for.
Why You Should Avoid Accountants Who Charge by the Hour
The difference between hourly billing and value-based pricing is simple but significant.
This system isn’t designed to drive efficiency or better outcomes.
Instead, it’s focused on measuring time—not value.
It’s Not Fair to Either Side
We often hear from prospective clients who have worked with their accountant for a long time under an hourly model. While it might seem straightforward, paying by the hour can lead to problems.
Hourly billing charges you for the time your accountant spends on a task, no matter the quality or efficiency of the work. If the accountant works slowly or spends time on redundant tasks, you end up footing the bill.
And if they’re fast and efficient, they don’t get fairly compensated for their expertise. The result is a system that penalizes efficiency and rewards inefficiency—a lose-lose for everyone involved.
You’re Paying for Time, Not Results
When you pay by the hour, you’re essentially buying time rather than outcomes.
But time doesn’t guarantee results.
As an accountant, I could take hours to get you where you want to be, but that doesn’t mean I’m delivering more value. In fact, if I work quickly—drawing from 30 years of experience to solve your problem efficiently—the hourly model doesn’t reward me fairly either.
You deserve to pay for results, not how long someone spends getting there.
No Predictability in Costs
When your accountant charges by the hour, you rarely know how much you’ll end up paying. Even a rough estimate can balloon unexpectedly, leaving you with a larger bill than planned. This lack of transparency makes financial planning unnecessarily difficult.
Paying for Inefficiency
Hourly billing also shifts the risk of inefficiency onto you, the client. If your accountant takes longer than expected to complete a task—whether due to poor processes or inexperience—you’re the one who pays for the extra time.
No Accountability for Results
With hourly billing, there’s no guarantee that the time billed translates to meaningful outcomes for your business. Without a clear connection between payment and results, it’s hard to measure the true value of the service.
Why Value-Based Pricing Delivers Better Outcomes
Value-based pricing eliminates the issues that come with hourly billing, offering clarity, fairness, and alignment between the client and the accountant.
It creates a foundation for better client relationships and stronger results.
Paying for Value, Not Time
Value-based pricing flips the script. Instead of paying for hours worked, you’re paying for the value of the results delivered. What are we doing? Is there value in it for you? That’s the question you should ask—and the answer should drive the price.
When you pay for value, you’re entering a high-value exchange: you know what you’re getting, and the accountant is incentivized to deliver results effectively and efficiently.
Encourages Efficiency and Expertise
Under a value-based model, the burden is on the accountant to be efficient and effective—not on you. If my team isn’t efficient, that’s our problem to fix, not yours.
We take on the responsibility of ensuring that our processes work smoothly and that the cost reflects the results delivered.
With hourly billing, inefficiency becomes your problem. That’s not fair. As an accountant, my expertise—my intellectual property, my team’s knowledge, and my years of experience—should be priced based on the results we provide, not the hours we spend.
Clear, Upfront Costs
I’m a big believer in upfront pricing. You should know exactly what something costs before the work begins. This transparency helps set expectations and ensures that you, the client, can make an informed decision about whether to proceed.
Is It Time to Find a New Accountant?
If your accountant still charges by the hour, it’s worth asking whether that approach aligns with your goals. Hourly billing often signals an outdated approach that prioritizes time over results, leaving you to absorb inefficiencies and unpredictable costs.
Here are some signs it might be time to move on:
- Unclear costs: You can’t predict how much you’ll pay until the invoice arrives.
- Paying for inefficiency: If the burden of inefficiency is falling on you, it’s time to rethink.
- Focus on time, not results: You deserve an accountant who values outcomes over hours.
Instead, look for a value-focused accountant—one who offers upfront pricing, aligns their fees with measurable outcomes, and prioritizes efficiency and transparency.
It's Time to Prioritize Value
The way your accountant approaches billing says a lot about their priorities. Hourly billing focuses on their time, not your results, and often leaves you with unpredictable costs and less accountability.
By prioritizing results over hours, it creates a win-win scenario: clients gain predictable, high-quality service, while accountants are rewarded for their expertise and effectiveness. If your accountant hasn’t made the shift, now might be the time to find someone who has.
It’s not just about what you’re paying—it’s about what you’re getting. To make sure you’re working with the right partner, check out How to Choose the Right Accountant & Bookkeeper and find someone who’s as invested in your success as you are.
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