Panalitix works with a progressive accounting business whose client sells a range of plumbing services and supplies.  The client’s business is well-run and successful but has not adjusted pricing for three years.

This got the Accountant thinking about pricing, knowing that even a small price increase could significantly impact the bottom line. She also knew that customer demand would need to be monitored in this competitive market. After some discussion, the client agreed that pricing should be on the management agenda, especially since profit has been flat over the past 2 years. 

This resulted in a project to further analyze pricing.

What became known as ‘the Pricing Project’ worked well for both Accountant and client because:

• The Accountant simulated how profits would be affected in different pricing scenarios which greatly helped the client’s decision-making.
• The Accountant helped to set new prices for services (hourly rates) and supplies (a percentage increase which varied for different products).
• The Accountant helped draft a simple policy so that future price increases could follow these guidelines.
• The impact of the Accountant’s work was easily measured. New profit targets have been set and the price increase will play an important part in achieving those targets.
• The client indicated they would conduct an annual pricing review, which means more work for the Accountant.
• The Accountant involved various team members for data analysis, presenting findings to the client, and looking at competitor pricing. The project was not dependent on any person and the team has developed new skills.
• The Accountant has started to package “pricing analysis” with other services, for which they are charging more and this helps them stand out from their competition.
• As they have developed confidence in this pricing, the Accountant has an eye on some larger prospects who will likely see the value in pricing analysis.

At Panalitix, we got excited to see Accountants boldly developing this new advisory service and so we built a course to help other accountants understand and offer pricing services. There are multiple modules in the course which include methods and tools to analyze:

• Production costs (and expenses) so that gross and net profits can be measured.
• Market demand to estimate how a shift in price will influence customer buying behavior.
• ‘Positioning’ a business, for example, as a ‘premium’ seller or a ‘provider of a commodity.
• Value-based pricing to understand and appeal to a customer’s perception of value.
• Competitor analysis to ensure value stands out in the competitive environment.
• Psychological pricing where customers perceive a ‘bargain’ or some advantage through a pricing method (think $9.99 instead of $10!!).
• Dynamic pricing where price can change based on time or seasonal factors. (Airlines and Uber are good examples!).
• Penetration pricing (or entry pricing) where a business attracts customers away from competitors through discounts and promotions.

The course provides case studies, templates, project plans and exercises to help you implement pricing services in your business.

If you’re a growth-minded Accountant, who wants to develop skills to help clients AND derive additional revenue, this course will work well for you.

Please get in touch for more details!