Changes in Average Billing Rates and Average Rates for QuickBooks ProAdvisors

Changes in Average Billing Rates and Average Rates for QuickBooks ProAdvisors

Whether you are a CPA, accountant, bookkeeper, QuickBooks ProAdvisor or a consultant, you should continually monitor and adjust/increase your billing rates on a regular basis. Hopefully, you continue to get more experience, expertise and knowledge making you more valuable to your clients. Plus, employees typically get a raise each year – and so should you!  The beginning of the year is a good time to consider increasing the rates you charge.

With the 2013 Intuit Average Billing Rate Survey in hand, we can review changes from previous surveys and compare rates for ProAdvisors® vs. Non-ProAdvisors. Some results are expected while the changes over the years are interesting.  

Higher Hourly Rates for ProAdvisors vs. Non ProAdvisors

Accounting professionals who join the ProAdvisor Program have access to training and support to help increase their skills and expertise. As expected, the average hourly billing rates for members of the ProAdvisor Program are higher than rates for non ProAdvisors.

ProAdvisor

Changes in Hourly Rates

Looking at the hourly rates over the past few years provides interesting results.The average rate is slightly lower than the 2009 rates, while the mode (most frequently reported amount) is the same as the 2009 rates. (Note there are not rates for all categories for prior years).

When reviewing the detailed results, I noticed a lot of rates that seem too low for accounting professionals. The difficult economic conditions could have exerted downward pressures on rates. Another consideration is the economy has resulted in more people “hanging out their shingle” and they may be charging lower rates.

ProAdvisor

Note: The mode is the number that is repeated more often than any other number.

Changes in Fixed Rates

Due to changes in the survey questions, prior year comparison is somewhat limited. However, it is interesting to note the increase in fixed fees for accounting services (vs. a decline in average billing rates). This could be a result of increasing numbers of accounting professionals implementing fixed fees.

ProAdvisor

Stay tuned for more blog posts analyzing the results by geographic locations, population density (urban vs. rural, etc.) and professional designation.

Disclaimer

To the best of our knowledge, the Intuit® Average Billing Rate Survey is the largest ongoing survey conducted among QuickBooks practitioners and other accounting professionals on the rates they charge. You are encouraged to use the survey results as one of the many resources you use when deciding how to structure your rates and fees.

The Intuit Average Billing Rate Survey is an informal, web-based straw poll which provides us a large sample (thousands of replies). However it was evident some people entered hourly rates for the fixed fee question. Plus some people entered a range of billing rates (like 65 – 85). Replies which could be clearly identified were cleaned up to provide better results. However, some inaccurate replies could still be included in the results. Thus, the results are helpful but unscientific.

Also, trying to compare the results between years isn’t perfect. The respondents for the surveys over the years were different. Plus, the questions were changed somewhat over the years.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest ongoing survey conducted among QuickBooks practitioners and other accounting professionals on the rates they charge. You are encouraged to use the survey results as one of the many resources you use when you decide how to structure your rates and fees.

This blog post was originally published on Intuit’s Accountant’s News Central Blog.

2 thoughts on “Changes in Average Billing Rates and Average Rates for QuickBooks ProAdvisors

  1. David Kolat

    Hi Michelle,

    I subscribe to your e-mails and really enjoy them.

    Lately, I’ve been interested in becoming a Quickbooks ProAdvisor.
    I have a background in accounting, although I am not a CPA.

    Would you recommend Intuit’s ProAdvisor course ? How easy, or difficult is it to pass their exams ? Thank you for your advice and comments.
    David Kolat
    dkolat@hotmail.com

    1. Michelle Long Post author

      Yes I highly recommend the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program (http://proadvisor.intuit.com). The training and certification exam are included in the program (i.e. no additional cost). It isn’t overly difficult to pass the test (and you have multiple tries to pass and it is ‘open book’).