# Raising Bookkeeping Prices Without Losing Clients

- Author: AutoBankConvert (https://www.autobankconvert.com)
- Published: 2026-04-03
- Updated: 2026-04-03
- Category: Pricing and engagements
- Canonical: https://www.autobankconvert.com/blog/raising-bookkeeping-prices

> Raising bookkeeping prices without losing good clients: when to raise, by how much, how much notice to give and how to handle clients who push back.
Raising bookkeeping prices works best once a year, on a date clients already expect, with 60 to 90 days of written notice. Size each increase from that client's hours and effective hourly rate rather than one flat percentage. Good clients rarely leave over a fair, well-explained raise. The ones who do are often the clients losing you money.

## When is the right time for raising bookkeeping prices?

The right time for raising bookkeeping prices is a fixed point each year, such as January 1 or the anniversary of each engagement, plus any time a client's work grows past what the fee assumed. A regular date makes increases routine rather than personal. A change in scope justifies a change in fee on its own schedule.

Several signs say a raise is overdue, even if the calendar has not come around:

- **Your effective hourly rate on a client has fallen.** If a client's fee divided by the hours you spend per close is well below your target, the fee no longer matches the work.
- **You are full.** When you are turning away prospects, your current prices are below what the market will pay for your time.
- **Your costs have risen.** Software subscriptions, insurance and staff pay all move upward over time, and fees that never change shrink in real terms.
- **The client's business has changed.** New accounts, new staff or a second location add work every month.

### Times to avoid

Avoid raising prices during a client's worst month. Announcing a higher fee the week a client discovers a cash shortfall, or in the middle of a dispute about an error, links the increase to the problem. Wait until the issue is settled. Also avoid stacking a raise right after onboarding. Give a new client at least one full year at the price they signed for, unless their scope changed.

## How much should a bookkeeping price increase be?

A bookkeeping price increase should be large enough to bring each client back to your target effective rate, not a single percentage applied to everyone. For a client already near target, a small annual raise that keeps pace with your costs is enough.

For a client far below target, the raise may need to be large, or split across two steps.

Start from the numbers you already have. For each client, take the monthly fee and divide by the average hours per close over the last three to six months. Compare that effective rate with your target. The gap tells you how far the fee has drifted.

### Splitting a large increase

A large increase is easier to accept in two steps. If a client needs a 40 percent raise to reach target, you might announce a rise of 20 percent of the current fee now and another 20 percent of it in six months, both in the same letter. The client sees the whole plan, and you avoid a second difficult conversation.

### Rounding to clean fees

Round new fees to simple numbers. Moving a $425 fee to $500 is easier to explain than moving it to $488, and it saves you a line of arithmetic in the letter.

### Raising prices on a new service at the same time

If a client is also adding a service, such as payroll entries or a monthly call, price the new service separately from the annual raise. Two changes rolled into one number make the increase look larger than it is. Listed apart, the client sees a modest raise on the existing work and a clear price for the new work they asked for.

## Notice periods for a bookkeeping fee change

A notice period for a bookkeeping fee change is the gap between telling a client about the new price and the first invoice at that price. Sixty to ninety days is a fair default. It gives the client time to budget, ask questions or look elsewhere, and it shows the increase was planned, not reactive.

Check your engagement letter before you send anything. If it states a notice period for fee changes, follow it exactly. If it says nothing, give at least the default above, and add a fee-change clause to the next version of your letter so future increases have a clear rule.

Annual prepay clients need their own handling. If a client paid for twelve months in advance, the new price should start at their next renewal, not partway through the paid period.

The wording itself matters less than the timing, but a short, plain letter helps. [A bookkeeping price increase letter to adapt](/blog/bookkeeping-price-increase-letter) gives a template with the new fee, the date and the one-line reason.

## A client-by-client bookkeeping price review

A client-by-client price review is a once-a-year pass through every client's fee, hours and effective rate, ending in a decision for each: keep, raise to target, raise in steps, or let go. It turns raising prices from a broad guess into a list of specific changes you can defend.

The table below shows an example review for five clients. The figures are illustrative, and the target effective rate is an example of $95 an hour.

| Client (example) | Current monthly fee | Average hours per close | Effective rate | Decision | New monthly fee |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Landscaping LLC | $600 | 5.5 | $109 | Keep, small annual raise | $625 |
| Dental practice | $900 | 11.0 | $82 | Raise to target | $1,050 |
| Online shop | $400 | 7.5 | $53 | Raise in two steps | $550, then $700 |
| Consultant | $250 | 1.5 | $167 | Keep | $250 |
| Food truck | $300 | 6.0 | $50 | Raise to target or let go | $575 |

A few patterns stand out. The consultant pays a low fee but takes little time, so the effective rate is excellent and the fee can stay. The online shop and food truck pay modest fees for a lot of hours, which is where most of the lost margin sits.

### Fees below your floor

Some small clients fall below a minimum you should charge anyone, because every client takes a fixed amount of time for the close, the review and the report. If a client's new fee would still sit under that floor, set it at the floor. [Setting a minimum fee for bookkeeping clients](/blog/minimum-fee-for-bookkeeping-clients) explains how to work out that number from your fixed time per client.

### Fixing the cause instead of the price

A low effective rate is sometimes a process problem rather than a pricing problem. A client who sends statements late, or whose transactions are coded by hand each month, may become profitable once the process changes. Look for that before you raise, because a fix can be cheaper for both sides.

## Handling pushback on raised bookkeeping fees

Pushback on raised bookkeeping fees is usually a request for a reason, not a refusal. Answer it with the specific change in work or cost behind the new fee, and offer a way to bring the fee down by changing the work, never by dropping the price for the same work. Keep the conversation short and factual.

Common objections and plain responses:

- **"That is a big jump."** Explain the hours: "Your close now takes about seven hours a month, up from four last year, mostly from the two new card accounts."
- **"Someone else quoted less."** Ask what the other quote includes. If it is the same work, you may simply be different products.
- **"Can we wait a year?"** Offer the stepped raise instead of a delay. A delay sets up the same conversation with a bigger number.
- **"Can you do it for less?"** Offer less work at less cost, such as a quarterly close instead of monthly, or the client entering their own bills.

### When to hold firm

Hold firm when the new fee is at your floor or at target for a client who is already below it. Agreeing to the old price teaches the client that increases are negotiable, and the next round will be harder.

## Losing a client after raising bookkeeping prices

Losing a client after raising bookkeeping prices is a normal and often healthy result, especially when the client was well below your target rate. Each departure frees hours for a client who pays a fair fee. Plan for a few losses, make each exit clean, and treat them as part of the decision, not a sign it failed.

Make the handoff professional. Finish the last close you were paid for, return the client's files and access, and send what a new bookkeeper would need to pick up. A clean exit protects your reputation, and some clients come back after a year with a cheaper provider.

### When a client follows a staff member

A harder case is a client who leaves around the same time as one of your bookkeepers and moves their work to that person. Whether you can do anything about it depends on what your staff agreement says, and on the law where you work. Before relying on any clause, read how [non-compete and non-solicit clauses for bookkeepers](/blog/non-compete-for-bookkeepers) differ, and take legal advice if a dispute looks likely.

### Freeing hours instead of losing clients

Some practices raise prices because they have no spare hours, then lose clients and find they still have none. That points to the work itself taking too long. [AutoBankConvert](/) converts each client's statements in a batch and codes the lines with that client's rules, so the hours per close can come down while the fee stays where you set it.