Profits Begin With The Right Price

One of the fastest ways to boost an SME’s profitability isn’t found in slashing expenses – it’s in getting the pricing right from the start. Yet, many businesses are charging rates that fall short of covering their true costs, let alone delivering the profit margins they need to grow. As their trusted advisor, you have the knowledge, tools, and influence to change that story.

Undercharge, and you chip away at margins until the business struggles to reinvest. Overcharge without the right justification, and you risk losing valuable customers. The challenge is finding the sweet spot: a pricing structure that reflects the real cost of operations, rewards the owner’s expertise, and supports sustainable business growth.

Tools That Remove the Guesswork from Pricing

When you introduce your clients to purpose-built calculators – tailored specifically for trades, professional services, and retail – you give them a powerful competitive advantage. These tools factor in overheads, target profit margins, non-billable hours, and productivity rates, creating a realistic and profitable charge-out rate. No more guesswork. No more “gut feel” pricing. Instead, every quote and invoice is backed by data, ensuring the business remains on course to hit its profit targets.

From Pricing to Performance Tracking

A great pricing strategy is just the beginning. Without regular review, even the best charge-out rate can become outdated as market conditions change, costs rise, or productivity fluctuates. By conducting monthly financial reviews and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), you help your clients keep their pricing in lockstep with their business goals. This ongoing process transforms static numbers into a living, breathing strategy – one that adjusts and evolves to keep the business healthy.

The Advisor’s Edge

Your role as an accountant, bookkeeper, or business advisor is more than producing reports – it’s about translating those reports into action. By combining accurate pricing models with regular performance tracking, you give your clients clarity, control, and confidence. This is how you shift from being a compliance provider to becoming a strategic partner in their success.

Webinar: Know Your SME’s Worth – Charge-Out Rates That Work

Thursday 28 August at 11am AEST

Help SME clients stop guessing and start pricing for profit. In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:

✅ Use purpose-built calculators (tradies, professional firms, retail).

✅ Set charge-out rates and markups aligned to profit targets.

✅ Run monthly reviews and track KPIs to keep pricing on course.

REGISTER HERE

Why It Matters Now

In today’s fast-moving business environment, SMEs cannot afford to underprice their services. Poor charge-out rates silently erode profitability, weaken cash flow, and limit growth potential. Strategic pricing, backed by data and reviewed regularly, builds strong margins, financial stability, and the capacity to reinvest in the business.

By helping your clients master smart pricing strategies, you’re not just improving their bottom line – you’re laying the foundation for sustainable growth and resilience. The right charge-out rate can mean the difference between just surviving and truly thriving.

Smart pricing. Strong margins. Better business outcomes.

Visit our website – www.essbiztools.com.au – to discover the detailed overview of the services provided by ESS BIZTOOLS. You are also welcome to contact us on 0418 190 181 or email .

ESS BIZTOOLS Podcast

In this episode of the Accountant’s Minute Podcast, Peter Towers, Founder and Managing Director of ESS BIZTOOLS, takes a deep dive into the proven advisory essentials that can help accounting firms, bookkeepers, and business advisors scale up their SME clients into stronger, more resilient businesses.

Through real-world client stories, Peter illustrates the stark difference between businesses that embrace continuous improvement and those that simply “mark time.” You’ll discover why business health checks, pricing reviews, KPI monitoring, and forward-looking cash flow forecasting are not optional extras – but critical tools for protecting and growing any business, whether they aim to expand or simply remain stable and efficient.

Peter also explores practical systems, automation opportunities, and funding strategies – from charge-out rate calculators to Crowd-Sourced Funding equity raising – that you can implement to add measurable value to your clients. With clear, actionable insights, this episode challenges you to move beyond tax returns and become the trusted advisor SMEs truly need in today’s challenging business climate.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST

Listen to more Accountants Minute Podcast episodes here

Want to know more?

Visit www.essbiztools.com.au.

If you would like to have a discussion about how this concept of virtual CFO services can be supplied by Australian accounting firms please ring our Managing Director, Peter Towers, on 0418 190 181 and we will arrange a complimentary 45-minute Zoom meeting to discuss your firm’s position and to give you our advice.

We believe that this is the blueprint for the delivery of an enhanced range of services by Australian Accounting and Bookkeeping firms to assist SME businesses to add value to their businesses and to assist accountants and bookkeepers not only to attract but to retain outstanding talent who want to be involved in the delivery of “real accounting services”.

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