Monday, January 10, 2011

Advising Clients of a Fee Increase

One of the hardest things you will have to do as a Sole Trader is advise your clients you are raising your fees.

If you are anything like me, you will put it off time and again, as the voices in your head start saying things like times are tough for everyone or, will my fee increase lose me the client to someone offering a less expensive service?

Tonight I finally bit the proverbial bullet and sent a letter to each of my clients advising of an increase to my fee.

I agonised over the wording all day but I am happy with what I finally produced and I am posting a copy of what I came up with in the hope that I may be able to assist someone else who may be struggling with the right thing to say.

Remember, to be successful we must first be confident and believe in ourself and our worth.

I will let you know in a future post how I went.

Remember to the virtuous is good...but to be virtual is better! ©

Cheers Katrina


SAMPLE LETTER: Naturally you would omit any irrelevant data!

Dear (Client Name),

RE: Fee increase from (Your Business Name).

Firstly, may I take this opportunity to personally thank you for supporting me in the * years since I began my Bookkeeping Service and for choosing me for your bookkeeping needs.

I have avoided raising my rates for as long as possible, however due to the increased cost of living I will be increasing my rates effective from the start of the March BAS quarter (Jan 2011).

For those of you whom I work for on a quarterly basis, this increase will take effect when I process your Jan, Feb, March bookwork (any work related to the Dec quarter not yet processed will be charged at the current rate).

For those of you whom I work for on a weekly/fortnightly basis, this increase will take effect from 1 March 2011.

My offsite rate will increase from $** to $** per hour.
My onsite rate will increase from $** to $** per hour.

As in the past, I am offering a lower rate for work conducted from my own office.

I believe this increase to be commensurate with my qualifications which now include a Certificate IV in Financial Services (which has become a legal requirement for contract bookkeepers) and am proud to announce that I am now also a Registered BAS agent in my own right.

I thank you for your understanding and continued support.
As always I'm here to help.


Sincerely,
(Your Name).

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