The shape of business is shifting faster than ever before, and it’s important to get a clear understanding of the trends that affect you and your future. Intuit partners, Michelle Long, CPA, and Heather Satterley, EA, surveyed more than 1,000 accounting and tax professionals to provide an in-depth look at several areas of business, featuring rates and technology adoption.
72.36%
Sole owners of an accounting, bookkeeping, tax, payroll, or consulting practice
16.57%
Owners or partners in a business/firm that serves multiple clients
4.09%
Professionals in a business/firm that serves multiple clients
2.79%
N/A – works for a company, not with multiple clients
2.50%
Managers in a business/firm that serves multiple clients
1.00%
Senior staff in a business/firm that serves multiple clients
0.69%
Paraprofessionals in a business/firm that serves multiple clients
20.70%
20+ years
20.37%
6-10 years
20.15%
3-5 years
18.08%
11-19 years
12.85%
1-2 years
7.84%
Just starting my own business
41%
Paid ProAdvisor Premium
30%
Free ProAdvisor Program (only QuickBooks Online)
28%
Paid ProAdvisor Deluxe
More than anything, respondents say that marketing and getting clients are areas that need to be improved next year. Learning and implementing apps was tied for the second highest-rated category at 35.97 percent, which foreshadows increased cloud adoption.
2018 Intuit Rate Survey: Billing Rates, Value Pricing and Much More
2018 Intuit Rate Survey: Rates by Region, Credential & Certification
The percentage of respondents billing hourly decreased for all services, while value pricing increased across the board by more than 20 percent for all types of services (except tax preparation). The most significant increase in value pricing was seen in monthly accounting and advisory services, which both increased by more than 10 percentage points in two years.
Monthly accounting/bookkeeping
Clean up or troubleshooting
Tax preparation
QuickBooks set-up
Data file services
Catch up bookkeeping/accounting (many months at a time)
Payroll
Technology consulting — selecting and implementing
QuickBooks training
Advisory services
Payroll
Tax preparation
Technology consulting – selecting and implementing
Advisory services
Referrals - from existing clients
88.90%
Referrals - from peers
68.24%
Referrals - from others
61.22%
Referrals - Find a ProAdvisor website
44.52%
Social media
44.14%
Social mediaLocal networking groups (BNI or others)
21.30%
Local chamber (or other association) meetings
17.60%
Referrals - from other websites
17.47%
Direct mail
5.36%
Ad in print media
4.97%
Yelp
2.81%
Radio ad
1.02%
52.04%
Services/types of work involved
13.78%
Owner/management
11.22%
Financial situation (ability to pay)
10.97%
Other criteria for consideration
5.48%
It doesn’t matter - all clients are good clients
3.70%
Industry
2.81%
Size of business
Those who indicated they live in rural or semi-rural areas reported the lowest hourly rates. The Southwest region had the lowest hourly rates for categories outside of traditional core accounting services. Rates below are per hour.
Accounting/bookkeeping
QuickBooks troubleshooting/ consulting
Training
IT/network consulting
Accounting/bookkeeping
QuickBooks troubleshooting/ consulting
Third-party app consulting
Training
IT/network consulting
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