Instead of relying on guesswork or outdated fee schedules, MAX blends national benchmarks, local data, and firm-specific insights to suggest competitive and profitable pricing.
When building client proposals, pricing is often one of the biggest pain points for tax and accounting firms. MAX simplifies this by generating data-driven, AI-powered pricing recommendations. Instead of relying on guesswork or outdated fee schedules, MAX blends national benchmarks, local data, and firm-specific insights to suggest competitive and profitable pricing.
This article explains the logic behind how MAX creates suggested pricing.
1. Market Benchmarking
MAX ingests pricing data from:
- Industry surveys (AICPA, NATP, IRS, etc.)
- Third-party reports on average service fees
- Public pricing shared by firms online
This creates a reliable baseline for tax preparation, bookkeeping, advisory, and specialty services.
2. Local Cost-of-Living Adjustments
Pricing varies widely across geographies. MAX uses:
- Regional cost-of-living indexes
- Labor cost multipliers
- Economic conditions specific to the client’s or firm’s location
This ensures that a service in New York City isn’t priced the same as in a small Midwest town.
3. Firm Profile & Positioning
Every firm has its own unique value. MAX accounts for:
- Firm size and brand strength (established firms can charge more)
- Specializations and niches (serving lawyers, real estate investors, or tech startups commands premium pricing)
- Advisory positioning (firms offering planning or CFO-level guidance receive higher recommendations than compliance-only firms)
4. Complexity of Engagement
MAX adjusts pricing in real time based on client-specific details:
- Entity type and filing complexity
- Transaction volume and number of employees
- Multi-state or cross-border activity
- Bundled services (compliance + payroll + advisory)
The more complex the engagement, the higher the suggested pricing.
5. Competitor & Market Signals
To stay competitive, MAX factors in:
- Local competitor pricing visible online
- Client willingness-to-pay indicators (search volume, click behavior, proposal acceptance rates)
This helps firms align their pricing with what the market will bear.
6. Historical Performance & Learning
MAX continuously learns from your firm’s history:
- What prices were accepted, negotiated, or rejected
- Win-rate optimization to balance close rates with profitability
- Client retention data to refine long-term pricing strategy
7. Profitability Guardrails
MAX always protects firm margins:
- Estimates time, effort, and staff costs for each engagement
- Builds in profitability floors so pricing never dips below cost
- Suggests upsell opportunities to maximize lifetime client value
Benefits for Your Firm
- Consistency: No more inconsistent pricing between partners or staff.
- Competitiveness: Pricing stays aligned with current market conditions.
- Scalability: Junior staff can confidently generate proposals.
- Confidence: Firms can justify their prices with data-backed logic.
✅ Bottom Line: MAX gives you pricing that’s fair, competitive, and profitable, so you can focus on client relationships instead of second-guessing your fees.
Questions? Reach out to us at help@countingworkspro.com for assistance.