What should be optional in a accounting proposal?

In this template: Owner personal tax returns ($280.00 USD per return), Advisory hours ($180.00 USD per hour). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.

Pricing guide for accountants

How much to charge for accounting

Updated October 23, 2026. Example prices in US dollars from the accounting template.

Example starting total$2,080.00 USD

Short answer: Price accounting as one fixed line (year-end statements and corporate return at $1,800.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,080.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (owner personal tax returns, advisory hours) the client can switch on, and quantities the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.

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Below: the price lines from our accounting quote, what is fixed, what the client can switch on, and how to show it so the client accepts instead of haggling.

The example pricing

Line	Example price	How it is sold
Year-end statements and corporate returnPrepared, filed, reviewed with you	$1,800.00 USD	Included
Owner personal tax returnsT1 in Canada or Form 1040 in the US, per owner	$280.00 USD per return	Optional, on by defaultClient picks 1 to 6
Advisory hoursTax planning, cash flow, questions through the year	$180.00 USD per hour	Optional, off by defaultClient picks 1 to 20

Starting total with the defaults on: $2,080.00 USD, before the client chooses among 2 optional lines, with 2 quantities the client sets within your limits. Example prices in US dollars; the template works in 16 currencies and every number is yours to change.

How to present it

Advisory and back-office work is bought for peace of mind, so the proposal should read like a plan: what you look at first, what the client receives, and how often. A monthly or yearly figure with a named deliverable beats an hourly rate.

Fix the recurring core and make the rest optional: director returns by the number, extra hours, a training day. The core is easy to say yes to; the options let the client size the engagement without a second call.

Say what you need from the client and by when. Missing receipts and late answers are where these engagements go wrong, and a proposal that says so is a proposal that gets respected.

Questions people ask

How much should I charge for accounting?: Price accounting as one fixed line (year-end statements and corporate return at $1,800.00 USD) with a starting total of $2,080.00 USD, then 2 optional lines (owner personal tax returns, advisory hours) the client can switch on, and quantities the client sets within your limits. Set your own numbers; the structure is what gets accepted.
What should be optional in a accounting proposal?: In this template: Owner personal tax returns ($280.00 USD per return), Advisory hours ($180.00 USD per hour). Optional lines sit next to the base price with a switch, so clients choose them without a follow-up email.
How do I present accounting pricing so it gets accepted?: Advisory and back-office work is bought for peace of mind, so the proposal should read like a plan: what you look at first, what the client receives, and how often. A monthly or yearly figure with a named deliverable beats an hourly rate.

Why this structure gets accepted

One fixed line the client can say yes to. Year-end statements and corporate return is priced as a whole, so the conversation is about the result, not the hours.
Options on the page, not in follow-up emails. Owner personal tax returns, Advisory hours sit next to the base price with a switch. People choose what they can see.
The total moves as they choose. On a Quote and Sign page the client toggles lines and sets quantities, watches the total update, and signs with their name. What they chose becomes part of the signed record.

Put it in front of a client

Open this pricing as a real quote, change the words and numbers, and send the link. Your client reads it on a phone or laptop, picks the extras, and taps Accept. You both get the signed PDF.