Welcome, bookkeepers! This Bookkeeper Appreciation Week, we’re here to help you count on success—and that starts with mastering useful technology.
When bookkeepers succeed, so do businesses—that’s why we’re hosting an event to help you count on success. From April 14–18, we're giving back to bookkeepers everywhere with 5 days of essential resources delivered directly to your inbox—plus live webinars, giveaways, and more.
Because bookkeepers keep business running. And we can't thank you enough.
Count on these key themes:
Monday: Technology
Tuesday: Pricing
Wednesday: Growth
Thursday: Future of Bookkeeping
Friday: Recap
Technology
Did you know that 55% of small to midsize businesses strongly agree (plus another 35% who somewhat agree) that automation is essential to enhancing business efficiency?* That means that technology has room to make a big impact on your day-to-day work.
But how can you tell if you have the right tools? These questions give you a strong starting point:
- Streamlined - Does your software streamline your workflows? Simplify your resources? Save you time? Ideally, smart automation should do all three.
- Flexible - Does the platform provide options that fit your business and your customers? Can it be tailored as your business changes and grows?
- Easy - Can everyone on your team use it? Do you have the support you need to onboard users and answer questions as they come up?
- Data-driven - Will it provide deeper insights into your data so you can make smarter decisions?
Why should you automate?
- Whether it's attracting new business or saving time, automation from BILL can help your firm excel. Check out this guide to learn how automation helps your firm.
- The advantages of automation extend well beyond efficiency gains. Automation keeps firms more competitive and can help attract talent. In fact, 89% of accounting professionals said that automation in financial operations makes their firm more profitable and efficient.** Learn more about the benefits of automation in 5 benefits of accounting automation for firms, which we gleaned from The BILL accounting firm automation opportunity report
- How to automate: In this guide from CPA.com and BILL, we offer a closer look at what makes a highly automated firm, as well as the maturity curve firms can follow on the path to automation.
Pricing
How to Price Your Bookkeeping Services to Grow Your Business
Did you know that 49% of small to midsize businesses plan to increase prices to better manage their cash flow?* As your clients adjust their pricing strategies, it’s a good time to reflect on your own.
Whether you’re a solo bookkeeper or running a growing firm, your pricing structure can make or break your ability to scale. If you want to confidently charge for your value and increase revenue, start with these core principles:
Start With a Value-Based Mindset
1. Understand Your Clients
Ask strategic questions to uncover your clients' needs, goals, and pain points. When you deeply understand their business, you can position your services not just as a necessity—but as a solution. The more aligned your services are to what they care about, the more they’ll be willing to invest in your partnership.
2. Price Based on Impact
Don't just price based on tasks—price based on outcomes. Are you helping your client save time, avoid late fees, or make better business decisions? Focus on the results of your work. The perceived value of those results is often worth much more than the hours it takes to deliver them.
3. Give Options
Offer at least three pricing tiers. This helps clients feel in control of their budget while still allowing you to upsell services or bundle offerings. A tiered approach also builds trust and transparency—you’re showing them what’s possible at every level of engagement.
4. Think Long-Term
Your pricing strategy isn’t just about transactions—it’s about relationships. When clients know exactly what they’re getting and see the value over time, they’re more likely to stick around and grow with you. Choose a model that supports retention, not just acquisition.
For a more in depth study on pricing, check out our eBook “How to price on value”.
3 Common Pricing Models for Bookkeepers
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but here are three models that firms commonly use when pricing AP/AR services. Each one has its pros and cons—your goal is to choose the one (or blend) that fits your client base, your workflow, and your growth goals.
1. Hourly Billing
This is the most familiar model: charge by the hour, track your time, and invoice accordingly. It’s straightforward and easy to implement, especially when starting out. However, it can work against you as you get more efficient. If automation reduces your time spent on tasks, your income could decrease—even as your service quality improves.
Best for: New bookkeepers, small projects, or one-off cleanup work.
Watch out for: Time-capped income and client questions about time logs.
2. Flat Rate / Fixed Fee
Charge a set monthly or per-project fee, regardless of the time it takes. This model rewards efficiency—if you complete the work quickly, you keep more profit. Clients also love the predictability. They know what to expect on their invoices, which helps with their own cash flow planning.
Best for: Recurring work like monthly AP/AR, reconciliations, or financial statements.
Watch out for: Underpricing—make sure your flat fee reflects the full scope of work and occasional fire drills.
3. Value Pricing
This model sets prices based on the value your service provides to each individual client. Instead of charging for time or deliverables, you charge for the business results you help achieve. This typically involves a discovery process to understand what matters most to the client and customize the price accordingly.
Best for: Advisory work, high-touch clients, or firms transitioning into a more consultative role.
Watch out for: Inconsistency. This model requires strong client communication and confidence in articulating your value.
Build a Hybrid That Works For You
Most firms don’t use just one model. Instead, they combine elements from each—like flat rates for ongoing bookkeeping, hourly for special projects, and value pricing for strategy and insights.
Ultimately, the best pricing model is the one that supports your growth while delivering consistent, meaningful value to your clients.
The Future of Bookkeeping
How AI Can Save You Time and Grow Your Business
Ready to take your bookkeeping firm into the future? Then it’s time to embrace AI and automation.
From the sewing machine to the business computer, each generation has been shaped by tools that boosted productivity. Today, AI is the next major evolution—and bookkeeping is one of the industries benefiting the most.
One of the biggest advantages of AI for bookkeepers? Time.
With repetitive tasks off your plate, you can take on more clients, grow your business, or simply reclaim your evenings.
How AI Transforms AP
The manual, repetitive nature of AP makes it one of the easiest—and most valuable—areas to automate. According to the Bringing AI to Accounting report, here are four key ways AI can revolutionize your AP process:
Cut down on manual data entry
AI can extract invoice details (like date, vendor, and total) and automatically populate bill fields—no more line-by-line typing.
Avoid duplicate payments
AI systems can detect and alert you if a duplicate invoice already exists in your system, helping clients avoid double payments.
Find anomalies and flag suspicious activity
With near real-time processing, AI can scan for anomalies in financial data—catching potential errors or fraud before they become costly.
Spot missing bills
BILL’s AI-powered Reminders report looks at historical billing patterns and alerts you when an expected invoice hasn’t arrived, helping prevent late payments and missed obligations.
From January to June 2023, BILL’s AI extracted data from 39.6 million documents to help facilitate $116.8 billion in payments.
AI Isn’t Just for AP: It Streamlines Expense Management Too
Employee expenses may not take up as much of the budget as vendor payments—but they require tons of attention to detail. AI helps by:
Verifying receipts
When an employee uploads a receipt, AI instantly checks that it matches the transaction.
Autocategorizing expenses
BILL’s AI will suggest the most likely category for a transaction, helping you code faster and with greater accuracy—so month-end close is smoother and faster.
BILL customers report saving an average of 12 hours per month on expense management alone.
Bonus: Smarter Document Management
Need help staying organized? AI can assist with:
- Splitting multi-invoice documents into individual records
- Auto-filling vendor profiles with address and contact info
- Storing digital files for anytime, anywhere access
These automations add up to less admin work—and fewer headaches when tax time rolls around.
Bookkeeping, Evolved: How to Get Started
AI isn’t here to replace bookkeepers. It’s here to free you up.
With tools like BILL, you can bypass the busywork and focus on delivering higher-value insights to your clients.
Want to know how BILL supports automation across your entire workflow?
Here’s what it can do:
- Invoice extraction & bill creation
- Duplicate invoice detection
- Fraud detection & anomaly scanning
- Missing bill identification
- Document splitting
- Vendor profile creation
- Receipt verification
- Expense category prediction
Ready for the future? Let AI do the heavy lifting—so you can do more of what you love.
Growth
If you’re looking to add new clients, expand your scope, or streamline your operations, this is your moment. You already have the tools—now it’s time to grow with confidence.
Be a Leader
Thought leadership isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a growth engine. Sharing your expertise builds credibility, attracts the right clients, and positions your firm as a trusted advisor rather than just a service provider.
Here’s how to get started:
- Host webinars or write blog posts about common financial challenges in your clients’ industries
- Speak at industry events or contribute articles to trade publications
- Use LinkedIn to share insights and comment on trends that matter to your niche
When you give away valuable advice, you’re not just being generous, you’re marketing your expertise in a way that builds trust and long-term interest.
Read more: Growing Your Firm Like a Pro
Boost Your Bookkeeping Firm
Manual data entry, chasing receipts, and processing checks can eat up hours of your week. But with the right technology, you can reclaim your time and use it to grow your business.
- Automate AP/AR and expense tracking
- Sync with major accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero
- Spot anomalies or duplicates in real time
- Centralize client management with one login
With automation, you can take on more clients or offer new services like cash flow management and advisory without hiring more staff or burning out.
Market Yourself to New Talent
If you’re focused on growth, you’ll likely need to grow your team, too. But attracting top talent in today’s market requires more than a job post.
Here’s what sets growth-oriented firms apart:
- Promote your culture: highlight flexibility, mentorship, and professional development on your site and social channels
- Launch a referral program to tap into your team’s network
- Get involved in events like college panels or job fairs to build early relationships
Hiring is a marketing exercise—so put your best brand forward.
Scale Without Filling Your Calendar
Growth shouldn’t mean burnout. The most successful firms scale by standardizing, automating, and refining their processes—not by packing more into every day.
To scale smart:
- Automate repetitive tasks like bill pay and expense categorization
- Standardize your tech stack across clients
- Bundle services into clear packages with tiered pricing
- Start small and refine as you go
Bonus: Strengthen Client Relationships Through Communication
As your business grows, consistent communication becomes even more important. Thoughtful, proactive communication helps build trust, improve service delivery, and drive referrals.
From setting expectations early to responding within 24 hours and assigning a consistent point of contact, these simple steps can have a big impact.
Read more: 4 Ways to Improve Communication with Your Clients
Grow Like a Pro
High-growth firms aren’t using secret playbooks. They’re simply following a solid business model: clear messaging, smart automation, strong client communication, and strategic service expansion.
With the tools and strategies we’ve covered throughout this series, you’re already on the right track. Now’s the time to put them into practice and grow your firm like a pro.
We also have a special offer for customers: When you refer a client to BILL Spend & Expense and they start spending before April 30, we’ll throw in a $100 Starbucks gift card.
If you want to learn more about BILL, take a demo and we’ll send you a $100 DoorDash gift card.
*According to the BILL 2024 State of Financial Automation report.
**The BILL accounting firm automation opportunity report
