I get calls from clients who I think expect free time...How do I discuss that I need to bill for time. For example someone called and wanted a lot of info on child retirement planning, setting up parents retirement planning, child tax issues...I spent half an hour on the phone and then another 2 hours research and putting a memo together...and all withing a day. I did not say upfront I need to charge..will the cliient see value in this? and how do I say it?
USA Accounting Business- How to address "we need to bill for this"
- Thread starter Dane
- Start date
You've created your own problem by A) being a nice person (no good deed goes unpunished) and B) being immediately accessible by phone. If you were at a party where a medical doctor was present and if you went up to the MD and said "Hey, what is your diagnosis for my symptoms?' the Doc would say "Make an appt." Same goes for your practice meaning you get to choose when you call them back. It might be cost effective for you to get an answering service or just always use an answering machine to avoid getting "buttonholed" when you answer the phone yourself.
Once you call the person back, you can control the introduction by saying something like " Hi, you called and had a question. If its a quickie that you can describe in two minutes that I can answer right now then this may be a freebie, but a complex one is billable. OK?" Then everyone is on the same page.
No doubt the folks who are used to always getting freebies will be unhappy. Some may leave. But there is no point in working for free.
Once you call the person back, you can control the introduction by saying something like " Hi, you called and had a question. If its a quickie that you can describe in two minutes that I can answer right now then this may be a freebie, but a complex one is billable. OK?" Then everyone is on the same page.
No doubt the folks who are used to always getting freebies will be unhappy. Some may leave. But there is no point in working for free.
Last edited:
Thank you- appreciated. Do we need to quote upfront for everything and always say there is a fee? Is it not implied? And dies there have to be physical appt .. time is time
You just need to say this once to each client. No need to repeat so you might want to keep track via a list by your phone. No physical appt is needed. That was just an example how an MD can avoid being buttonholed. My sentence after that example said "when you call them back".