You might be thinking about raising rates, but you're hesitant due to fear of losing clients.
Or if you are considering a fee hike, you question whether you should increase your charges by 5%, 10% or more.
When questions like these arise, it's always beneficial to have a recent study to give you market trends. Because, what you really want to know is,"what are other firms doing about their rates for 2026."
As it happens, Ignition recently published its 2025 U.S. Accounting and Tax Pricing Benchmark Report which indicates that 80% of accounting and tax firms surveyed plan to raise their fees in 2026.
The report also highlights a growing shift from hourly billing towards fixed-fee or value-based pricing models. Greg Strickland, CEO of Ignition said, "The era of hourly billing is fading fast. More firms are seizing the opportunity to price based on the real value they deliver to drive more sustainable profitability.”
Even so, only a small percentage increase was expected by firms with fixed-fees for accounting and tax services. In fact, among survey respondents, most fixed-fees remained the same as those charged in 2024.
Another change also became evident as part of the study. To secure cash flow predictability, more firms are embracing upfront billing for tax preparation services with 31% collecting a deposit upfront; however, the number of firms collecting the full fee upfront remained at 13%.
For those doubters, the report provides reassurance that firms that raise fees find their profitability typically remains stable, or even improves, with only minimal client attrition.
This informative report provides data-driven benchmarks to help firms compare their current pricing for services like tax preparation, advisory, bookkeeping, and CFO services.
It also offers guidance on how firms can price more confidently and justify fees that reflect their actual value. And, to enable firms to price with greater confidence and optimize revenue, Ignition plans to launch AI-powered pricing intelligence later this year.
The report findings highlight evolving pricing strategies by showing what firms currently charge, their planned fee adjustments for 2026, and the rationale behind those decisions.
So, if you want to know more about the survey results, including the percentage of firms planning on 5%, 10% or more in the way of price hikes, then head over to the Ignition Report landing page.
Disclosures:
Source content adapted from an Ignition Press Release furnished by AquaLab Public Relations. This content is published by Insightful Accountant for informational and educational purposes only.
his is an editorial feature, not sponsored content. No vendor associated with this article has paid Insightful Accountant or the author any form of remuneration to be included within this feature. The article is provided solely for informational and educational purposes.
About Ignition - Founded in 2013, Ignition is the recurring revenue and billing automation platform for firms and agencies to transform their sales, billing and payment processes. Ignition automates proposals, invoicing, payments and workflows in a single platform, empowering 8,000+ businesses to sell, bill and get paid for their services with ease. To date, Ignition customers have managed relationships with over 1.9 million clients and earned $9b in revenue via the platform. Ignition’s global workforce spans Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, US and the UK. Learn more at www.ignitionapp.com.
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