In this episode of The Woodard Report Podcast, Joe Woodard welcomes Deb Defer, Woodard’s Director of Enterprise CAS Consulting, to tackle a common but costly mistake: not charging for onboarding. Whether you’re running a solo practice or leading a multi-million-dollar firm, this conversation offers actionable strategies to transform onboarding from a cost center into a profit generator—and to build long-term client relationships from day one.
Joe opens with a detailed walkthrough of Woodard’s onboarding framework, which includes:
Joe recommends firms charge for each stage—especially the discovery assessment, which he pegs at around 0.1% of the client’s annual revenue.
“Your discovery should be determining the increase in wealth you can bring… not just your cost to produce.”
Deb agrees with the multi-stage model, but highlights a key difference in how larger firms package it. Enterprise-level practices often use a pricing matrix to calculate a flat monthly fee and then charge that fee three times upfront:
“You're going to pay us $7,500—the Evergreen, the onboarding, and the first month. And as an investment in the relationship, we’ll take the prior 12 months and discount it 30–40%.”
This approach provides client commitment, cash flow stability, and risk mitigation—especially when paired with firm policies that require monthly accounting commitments in exchange for cleanup work.
Deb explains how the Evergreen Retainer acts as a financial buffer:
“Let’s say a client leaves on June 30. That Evergreen retainer covers July—because you’re still finalizing reports, closing accounts, and wrapping up the engagement.”
It’s a practice she recommends for firms of all sizes. It reduces write-offs, enforces payment discipline, and ensures the firm is protected—even if the client walks away.
When a client needs multiple months of catch-up work, Deb suggests billing half up front and half upon completion. She also stresses the importance of pre-qualifying the client’s commitment to ongoing monthly accounting.
“If you don’t get that commitment, you’ll end up doing all that cleanup… and the client disappears after the tax return is done.”
Avoid the trap of pricing out of fear. Offering payment plans is fine—but don’t undercut your value.
Joe and Deb agree: You’re not the ER doctor of accounting. You’re not obligated to fix urgent problems for uncommitted clients.
“Opportunity doesn’t equal obligation,” Joe says. “Just because someone’s in a crisis doesn’t mean it’s your job to fix it at a discount.”
Instead, offer short-term a la carte services (like sales tax filings or payroll fixes) as stand-alone BPO engagements—separate from long-term onboarding.
Deb warns against letting tax partners set CAS fees, especially during tax season.
“They give it away for cheap on the dollar. $500 to do the work. Then the team is chastised when realization is poor… because it was never priced properly.”
Instead, CAS teams should use pricing matrices and target metrics like revenue per FTE (full-time employee) and engagement-level gross profit margin to drive smarter decisions.
Deb encourages firm owners to treat their own operations with the same discipline they bring to clients:
“Drink your own champagne. If your house is a hot mess, how can you clean someone else’s?”
She even recommends buying a “No” button—a physical reminder not to say yes to the wrong clients or bad deals.
“Every time you feel like you should make a concession, hit the button. It says ‘No. No way.’ It keeps you in the mindset that you’re running a business.”
Learn more in The Woodard Report Podcast Episode 118: Stop Giving Onboarding Away for Free at woodard.com/podcast.
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