Are You Charging Enough?

One of the most common questions I get from my clients is: “am I charging enough??".  

I want you to be able to answer this q with confidence and clarity. 

In fact, I want you to be so sure about your answer that comments from potential clients about how your direct competitor is “charging 35% less” legit start to roll off your back.  

Why?  

✅ Because you ran the numbers.

✅ You know your team's capacity.

✅ You fully understand how to use a technique called Job Costing aka monitoring your profit per project to ensure you aren't accidentally running a non-profit biz.  

✅ And you know that your direct competitor won't be “in competition” in about 6 months if they keep taking work where they lose $$ or break even..

Job costing helps you track all the expenses related to a specific project—labour, materials, overhead, and more—so you know **exactly** how profitable each job/client/service offering is.

Let's use the example of a law firm who specializes in estate planning (aka wills, POAs, and health care directives).  Stay with me - there's something in here for you even if you don't run a law firm.

Job costing for this kind of biz means understanding the real cost of supporting a client, from the initial consultation to service execution and, finally, off-boarding.

So, we're looking at direct costs like:

- labour (team hours = legal assistant, lawyer hours), 

- materials (probably nothing major here aside from a nominal charge for printing/photocopying) 

And we're also looking at indirect or “overhead” costs  like:

- software subscriptions, 

- office rent, 

- prof liability insurance, 

- utilities, 

- marketing

- etc

With Job Costing, this firm can easily id which service offerings make money and which just.. don't.  And analyzing this info from the past helps them to fine-tune their offerings and pricing in the future. 

>>>>And what does this mean for their bottom line?? <<<<

Well, going fwd, there will be a lot less ‘guess-timates’ and a lot more data used to back up pricing.

 This ultimately increases transparency which in turn builds credibility and trust with clients - especially when the estimate you provided matches the number on the client's invoice. 

And if you don't own a law firm, First name / friend, I see you lol.  Here's how job costing can help you:

• Investment Advisor:

  • Track time and resources spent on each client portfolio to assess profitability. Allocate costs for research, client meetings, and administrative support. Identify high-cost clients and optimize service levels accordingly.

• Interior Design Firm:

  • Calculate costs for materials, subcontractors, and labor specific to each project. Accurately price services to ensure profitability on design consultations and project execution.  Track variances between estimated and actual project costs to refine pricing models.

• Car Detailer:

  • Track costs of supplies (e.g., cleaning products, tools) and labor per vehicle.  Assess profitability for different service packages (e.g., basic vs. premium detailing). Highlight unprofitable jobs or pricing gaps to adjust rates effectively.

• Massage Therapy Clinic Owner:

  • Assign costs for therapist time, room usage, and materials (e.g., oils, linens) to individual clients.  Determine which services or therapists generate the highest profitability. Streamline operations by identifying inefficiencies in scheduling or resource use.

At the end of the day, job costing isn’t just about crunching numbers- it’s about making intentional, informed decisions that set your business up for long-term profitability.

When you truly understand your costs, pricing becomes less of a guessing game and more of a strategic move.

So, whether you're drafting wills, designing dream spaces, or detailing cars, knowing your numbers means running a business that actually works for you—without second-guessing every invoice you send out.

Want to chat about this more? Connect with me here.