Stop underselling your worth: An open letter
As a collective, we call on accounting & tax professionals to reclaim the profitability they deserve


Here’s the hard truth. We’re letting our clients walk all over us.
We give away work for free.We fear clients will leave us if we raise prices.
We’re afraid to ask for payment upfront.
We avoid awkward conversations and miss out on collections.
We say yes to clients when we don’t have the time.
It’s a vicious cycle. The more we put up with it, the more we encourage the behavior we dread.
So, we quietly bleed cash, sacrifice revenue, eat into profits – and work longer hours amidst a staff shortage, with less time to build a better firm.
Our clients aren’t at fault. It’s our fear of taking action that holds us back. We worry clients won’t accept our pricing and payment terms, and are afraid to bring this up because we don't want to lose them.
The costs of clinging to the past
Each year, we lose $76,636 on average in revenue due to unrecovered out-of-scope work*.
A staggering 94% of us put up with chasing clients for late payments.
43% absorb the time and cost when the scope of client work increases.
When 89% of firms say they’ve delayed or avoided awkward conversations with clients, you know it’s time for action.
This issue goes far beyond the bottom line. It directly compromises our client experience – the very basis we rely on for growth.
Legacy billing methods, manual ways of working, poor scope management, late payments – it’s time we got rid of the deadweights dragging us and our client relationships down. The last thing clients want is the hassle of manual payments, or guessing how much we’ll charge.
We all deserve more
The future we’re talking about is one where we can….
Run a zero accounts receivable firm where we’re guaranteed to get paid – without the heavy lift.
Charge for all of our work, with pricing that reflects our true value.
Work smarter and use technology to boost efficiency, and improve client relationships.
It’s all of us, enjoying the rewards of growth: healthy cash flow, increased revenue, and more time to invest in the future of our firms.
We can be free of fearing our clients.
This is not just a fantasy. And we have the data to prove it, with 91% of payments collected automatically in Ignition.
Change starts today — join us
Our movement begins here and now.
There are actionable ways you can run a more scalable and profitable firm starting today.
Learn from powerhouses like Gary Vaynerchuk, along with accounting change-makers, in an upcoming webinar: Stop Underselling: Learn from "GaryVee" and Experts on How to Grow Your Firm With Technology.
We’re committed to driving our businesses forward and we need you on board. Why?
Because resisting change jeopardizes the future of our profession.
Signed by:
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Anne Napolitano Founder of Anne Napolitano Consulting | Kelly Gonsalves Founder of Totally Booked |
Ben Stein Co-Founder and CEO at Keeper | Laurie O'Neil Owner of Innovative Financial Services |
Candy Bellau MBA, CFE, Owner of Kramerica Business Solutions | Logan Graf CPA, Chief Tax Officer at The Graf Tax Co. |
Carla Caldwell Founder of Caldwell Consulting & Training | Lorilyn Wilson CPA, Owner of Lake Oswego Tax |
Carla Demers MSAT, Demers Accounting Services | Marcus Dillon CPA, President of Dillon Business Advisors |
Chris Williams CEO of System Six | Marie Greene CPA, Founder & CEO of Connected Accounting |
Clayton Achen CPA, CA, TEP, Partner at Achen Henderson Chartered Public Accountants | Mariette Martinez EA, Founder of Master Your Books |
Dan Gertrudes CEO & Founder of GrowthLab Financial Services | Michelle Long CPA, Owner of Long for Success |
Dawn Brolin CPA, CFE, CEO of Powerful Accounting | Michelle Vilms Founder of Vilms Consulting |
Enae Jackson-Atkins Founder of Esquire Accounting | Michelle Weinstein Founder of The Abundant Accountant |
Eric Green Esq Founder Tax Rep Network | Patrick Cameron Accounting Technology Expert |
Erin Reece CEO of Bear Financial Solutions | Ryan Lazanis CPA, Founder of Future Firm |
Gaynor Meike Chief Opportunity Officer of Charisma Ink | Samantha Hallburn Founder of PBS Accounting and Tax Solutions |
Guy Pearson CA, CEO & Co-Founder of Ignition | Sandy Johns CPA, Founder of Revolution Financial |
Jennie Moore Founder of Moore Details Inc. | Sarah Prevost Founder of Mintage Labs™, Co-founder of Create Collaborate (CoLab), The Proper Trust, Accountants Law Lab |
Jeremy Wells EA, CPA, Founder of JWellsCFO | Sean Duncan CPA, President & Founder of SMD Consulting & Accounting |
Jose Zavala Founder of ZTX Advisors | Tiffany Davis P.A., MSM, President of Washington Accounting Services |
Josh Lance CPA, Founder of Lance CPA Group | Tim Miron CPA, CA, Founder of Pursuit CPA |
Kathy Grosskurth Founder of Bookkeeping Plain and Simple | Veronica Wasek Founder of VM Wasek |
Yoseph West Relay | Mike Miller Miller & Associates CPAs |
Liz Shearer Ruth & Shearer CPAs, LLC | Regina Nock Capocore Professional Advisors |
Lassina Konate Lasko Accounting | Andrea MacDonald Steadfast Bookkeeping Co |
Dean Vance Vance & Associates | Rex Biggs Rektio Accounting |
Vimal Bava CPA.com | Sharky Zayid Tax Shark CPAs PLLC |
Darryl Wong Daisy Accountants | Chloe Loving Golden Phoenix Financial |
Jennifer Lorenzen LT CPAs & Company, Inc | Rashesh Joshi Alexander Rosse |
Jennifer Drout Aloha Accounting & Tax | Martin Lepper Lepper & Company, |
Jackie Compton Balanced Equation | Amy Holdsworth Clarity Street |
Nick Moustacas Strategic Wealth Management | Marika Lynch Valorium Advisors |
Denise Hanlon Hanlon CPA | Orumé Hays Hays CPA |
Nicole Ossenfort CPA, Bookkeepers Ignite | Sabrina Cook Sabrina P. Cook, CPA PLLC |
Michael Jackson A Little Faith Accounting & Tax Services | Priyanka Dhall PEL Chartered Professional Accountants |
Chris Vanover AuditClub | Melanie Power The Evolutionary Firm |
Enver Kannur AccountingDirectPlus | Iqbal Mian Nexis CPA |
Raffi Yousefian The Fork CPAs | Jane Becker Jane Becker, CPA, LLC |
Gina Tallman Stranger, Tallman & Lautz Accounting | Lynda Artesani Lynda Artesani |
Willie Dover W.E.D. Tax & Accounting Services, Inc. | Shantell Wilkins "TheTaxQueen" RBA Tax & Financial Services |
Jerry Baffour Badu Tax Services | Chris Peristeridis United Tax & Accounting |
Joe Montgomery 3 Cohesion Advisors | Arun Mehra Samera Business Advisors |
Andy Smith Numberwise | Tyler Codd Sturgill & Associates |
Geoffrey Stewart Aprio, | Mary Barud Karen L. Vidt CPA |
Kim Boydoh Capstone Financial Consultants | Michelle Mcvetty Cohos Advisors |
Peter Cullen CORE PERFORMANCE CNSLT | Keith Gormezano Dr. Quick Books, Inc. |
Craig Hausz CMH Advisors | Lori Hauck Run Your Wealth |
Kyana Martin Billings & Martin, LLP | Kevin Bray Dental Accounting Pros |
Mara Alexander Alexander Accounting and Registration, Inc | Kathy Hayden Hayden's Tax Service |
Michael Jeffriess Naked Accounting | Munir Nakhleh MwN |
Susan Bryant Unboxed Advisors | Sharon Perry Sharon Perry, CPA, CA |
Ben Walker Inspire CA | Eddie Garcia E&Q TAX |
Kyle Dover 2260 West |
*Source: Ignition State of Client Engagement Report
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