Client Profitability Analyzer
Discover which clients are growing your practice and which are draining resources. Enter your client data and get an instant profitability matrix with actionable insights.
Add your clients • See profitability matrix • Free, no signup
Effective Rate Analysis
Calculate the true hourly rate for every client in your practice
SA Market Benchmarks
Compare your rates against South African industry standards
Actionable Insights
Get specific recommendations to improve practice profitability
What is client profitability analysis? Client profitability analysis measures the effective hourly rate earned from each client by dividing monthly fees by hours spent. For South African accounting practices, healthy effective rates range from R350-600/hr for bookkeeping up to R800-2,000/hr for advisory services. Identifying unprofitable clients allows practices to renegotiate fees, streamline delivery, or reallocate resources to higher-value work.
Client Profitability FAQs
Common questions about analysing client profitability for accounting practices
It varies by service: Bookkeeping R350-600/hr, Tax Compliance R500-900/hr, Audit R600-1,200/hr, Advisory R800-2,000/hr. Your effective rate should cover all overhead (rent, software, admin staff) plus profit margin. If your rate barely covers costs, you are working for free.
Three options: (1) Increase fees — often the simplest and most impactful lever, (2) Reduce hours — automate repetitive processes, use templates, and streamline workflows, (3) Change the service mix — upsell higher-value advisory services that command 2-3x higher hourly rates than compliance work.
Not necessarily. Consider the full picture: referral value, growth potential, strategic importance, and relationship longevity. But if a client is consistently below cost with no path to improvement, it is a business decision you need to make. Your practice cannot sustain subsidising unprofitable work indefinitely.
Use time tracking software integrated with your practice management system. Even rough estimates are better than nothing — this tool works with estimates to give you directional insight. The goal is not perfect precision but rather identifying which clients are clearly profitable and which are clearly not.