Rethinking CAS Pricing Through Scope Clarity

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Two different conversations recently forced me to rethink CAS pricing.

They were unrelated. Different people, different industries, different goals. But they both exposed the same underlying issue that shows up in many accounting firm pricing models.

Pricing problems are usually clarity problems.

The Designer That Changed My Thinking

The first conversation was a discovery call with a designer.

We walked through our business, our goals, what we thought we needed, and where we were stuck. A pretty standard discovery call. At the end, instead of walking us through packages or promising a proposal, he said something unexpected.

“Send me a list of the items you want me to include in scope, and I’ll put together a proposal.”

His reasoning was simple. He wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

At first, it felt like homework. Then I realized what he had done. He forced us to stop and reflect on what we actually needed, not what sounded nice, not what we assumed a designer would include, but what would genuinely move the needle.

In one sentence, he eliminated much of the guesswork that typically goes into proposals.

He also shifted some of the responsibility back onto us as the buyer.

That moment stuck with me because it mirrors a problem that CAS firms face.

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My Version: Confirm What You Heard

In CAS sales conversations, I often talk about the importance of confirming what you heard.

As you take notes during discovery, you identify the key issues that, if solved, will generate the highest return for the client. Then you repeat them back. This does two things. It shows you are listening, and it helps prospects clarify their own thinking. People often have ideas in their heads that are hard to communicate until they hear them out loud.

That step alone improves alignment.

But the designer went one step further.

Instead of just confirming what he heard, he asked us to define it ourselves.

Why I Still Like Tiered Pricing

This brings me to the second conversation, one I had with Taylor Hartman about tiered pricing.

Taylor is not a fan. I am.

I like tiered pricing because it brings structure to what can otherwise be a messy sales process. It simplifies decisions, anchors value, and allows firms to scale without reinventing pricing on every deal.

When done well, tiered pricing reduces friction for both the firm and the prospect. It also protects margins by standardizing delivery.

But liking tiered pricing does not mean ignoring its flaws.

The Downside of Tiered Pricing in CAS

The biggest issue with tiered pricing is that clients often do not choose the package they need. They pick the one that feels safest financially.

Even when you recommend a specific tier, prospects sometimes choose differently. They anchor on price instead of outcomes.

When a client selects the wrong package, it creates problems on both sides. The client does not get the results they expected. The firm delivers work that is misaligned with the original goals. That misalignment later manifests as scope creep, frustration, or churn.

This is not a knock on tiered pricing itself. It is a reminder that pricing models do not solve clarity problems on their own.

The Middle Ground: Prospect Defined Scope

This is where the designer’s approach clicked for me.

What if tiered pricing is not the starting point?

What if the starting point is having the prospect articulate what they believe they need before you ever present pricing?

Imagine running a discovery call, confirming what you heard, and then asking the prospect to outline the services, outcomes, or areas they want included to solve those problems.

From there, you map their list to a tier, or a modified version of a tier, and recommend the appropriate option.

The pricing conversation shifts from comparison to confirmation.

This approach combines the scalability of tiered pricing with the clarity of custom scoping.

Why This Works Better for CAS Firms

Here is why I think this hybrid approach works especially well in CAS.

First, it reduces proposal guesswork. You are no longer trying to infer priorities based solely on conversation. The client has explicitly stated them.

Second, it minimizes the risk of clients choosing the wrong package. Your recommendation is directly tied back to their own words and stated needs.

Third, it naturally filters out tire kickers. Serious buyers will do the work to define what they want. Casual shoppers usually will not. That alone can save firms time and energy.

Finally, it preserves scalability. You are not abandoning tiers or building fully custom proposals for every deal. You are simply changing the order of operations.

Clarity first. Pricing second.

The Bigger Takeaway

CAS pricing is not just about what you charge. It is about the outcomes you are responsible for delivering.

When pricing and scope are misaligned, everyone loses. Clients feel disappointed. Teams feel stretched. Margins erode quietly through rework and expectation management.

The goal of pricing is not optionality. It is alignment.

Borrowing this simple technique from another professional service creates better conversations, better proposals, and better outcomes.

I will walk through exactly how this process plays out step by step in a future issue. For now, the question worth asking is simple.

Thanks for reading, Luke Templin!

P.S. When you’re ready to grow your CAS offerings, here are a few ways I can help:

1. Enroll in the How to Start Offering Advisory Services Course.

2. Join The Kick C@$ Community to grow your CAS offering alongside others doing the same.

3. Use FinDaily.io to deliver automated, white-labeled financial digests to your CAS clients.