Fixed fee billing can create better incentives for accounting firms, better client experiences, and more sustainable profitability. But it only works if you know your costs, understand the effort required, run thoughtful fee reviews, and keep tracking time.

In this episode, Max and Brooks talk through why hourly billing can punish efficiency, how automation changes the pricing conversation, how to calculate a baseline fixed fee, and why time tracking is still essential even when clients are not billed by the hour.

Chapters:

00:00 Why fixed fee matters

01:55 Better incentives for firms and clients

03:52 Automation makes hourly billing risky

05:25 Fixed fee vs. value-based billing

06:31 Managing fixed fee work in Karbon

07:07 Know your internal cost

10:55 Use a short first engagement

13:28 Run better fee reviews

15:09 Improve process or raise rates

18:57 Explain the price increase

20:04 Pricing takes math and people skills

22:26 When to lower a fee

24:51 The danger of autopilot price increases

27:15 Clients buy peace of mind

29:05 Efficiency creates capacity

31:15 Keep tracking time

33:04 Time data is firm intelligence

34:02 Closing thoughts

Karbon's April 27 release is one of the biggest in recent memory — long-requested features like customizable timesheet periods, engagements that finally create work for you, and a Gusto integration that handles shifting payroll dates. Max and Brooks Wheatley walk through every change, what's actually useful, and where the gotchas still are.

This is the Karbon Release Party — a recurring segment on The Working Theory Podcast where two Karbon implementation consultants break down each Karbon release from a practitioner perspective. Between them, Max and Brooks have helped hundreds of firms get more out of Karbon.

00:00 Intro

00:53 Aider integration goes live

02:46 Engagements can now create work items

06:42 Gusto integration — payroll work items that handle shifting dates

09:50 Karbon API updates: time entries endpoint + self-service keys

12:20 E-signature expiration extensions (no more restarting)

13:50 Suspicious email warnings

15:29 Exact email send timestamps

16:30 Filing deadlines on repeat work

17:09 Customizable timesheet periods (finally)

19:56 Edit time entries directly in draft invoices

21:41 Wrap-up

• Engagements create work — sign an engagement and Karbon generates the work items, with better control than Ignition or GoProposal. Still in open beta, but shipping fast.
• Gusto integration reads upcoming payroll dates and adjusts your next work item's due date — solving holiday-shifted paydays breaking your schedule.
• Customizable timesheet periods — change Karbon from Monday–Sunday to Sunday–Saturday, 1st–15th, monthly, or multi-week. Found under Settings → Workflow.
• Self-service API keys in Connected Apps. No more waiting on the Karbon team to activate.
• In-invoice time entry edits — fix mis-coded entries without leaving the invoice.

The Working Theory Podcast is for accounting firms that are already on Karbon and want to actually optimize how they use it. Optimization, not onboarding. Hosted by Max (Navica Consulting) and Brooks Wheatley (Framework Solutions) — two Karbon implementation consultants who spent years inside accounting firms before going independent.

🎧 New episodes on YouTube and Spotify

Max — Navica Consulting

Brooks — Framework Solutions

#Karbon #AccountingTech #PracticeManagement #AccountingFirms #KarbonHQ #AccountingPodcast #FirmOperations #AccountingWorkflow

The conversation covers the new release from Karbon, focusing on the introduction of a rich text editor, email formatting improvements, and firm-wide email settings and features. The discussion provides insights into the practical benefits of these updates and their impact on daily workflows.

Takeaways

• Rich text editor
• Email formatting
• Firm-wide email settings

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to New Karbon Release
• 09:08 Firm-Wide Email Settings and Features

In this episode, Max and Brooks discuss the process of handling prepaid fees in Karbon, focusing on creating prepayment invoices, adjusting revenue in QuickBooks Online, and the pros and cons of the prepayment process. They emphasize the importance of clear audit trails and proper revenue recognition when taking prepayments.

Takeaways

• Prepaid fees are commonly used in accounting firms for services like tax returns and financial statements.
• Taking prepayments in Karbon involves creating invoices and adjusting revenue in QuickBooks Online.
• The process of taking prepayments adds complexity but provides a clear audit trail and ensures proper revenue recognition.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Prepaid Fees in Karbon
• 10:19 Adjusting Revenue in QuickBooks Online

The conversation covers Karbon's latest release, including updates to Karbon AI, document navigation, triage and work enhancements, engagements, Xero sync improvements, and new integrations. The release introduces significant improvements such as the ability to reassign time entries while invoicing and download signed engagements as PDFs.

Takeaways

• Karbon's latest release includes updates to Karbon AI, document navigation, and triage and work.
• The ability to reassign time entries while invoicing and download signed engagements as PDFs are significant improvements.

Chapters

• 00:00 New Integrations and Conclusion

The conversation covers the specific approach to handling prepaid payments in Karbon, including the creation of standalone work items, syncing with QuickBooks Online, sending and applying invoices, handling credit memos and invoices in QBO, tracking revenue and reporting, and the pros and cons of the approach. The conclusion introduces alternative approaches to handling prepayments in Karbon.

Takeaways

• Prepaid payments in Karbon require a specific approach
• Handling prepayments in Karbon involves syncing with QuickBooks Online

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Prepaid Payments in Karbon
• 06:08 Syncing with QuickBooks Online
• 13:10 Tracking Revenue and Reporting