When it comes time to end your professional relationship with a client, you can find yourself at a loss for words on how to communicate this with them. 

If you’re too easygoing, the client may think you don’t appreciate all the years you worked together. However, if you’re too harsh, it could leave a bitter taste in their mouth. 

Striking the right balance between being firm and understanding as you terminate your client’s contract is never easy, no matter the reason. Luckily, we have some helpful tips you can utilize to write a termination letter that’s both effective and professional.  

This article will walk you through how to write a client termination letter and provide you with a termination letter example you can use in your firm. 

A Letter to Terminate Your Accounting Services with a Client (Free Template)

When you need to end your professional relationship with a client, you can craft a termination letter of your own or refer to the free client termination letter template provided here. 

If you use this sample letter, personalize the details so they correspond with your reason for ending the relationship. 

———————–

[Date]

[Company Name]

[Street Address]

[City], [State] [ZIP Code]

Dear [Client Name],

Over the last [time you’ve been working together, i.e., 2 years], we have worked diligently to provide you with quality service and value your loyalty to our firm. However, we are writing to inform you that we will no longer be able to provide you with bookkeeping services as of [termination date].

We have been forced to make the difficult decision to discontinue our monthly bookkeeping service for all clients. After careful consideration, we have determined that it is no longer feasible to continue providing this service and are focusing on other areas of our practice instead. 

We understand that you will need to seek a new bookkeeper going forward, so we apologize for any inconveniences or disruptions this may cause. 

At the time of this letter, our firm has the following work in progress for [client name] that will be completed by [date]:

  [Description of the work in progress that the firm will still complete for the client]

Outstanding fees in the total amount of [$XXXX] should be made payable to the firm 30 days following the termination date. 

We are required by law to maintain your records for a certain period of time. Please inform us if you would like us to transfer these records to another firm, and we will make those arrangements. 

We kindly request that you respond to this letter to confirm you have received and read it thoroughly. You can reach us at [phone number] or email us at [email address] if you have any further questions. We appreciate your understanding and are committed to making this transition period as smooth as possible.

We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors, and we thank you for the opportunity to have served you. 

Best regards, 

[Your name] 

[Firm’s name]

———————–

Download Your Free Template

Click the link below to download the letter template. Select “File” at the top left-hand corner of the page, select “Download,” and then choose your preferred document format.

• Client Termination Letter Template

BONUS: Simplify Your Accounting Workflows with This Free Resource

If you’re looking for simple workflow templates to stay on top of your projects and tasks for clients, access our collection of 32 customizable accounting workflow templates and checklists. This free resource includes a ton of the most popular accounting templates including monthly bookkeeping, weekly accounting analysis, client onboarding procedures, and common tax return forms.

4 Key Elements to Ensure Your Termination Letter Is Received Well by the Client

No matter your reasons for doing so, informing clients you will no longer work together is never easy for either party. 

Therefore, how you write the termination letter can largely determine how your client responds to this transition. To effectively handle this communication, incorporate the following elements into your termination letter. 

Give Ample Notice

Provide your clients with enough notice before terminating the business arrangement. You’ll need to give them enough time to find another provider. Sending the termination letter out last minute not only comes off as inconsiderate to the client but can also make you look unprofessional.  

Once you’ve made the decision to no longer work with a client, you should inform them as soon as possible. 

If you give your client a few months’ notice that you will be terminating the contract, they should have plenty of time to make different arrangements for their accounting services. 

Be Professional and Respectful

Maintain a professional and respectful tone throughout your termination letter, even if there was a negative reason for ending the relationship. 

You will help maintain your firm’s professional reputation despite dealing with something complicated and challenging. If appropriate, you can even thank the client for all the time they’ve worked with you and share how much you have appreciated their loyalty. 

Understand the client may have frustrations about their contract ending, so be sure to reflect this sentiment in your termination letter without focusing too much on the negative.  

“We understand that this period of transition may be difficult for everyone. We’ve appreciated your loyalty to our firm for the past 8 years, and we don’t make this decision lightly.”

Provide a Reason Why

You should also include your reasoning for canceling the business contract or engagement with the client. If possible, avoid being harsh with the client, even if they’re the bad actor. 

Don’t make your clients guess why you’ve ended their contract. Whatever the cause, be direct with your message. Being too vague may only confuse the client or lead them to use their imagination to figure out the reason. 

“We will no longer be able to provide you with our monthly bookkeeping services effective [date]. We are pivoting the direction of our firm and discontinuing this service for all existing clients.”

Summarize the Next Steps

To finish your letter, detail any of your firm’s outstanding obligations or payments that need to be fulfilled by the client before ending the relationship. Make these details extremely clear so there is no confusion across the board.

Be sure to inform them how long you will retain their documents and information for recordkeeping purposes and how they can transfer those records to a new firm when necessary. 

Lastly, request confirmation from the client that they’ve received the letter and understand its contents. Include your contact information should they have further questions about the letter and the next steps.  

“Your final invoice will be due 15 days following the termination date of service, [date]. If you have any additional questions about the contents of this letter, you can reach us at [phone number] or email us at [email address].”

You’ve been writing and posting blogs to your accounting firm’s website for months, maybe even years, seemingly to no avail. While you had big goals for your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, you haven’t had a massive influx of traffic to your website—or a significant number of prospective new clients, either. 

At this point, you may start to give up on SEO altogether. 

However, SEO is about more than just blog writing and keyword optimization. You don’t have to be an expert to implement helpful strategies, boost your SEO, and start showing up on the first page of search results. 

The following list reveals some of the top techniques your accounting firm can employ to help you rank higher in search results and attract more clients. 

1. Set Up Your Google Business Profile

When you run a business with a physical presence like a CPA firm, setting up a Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) is essential. It can help you get more local search volume and gain visibility in the search engine. 

This platform is a free way to list your business on Google Search and Google Maps. It also allows you to provide practical information for your clients like photos of your business, business hours, contact information, client reviews, and more. 

A Google Business Profile allows searchers to find your firm when they need accounting services in your area. 

For instance, if your firm has properly set up its Google Business Profile and someone looks up the phrase “accountant in [your city],” the search engine can more easily provide your firm’s information when it matches the relevant keyword searches. 

Here are the steps you can take to set up your Google Business Profile:  

• Step 1: Log in to the Google Business Profile Manager with your usual Google credentials, or create a new Google account if you don’t already have one.

• Step 2: Enter your business name in the search bar, click “Add your business to Google,” and enter your firm’s appropriate business type and category.

• Step 3: Enter the area where you serve clients and the region where you’re based. 

• Step 4: Fill in your firm’s contact information, such as the phone number and website details, so new clients can reach you. 

• Step 5: Verify your business by entering your mailing location (not a PO Box) and selecting one of the methods they provide for verification purposes.

• Step 6: Once you’ve verified your business with the 5-digit code they provide, you can customize your profile with a business description, business hours, messaging preferences, and other details.

2. Set Up Your Yelp Page

Creating a Yelp page is another way for accounting firms to boost their SEO strategy.  

Yelp is a popular local business directory that people use to discover everything from restaurants to hairdressers—and accountants—in their area. 

Like creating a Google Business Profile, creating a Yelp listing allows you to share important information about your business with potential clients. Plus, it can benefit your business through off-page SEO as well. 

Yelp’s SEO success is due to its high domain authority, meaning it consistently ranks high in search engines for millions of keywords. Therefore, having your firm listed on Yelp can help you leverage this traffic.

Here are the steps to set up a Yelp page for your accounting firm: 

• Step 1: Visit Yelp for Business to create your business account. 

• Step 2: Look up your business. Yelp may have automatically generated a profile based on reviews clients have previously submitted for your firm, so you’ll want to check this first to avoid any issues.

• Step 3: If a profile already exists for your firm, it should be listed as “Unclaimed.” Select “Claim this business” to go through the verification process instead of creating a new profile from scratch.

• Step 4: Once you’ve created your account and verified you don’t already have a profile created, you’ll get a prompt to add in your firm’s name, zip code, business category, phone number, website, street address, and other details.

• Step 5: You’ll be given a few different ways to verify your business profile, including via email, text, or phone call. Upon successful verification, your profile will be made public.

• Step 6: Customize your profile with photos of your business, business hours, services you offer, and other information pertinent to potential clients.

3. Create Blog Content around the Questions You Hear Again and Again from Clients

Your first inclination may be to read a guide on keyword research to optimize your SEO and load up a keyword research tool. However, this is a mistake. 

Rather than focusing on becoming an SEO pro, simply use your blog as a resource where you can answer the questions your firm frequently gets asked. 

Ponder some of the questions you repeatedly hear on sales calls or conversations with existing clients, like:

• How do I prepare a pest control business for tax season?
• What business expenses can I deduct?
• When should I pay estimated taxes?
• Should I set up a trust?
• Should I change my tax withholding?
• How much should I contribute to my 401(k)?

You can use these questions to inspire high-quality content for your blog that is valuable and relevant to your audience. The goal is to leverage organic search results for these common questions and drive more traffic to your site. 

Pro tip: Aim to make each blog post at least 1,000 words, as that gives it a better chance at ranking on Google. They don’t tend to rank short blog articles very often.

4. Create Good Meta Titles

A meta title, or title tag, is an important on-page SEO factor search engines consider. It’s the text displayed on search engine results pages and browser tabs and refers to the webpage content. 

For the best results, you’ll need to adhere to the character limit of meta titles, which is 60 characters. You can look at the top pages that rank for the relevant keywords you’re targeting and write something unique to attract more clicks to your pages. 

If your meta title is too similar to what’s already ranking, it’s less likely someone will click on your result. The goal here is to try to stand out from the existing content that’s out there.

Pro tip: Look at meta titles for ads to get some inspiration. Advertisers likely test different headlines and use the one that performs the best.

5. Create Geo-Targeted Pages for Your Services

Google likes to show people local results based on their location anytime they’re looking up a particular service. 

If someone in Atlanta is searching for “bookkeeping services for a law firm,” Google will show results in the area rather than in another location, like Miami. 

Besides creating a Google Business Profile and Yelp page for these reasons, you can also construct geo-specific pages to try to rank for these local service terms too. 

For example, you can create a service page targeting the phrase “bookkeeper for law firms in Atlanta, GA.” You optimize this page by using these keywords in the H1 (Header 1) paragraph and the meta title. You’ll also want to include a few sections within this page using H2 (Header 2) style tags that mention the city. Here are some examples:  

• Atlanta’s Top Bookkeeping Service for Law Firms
• Serving Law Firms in Atlanta since 2010
• Leading Bookkeeping Services for Law Firms in Atlanta
• Established Bookkeeping Services for Atlanta Law Firms

6. Get Links from Other Sites

One of the most important signals Google uses to rank sites is backlinks from other sites. 

Backlinks are particularly beneficial when you’re trying to rank for keywords with a lot of competition. In general, having a significant amount of backlinks to your site shows Google you are a trustworthy authority in the market, and their algorithm can rank you accordingly. 

Your site will naturally pick up backlinks from other sites over time as you post quality content, but there are other things you can do to actively build backlinks: 

• Write a guest post for another website.

• Be a guest on a podcast (make sure they have a site where they create a new page or article for each guest that appears on the show).

• Ask partner firms or friends to link to your services on their site, showing you as a trusted partner.

• Create a roundup article ranking industry-relevant sites or publications. Then, reach out to them, mentioning you featured them on the list. A few will naturally share they were featured on their site, resulting in a backlink for you. 

7. Create Internal Links from Content to Your Most Important Pages

Internal links are hyperlinks that lead back to content on the same domain from where the link is published (i.e., you link to a page on your own site). 

To utilize this strategy for your site, find the pages with the most backlinks pointed to them from other sites. Next, make an internal link from those pages to your most important pages, like the geo-targeted pages mentioned above. 

You can use Ahrefs’ free Webmaster Tools to help you figure out which of your pages have the most backlinks for your accounting website. 

Utilizing internal linking can help pass authority from your highly-trafficked pages to other pages on your site. It shows Google that the linked page is relevant and valuable to site visitors. 

The anchor text you select for the internal link is also an important ranking factor. Try to use the main keyword for the target page as the anchor text whenever possible. 

8. Set Up Social Media Accounts

Google wants to see trust signals from your firm to know you’re a real business and, as a result, can rank you higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). 

With this in mind, creating social media profiles is something real businesses do that helps you engage with your clients and look more reliable and trustworthy to Google. 

Even if you’re not planning on being super active with your social media accounts, it is still a good idea to create them for SEO purposes. 

Pro tip: At a minimum, you should create a LinkedIn and Facebook profile for your accounting firm.

9. Make Sure Your Site Passes Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are factors Google deems important to the overall user experience (UX) of your webpage. They are part of the criteria used to score the UX of your site, and they contribute to how Google ranks you on SERPs overall. 

These factors consist of three different measurements relating to page speed and user interaction: largest contentful paint, first input delay, and cumulative layout shift. While these terms sound quite technical, you can use this free tool to assess whether you’re passing or failing Google’s Core Web Vitals score for both desktop and mobile devices. 

If you’re failing, you should send the link to your website developer so they can help address some of the issues.

10. Make Sure Your Site Is Fast

You can test how fast your site loading is with the same free tool mentioned above; it’s another crucial SEO factor to consider. A slow-loading website could negatively affect how Google’s algorithm ranks your site against your competitors. 

Once you enter your site’s URL, scroll down to the “Diagnose Performance Issues” area. Here you’ll find your site scored from 0–100 on overall performance. 

You want to make sure you’re scoring at least in the yellow section for both mobile and desktop, and you’re in great shape if you score in the green. 

If your site score is in the red section or even on the lower end of the yellow section, speak with your web developer to see if they can implement some of the recommendations provided under “Opportunities and Diagnostics.”

BONUS: Stay Organized and Efficient with This Free Resource

Looking for simple and effective workflow templates to manage your accounting projects and tasks for clients? Our collection of 32 customizable accounting workflow templates and checklists is used by thousands of firms. This free resource features some of the most popular accounting templates, such as monthly bookkeeping, weekly accounting analysis, client onboarding procedures, and common tax return forms.

Are you dreading the moment you have to break the news about an increase in your service fees to your clients? 

It can be an uncomfortable conversation, even when you know the price increase is for their benefit. Especially for your longstanding clients, you don’t want to offend anyone or make them feel you take their loyalty for granted.

When it’s time to increase your service fees, how you communicate with your clients can make all the difference between whether they feel resentful or understanding about the transition. 

Fortunately, there’s a way to craft a price increase notice that is respectful and straightforward, one which clearly lays out your new fee structure and the reason for raising your rates. 

This article will help you discover how to communicate your higher rates with clients and includes a sample price increase letter you can use to notify them. 

How to Determine a Reasonable Fee Increase for Your Services

There are many reasons why an accounting firm would raise its rates. It’s often an inevitable step most firms need to take at some point to remain competitive and profitable. 

Here are a few reasons why your accounting firm may decide it’s time to raise its fees: 

• You’re introducing new services or yearly packages.
• You’re hiring more contractors to share the client workload.
• You’re facing rising overhead costs.
• You realize you’ve been undercharging for your services.
• You want to offer a higher quality of service to select clients.

These are all justifiable reasons for raising rates, but the amount of the fee increase will depend on your reasons for doing so and, therefore, impact how you’ll explain it to your firm’s clients. 

A great starting point is to assess your current fees and compare them against industry standards. Other components to factor in include the cost of living, market rates, inflation, technology changes, and the level of service you provide. 

For instance, you may decide on a 3–5% annual fee increase to keep up with inflation and the overall market. Or, say you charge $470 for a tax preparation service, but you find competitors in your area all charge $500–$650 for the same service. This discrepancy may signal you’re undercharging, and you can decide to bump up your pricing accordingly. 

No matter what fee increase you settle on internally, it’s essential to communicate the increase transparently to your clients and provide them with a clear reason why. Doing so allows you to manage your clients’ expectations and maintain trust in your relationship. 

Free Template: Accounting Fee Increase Letter 

When you’re ready to write your fee increase letter, you can either craft one on your own or use the free template provided here. Remember, you’ll need to customize the letter to detail your firm’s unique reasoning for increasing your rates. 

[Date]

[Company Name]

[Street Address]

[City], [State] [ZIP Code]

Dear [Client name],

First, we want to thank you for your continued loyalty and trust in our firm. You’ve trusted us with your business for [how long they’ve been a customer], and we plan to keep proving our value to you every year.

We are writing to inform you that effective [date], we are implementing a fee increase from [current rate] to [raised rate] for all clients due to [reason for increase]. 

As you know, we take pride in offering competitive rates while still maintaining the high level of expertise and care that you have come to expect from us. We understand that a price increase is never easy news to get, but we wanted to take a moment to explain the reasoning behind this decision. 

Over the past year, our overhead costs have increased by 14%. These costs include software and technology upgrades, office space rental, and the continued investment in ongoing education and training for our team. While we have absorbed these additional costs thus far, we have reached a point where we must make this adjustment to continue providing you with the level of service you deserve. 

Please know that we are committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for you. We value your business and appreciate your feedback, so if you have any questions or concerns regarding the fee increase, do not hesitate to reach out to us at [phone number] or [email address]. 

Again, thank you for your continued partnership with us. 

Best regards, 

[Your name] 

[Firm’s name]

Download Your Free Template

Click the link below to download the letter template. Select “File” at the top left-hand corner of the page, select “Download,” and then choose your preferred document format.

• Accounting Fee Increase Letter Template 

BONUS: Simplify Your Accounting Workflows with This Free Resource

If you’re looking for simple workflow templates to stay on top of your projects and tasks for clients, access our collection of 32 customizable accounting workflow templates and checklists.

This free resource includes a ton of the most popular accounting templates including monthly bookkeeping, weekly accounting analysis, client onboarding procedures, and common tax return forms.

4 Key Elements to Ensure Your Price Increase Is Well Received by Clients

Letting clients know your fees are increasing can lead to challenging conversations. As you can imagine, it’s never easy to learn that an essential service your business relies on is becoming more expensive. 

You’ll want to handle this communication thoughtfully to avoid any backlash from your loyal clients, or worse, lose their business. Whether you write the rate increase letter yourself or use the template above, be sure you include the following elements. 

1. Express Appreciation

Always include appreciation for your clients while maintaining a professional tone. Clients will feel valued from the start, and it demonstrates that you’re still dedicated to their satisfaction. 

Expressing appreciation to your clients is vital throughout your relationship, but especially when you are asking something of them—like a price increase. It helps your firm come off as thankful and gracious. 

Start your letter with a positive tone. You can even lay out specific instances where their business has been meaningful to your firm. 

“We appreciate all the years you’ve been in business with us and even recognize you were one of our first 100 clients!”

2. Give Enough Notice

You need to provide your clients with ample notice before the price increase goes into effect. Springing the price increase on your clients with short notice could harm your relationships and reputation as a business owner. 

In many cases, it’s appropriate to inform your clients of your raised rates as soon as you decide internally, typically a few months before the higher price point begins. 

This notice can help mitigate any client frustration upon receiving the letter. In turn, it gives them enough time to accommodate the increase in their budget or reassess their options if they’re already facing budget constraints and unable to afford the higher rate. 

3. Be Clear

Offer a detailed explanation about how much your fees are increasing, when the change is going into effect, the reason behind the increase, and any other significant information you find pertinent. This clarity allows you to share your expectations while showing your clients what’s in it for them. 

If your clients feel left in the dark, misled, or uninformed about the fee change and why you’re raising your rates, you could damage those relationships and maybe even your professional standing. 

However, you also don’t want to sound regretful or unsure of the price increase, which clients may see as insincere. Avoid saying, “We regret to inform you that we are increasing our fees,” and focus on the positives instead. 

When you provide a clear explanation for your clients, you can help avoid friction down the line and help them better understand your reasoning for raising your rates. 

“Starting at the beginning of the fiscal year, we will raise our fees from an hourly rate of $55/hr to $65/hr. In addition to investing in the latest technology to enhance our services, this fee increase will enable us to expand our team of experts and introduce new service offerings like tax planning and special advisory services.”

4. Welcome Further Questions

Once you’ve included all the above elements in your letter, be willing to accommodate questions to ensure your clients fully understand the pending fee changes. You can do this by providing them with contact details and information about when and where they can reach you for further discussion. 

“We understand you may have additional questions about how this fee increase will impact you after receiving this letter, so please don’t hesitate to reach out at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or [email].”

Need Help Managing Your Accounting Workflows?

If you’re raising your rates, that likely means your bookkeeping or accounting firm is growing too, and needs help tracking your team’s assignments and deadlines. Jetpack Workflow may be the ideal solution for you. 

With a user-friendly interface, automated accounting tasks, and workflow management features, Jetpack Workflow can significantly enhance the efficiency of managing your team’s workload and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. 

Take advantage of our 14-day free trial and join the thousands of other bookkeepers who have streamlined their project management and accounting processes with Jetpack Workflow.