Pricing your services
How to set your fees
Sumday’s Pricing + Your Pricing
Sumday is designed with advisors in mind. Most carbon accounting software is expensive, making it out of reach for many companies once software costs and advisor fees are combined.
You can learn more about Sumday’s pricing here.
While Sumday doesn’t set your pricing, here are some considerations to help you estimate fees effectively:
Ensure Profitability
Pricing carbon accounting services is similar to pricing any new accounting or advisory engagement. It depends on the complexity and time involved. Key indicators of complexity include:
- Number of transactions
- Quality of accounting records and available data
- Operating revenue
- Full-time employees (FTEs)
- Industry
Here’s a typical initial scope of work:
- Conduct a baseline emissions assessment aligned with the GHG Protocol.
- Prepare a summary report. Templates and report examples are available in the Sumday Academy and partner toolkit.
Clients often seek additional advisory services after this initial work.
Key Activities to Consider for Pricing
1. Categorising Transactions in the Carbon Ledger
This involves assigning transactions to emissions source categories, similar to general ledger classification. Sumday converts these classifications into carbon equivalents and identifies opportunities for more accurate activity-based calculations.
Pricing Considerations:
- How many transactions need coding?
- Will you categorise line-by-line or bulk-categorise at the account or supplier level?
- Is the purpose to provide internal insights or external reporting? Transparency about methodology can balance cost and accuracy.
2. Collecting and Inputting Activity Data
Replace spend data with activity data where possible (e.g., litres of fuel instead of fuel costs). Sumday allows you to reconcile spend-based data with activity data for improved accuracy.
Pricing Considerations:
- How easy is it to access data (e.g., fuel consumption, electricity usage, travel records)?
- Will assumptions be disclosed for unavailable data? Identify ways to streamline future data collection.
3. Employee Commuting and Remote Work
Sumday simplifies collecting data for Scope 3 emissions related to commuting and remote work.
Pricing Considerations:
- Number of employees
- Work-from-home policies
- Number of offices in scope
4. Downstream Emissions
Quantifying emissions related to goods after they leave your client’s operations may not be part of the first assessment but is increasingly expected.
Pricing Considerations:
- Do freight details and usage data exist?
- Are there sales and freight contracts with emissions-related information?
5. Industry-Specific Needs
Certain industries, like agriculture or finance, require additional guidance or standards for metrics.
Pricing Considerations:
- Are additional days needed to review industry standards?
- Do you have access to key inputs, such as livestock data in agriculture or loan details in finance?
6. Preparing the Report
Smaller clients may only need a two-page summary with findings, data quality disclosures, and recommendations. Larger clients may require more detail, but Sumday’s tools (e.g., working reports, dashboards, and templates) simplify this process.
Pricing Considerations:
- How detailed does the report need to be?
- Will it integrate with broader reports?
Additional Considerations
Support from Sumday’s Accounting Team
Your subscription includes access to our support team for answering questions, navigating grey areas, and providing examples.
Training
Team members can enhance efficiency by completing the practical Introduction to Carbon Accounting course and working through a demo file.
Flexible Pricing Models
Consider structuring fees to encourage client buy-in, such as fixed fees, monthly billing, or a 50/50 split between upfront and report delivery payments.
Iterate and Learn
Pricing will evolve with experience. Start small, refine your processes, and adapt to market needs over time.
Summary
When pricing your services, consider factors like:
- Number of transactions
- Data availability and quality
- Operating revenue
- Industry-specific needs
- Level of report detail
What’s the Worst That Can Happen?
Even if your first engagement isn’t profitable, you’ll learn and improve. The barrier to entering this high-impact area has never been lower, offering significant growth potential for your firm.
Short-Staffed?
Carbon accounting can help attract and retain talent due to its unique and impactful nature. However, if capacity is an issue, consider setting up referral arrangements with specialists. Find advisors in the Sumday Partner Directory.