Common Grounds

Firm360
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Common Grounds is the show for accounting firm owners, partners, and operators who want practical strategies for running a better firm — not another news recap or regulatory rundown. Host Emily Maxie sits down with subject-matter experts for short, focused conversations about the work firm leaders actually do on a Monday morning: tax workflow and document management, the numbers worth tracking weekly, hiring and keeping good people, pricing that protects your margin, and the client experience that keeps them coming back. Every episode is built around one idea and one thing you can put to work this week. No hype, no jargon — just the operational moves that add up to a stronger firm. New episodes run 10–15 minutes. Grab a coffee and pull up a chair. Common Grounds is produced by Firm360. Learn more at myfirm360.com.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    Ep 1: Choosing a Pricing Model: Hourly, Fixed, Value, Subscription

    How does a firm change its CPA pricing model? Nathan Eads of Lally Group walks through his firm's version. Nathan Eads is a partner and independent shareholder at Lally Group, an independent full-service accounting firm in Michigan, and has been a partner for 20 years. He and Emily Maxie talk through how Lally moved from billing time at a rate to dividing the year's fees by twelve, and then to subscription plans. New clients get three options, all subscriptions, and even audits are on them. Nathan covers why he talks about value before price, why Lally started many longtime clients on 18-month plans in May or June, where the pushback came from, and how a firm can test the idea with a couple of longtime clients. If you're asking what is the best pricing model, this is one firm's experience. Key takeaways Start small. Add up what you bill a client in a year, divide by twelve, and send the same invoice each month. Nathan says billing now goes out a lot quicker.New clients at Lally get three options, and all are subscriptions. Audits are on subscription plans too.Talk about value before price. For a client coming from another CPA, Nathan starts with their experience with pricing and with their prior firm.For many longtime clients, Lally started 18-month plans in May or June, right after tax season. The price is locked, and there's room to adjust when the client moves back to a 12-month plan.The pushback Nathan remembers came from his own team: realization numbers and "what if we price it wrong." Reps and data settled it.Lally still tracks time, mainly to see whether its services line up with market value.Timestamps 00:00 Meet Nathan Eads and Lally Group 00:31 From hourly to a consistent monthly bill 01:49 How clients reacted 02:48 Three subscription options for new clients, audits included 05:12 Explaining subscription pricing to an hourly-only owner 07:37 The problem it solved and the 18-month plan 11:56 Internal resistance 13:08 Do you still track time? 14:40 Did clients leave over the pricing change? 17:25 Where to start 19:19 What Nathan believes differently now Do this week: Pick one client you've known for years and take them to lunch. Tell them you're thinking about a subscription model and ask what comes to mind. Follow Common Grounds wherever you listen.

  2. Jul 23

    Introducing the Common Grounds Podcast

    Welcome to Common Grounds — the podcast for the people running accounting firms. There are plenty of accounting podcasts that keep you current on a fast-moving industry. Fewer give you something you can actually put to work on a Monday morning. That's the gap this show fills. Host Emily Maxie sits down with firm partners, owners, and operators who've cracked one piece of the puzzle — firm health, work management, or client experience — and asks the questions you'd ask over coffee. What actually worked? What did they try that flopped? What would they tell their younger self? The idea is simple: learn from people who've done it, and walk away with one thing you can use to run a stronger firm. Grab a cup of coffee and pull up a chair. New episodes drop soon — find Common Grounds on your favorite podcast platform.

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About

Common Grounds is the show for accounting firm owners, partners, and operators who want practical strategies for running a better firm — not another news recap or regulatory rundown. Host Emily Maxie sits down with subject-matter experts for short, focused conversations about the work firm leaders actually do on a Monday morning: tax workflow and document management, the numbers worth tracking weekly, hiring and keeping good people, pricing that protects your margin, and the client experience that keeps them coming back. Every episode is built around one idea and one thing you can put to work this week. No hype, no jargon — just the operational moves that add up to a stronger firm. New episodes run 10–15 minutes. Grab a coffee and pull up a chair. Common Grounds is produced by Firm360. Learn more at myfirm360.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Firm360
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Firm360