Payroll Is Not a Loss Leader: How to Turn Payroll Into a Profit Centre with guest speaker Rachel Harris

There's a tired story in our profession: that payroll is a loss leader, something firms lose money on and only offer to keep clients happy. It has become such accepted wisdom that many firms price payroll to lose before they have even started.

In this practical session, accountant and firm owner Rachel Harris makes the case that payroll, priced and positioned properly, is one of the most profitable, sticky and relationship-rich services a firm can offer. Rachel scaled her own chartered practice to seven figures and has spent years helping firms rethink how they package, price and talk about their work.

You will leave knowing exactly how to build margin into your payroll pricing from the start, what you are quietly giving away for free, the upsell opportunities sitting inside every payroll client, and how to use payroll as the most frequent and trusted touchpoint you have.

What you will take away

• Why the loss leader mindset is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and what it is really costing your firm
• How to understand your true cost to serve, so you can price with confidence
• The services firms routinely give away that should be chargeable
• Practical pricing models with profit built in, and how to reprice existing clients without losing them
• The upsell and advisory opportunities sitting inside your payroll base, from auto-enrolment to director remuneration
• How to use payroll to deepen relationships, reduce churn and grow client lifetime value
• Simple actions you can apply the very next working day

Who it's for

Accountants, bookkeepers and firm owners who offer payroll, or are thinking about offering it, and want it to make money rather than just keep clients happy.