Loading Rates

What this Key unlocks

One significant bad debt can take a consulting firm down, and three months of losses can bring it to its knees. This Key covers revenue mix, the balance of new and existing clients, preferred supplier status, benefits based pricing, the 12 week forecast and getting paid on time.

Inside Everest, this Key is worked in 90 Day Sprints: one or two levers per sprint, measured, reviewed with peers and locked in before the next cycle. The Loading Rates result page shows the three levers most firms need to pull first.

Questions founders ask about Loading Rates

How often should an IT services firm raise its rates?

At least every eighteen months, and most firms are overdue. Rate cards drift for years because the founder fears the conversation. A written rationale and a published card by grade make the conversation a notification rather than a negotiation.

Do we need a published rate card?

Yes, by grade, with a written rationale, even if you never show it to a client. Without one every engagement is priced from scratch by whoever is quoting that day, and the discounting that follows is invisible until the margin is gone.

How much does discounting cost us?

More than you think, because nobody counts it. Measure discount frequency, average discount and total annual cost. In most 10 to 40 person firms the number is between three and seven points of EBIT, which is the whole difference between a healthy firm and a struggling one.

Who should be allowed to discount?

One named signatory with a hard ceiling, written down. A discount authorisation policy is the cheapest EBIT lever in the Wheel and the one most founders have never written.

What is benefits based pricing?

Pricing the engagement on the value it creates for the client rather than the days it takes. It requires a quantified before and after from real delivery history, which is why Growing IP and Loading Rates are worked together. Firms that make the shift stop losing work on day rate comparisons.

How much of our revenue should be recurring?

A meaningful and growing share. Recurring or committed revenue (managed retainers, support agreements, multi year programs) is re earned once instead of daily, and buyers value it at a premium. Start with the clients who already trust you.

What is the right mix of new and existing clients?

Enough new clients to keep concentration below 30 percent, enough existing work to keep utilisation stable. The 12 week forecast tells you which side is short. Most firms that feel like they need more leads actually need more rate discipline.

How do we reduce financial risk in a consulting firm?

Three months of expenses in reserve, no client above 30 percent of revenue, payment terms enforced from the first invoice, and a 12 week cash forecast reviewed fortnightly. One bad debt or one lost client should hurt, not kill.