We all know how difficult it is to ask for more.  And as the eponymous young Oliver Twist proves in the second novel by Charles Dickens, the person being asked, who is fat and well fed, is not always too pleased by the request, albeit from a starving waif.

Now we are no longer in Victorian times, austere as they may now seem or be about to become, but asking for more money it is still one of the most difficult parts of running a small business.  This is made more difficult when you have a regular client for whom you enjoy working, with whom you have a good relationship with and to whom, as you have been told on many occasions, you have become "indispensable".  Until, that is, the thorny subject of your hourly fee is raised. 

The problem is that there really is no easy way to ask for more money unless you have set the scene from day one and made it perfectly clear that you expect to have your fee reviewed annually and on, as they say in rent agreements, an upwards only basis.  Right from the very beginning you need to have in place a contract that states that you will have an Annual Review at which you will discuss the work carried out to date, any further work that might be required in the year ahead, any changes in circumstances (for your annual MLR due diligence) and of course your fees.

Accountants seem to be very good at this.  They publish somewhere what their hourly rates are and then leave it up to the client to find the information and complain if they realise that the fees have suddenly gone through the roof. 

Do you need to mention the hourly rate once you have begun to work for the client?  List on your invoice the areas of work that you have completed and give an overall figure.  If the figure comes up for discussion and your client feels that it is too much you can then at least reduce the number of hours worked to achieve the old charge thus, in effect, upping your hourly rate.  Not the best way of doing things but worth a try.

Another important point is to ensure that you get into the habit of raising the fees every year, at very least by the cost of living.  You have the accounts so should be able to position yourself before broaching the subject.  "You've done really well to ride the recession", "what a lovely new car", etc  If you don't, when you finally do pluck up the courage to ask in year three they will be more offended.

Of course you may see that the figures reflect times that are not so good.  But you're not a charity.  It might in these circumstances be worth approaching things slightly differently:  "I can see that things are tight at the moment.  Obviously I need to raise my fees slightly to all my clients because my bills aren't getting any smaller either.  Do you think I could leave more of the work to you to complete so that I do not need to spend more time on them?"

The main thing is to be positive.  You might be able to do the "really sorry but........." approach but this is not as good as discussing fees in a professional manner and expecting a rise because you are entitled to it.  One member told us that she said to her client, "I am afraid that after March I shall only be saving you £135.00 per hour on your accountancy fees", knowing full well what the accountant was charging.