Still Billing by the Hour? It’s Why You Can’t Scale - With Debra Kilsheimer

CFO Chronicles: The Secrets Behind Success

CFO Chronicles: The Secrets Behind Success
Still Billing by the Hour? It’s Why You Can’t Scale - With Debra Kilsheimer
Nov 13, 2025 Season 4 Episode 62
James Donovan

Most accountants are losing business and don’t even realize it.

In this episode, we break down the 3 silent killers that are costing firms revenue, retention, and referrals, starting with outdated pricing models and ending with what your clients actually care about (hint: it’s not your reconciliations).

Debra Kilsheimer joins to share what actually drives client loyalty, why she ditched hourly billing decades ago, and how she built her firm "Behind the Scenes Accounting" that runs on relationships, not reports.

You’ll learn:

  • The 3 questions that close high-value clients fast
  • Why your financial reports are being ignored
  • The hidden price of sticking to “industry best practices”
  • How small touches (like a handwritten note or birthday call) get remembered longer than your year-end package

📲 Want to connect with Debra? Reach out on LinkedIn or email her at debra@bsfaccounting.com.

This one will have you rethinking everything from pricing to client retention. Hit play now.

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This episode is brought to you by Bill.com

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Episode Artwork Still Billing by the Hour? It’s Why You Can’t Scale - With Debra Kilsheimer 42:19 Episode Artwork Get a Flood of Inbound Leads with Zero Cold Outreach 59:11 Episode Artwork AI Won’t Kill Your Firm, But This Mistake Will - With Justin White 32:27 Episode Artwork The $3M IRS Fix You’ll Never Hear About on TikTok - With Brandon Adjei 33:11 Episode Artwork Everyone Wants to Be a CFO. Here’s Why Most Will Never Make It - With Kevin Appleby 32:05 Episode Artwork You’re Not a Real CFO (Yet): Why Most Firms Never Land High-Value Clients - With Brett Frevert 31:41 Episode Artwork The Tax Strategy Rich People Use (But Never Talk About) - With Daniel Lake 39:32 Episode Artwork Most Accountants Are Giving Away Their Most Valuable Work - With Jackie Meyer 25:57 Episode Artwork Stop Building a Business That Steals Your Freedom - Jaime Rodriguez 30:59 Episode Artwork AI Isn’t the Future of Accounting, It’s Already Killing Off the Old Way - With Daniel Moshe 34:25 Episode Artwork Why Profit Isn’t Enough And What Most Founders Get Dead Wrong - With Daniel Dickeson 41:37 Episode Artwork The One CFO Skill That Can Save (or Kill) Your Business - With Jack Weinstein 36:56 Episode Artwork The Productivity Gap You Can’t See (Until It’s Too Late) - With Rhamy Alejeal 42:50 Episode Artwork The Mistake That Nearly Bankrupted Him (And Is Quietly Killing Most Businesses) - With Mike Milan 33:38 Episode Artwork He’s Interviewed Hundreds of Accounting Leaders - This Is What They All Miss 35:01 Episode Artwork He Spotted a $500K Payroll Leak. The Owner Had No Idea. 34:09 Episode Artwork Burnt Out, Understaffed, and Scaling Anyway? Sharrin Fuller Has a System for That 30:41 Episode Artwork Founders, You’re Leaking Profit, Here’s Where It’s Going - With Tom Schultz 26:23 Episode Artwork This Firm Ditched the Office and Doubled Team Retention - Rachel Phillips 25:07 Episode Artwork Your Next Client is Literally Searching for You, But You’re Invisible - With Jeremy Estey 28:29 Episode Artwork Your Firm Is Growing, But Not Scaling. Here’s Why - With Michael Straza 31:21 Episode Artwork 2,600 CFOs. 1 Global Community. What Jack McCullough Learned from Leading Them All 30:00 Episode Artwork From 4.5 Years in Prison to a 7-Figure Multi-State Firm - With Patience Jackson Rose 36:40 Episode Artwork Why 97% of Fractional CFOs Fail to Hit 7-Figures (Mark Gandy’s No-Nonsense Playbook) 28:52 Episode Artwork From Layoff to FBI Whistleblower: The Wild Path to Success - with Andrew Jordan 27:04