Costing and pricing are two important areas of any business. Prices are what pay for costs, therefore practice owners and managers need to understand costs and what drives profitability in their business. This seminar will equip participants with the skills to understand business costs, effectively set pricing for different service levels and set targets to assist with managing the business on a day to day basis.

Also, with 1 October 2010 looming, you should be starting to think about the upcoming increase in the GST rate, and how it is going to impact your business. There is a lot of commentary about the change circulating around in the marketplace and we have pulled together what we see as the most relevant issues to be considered  in the lead up to October 1, 2010. During this session we will cover the key issues and go through a practical checklist to ensure that your business is well prepared for the change.

Learning Objective - Attending this seminar will ensure that you:

• Gain an understanding on the key changes to GST taking place on 1 October 2010 and how this may impact your organisation and your clients
• Explore various costing and pricing methods
• Find the easiest, most practical pricing strategies
• Understand how to set charge out rates and consider pricing strategies that may be relevant for your organisation

Content - Topics covered will include:

• Summary of the up and coming changes to GST
• Coverage of our Checklist which can be used as a guideline to ensure businesses are prepared for the change to GST
• Understanding costs and how they influence pricing decisions
• Pricing for different services and different value propositions
• Breaking down your customer base
• Calculating charge-out rates for your employees

Legal practice has unique challenges and expectations on practitioners and staff. Being lawyers, small practitioners are expected to know the right way to manage staff, often without formal training or understanding of the issues and risks involved.

In the absence of a specialist human resource advisor, practitioners can be at a loss as to how to lead, motivate and manage their employees. Mistakes can be costly in terms of personal grievance claims, and reduced performance, manager down-time, unnecessary staff recruitment, low moraleand absenteeism all affect the bottom line. This can be particularly pronounced in a small practice.