UPDATE!Accountants: salary for Manager w/ 2 years experience

amother

Sat, Jun 05 2021, 11:03 pm

amother [ Jade ] wrote:

I think your underpaid by a lot.
Unless you really like your job I wouldn’t negotiate. I’d just move on. .

So the problem is that I DO like my job, though I have had some stress lately due to our company's growth and figuring out the right balance of employees, which has put some extra work on my plate. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel in that sense, so I wouldn't just turn my back on my job so quickly.

I'm looking for some harder figures that make sense for me to negotiate for, and if my boss cuts that number down by a lot, I may just move on.

Is there anyone in a similar position that can chime in what a fair salary to negotiate for would be?

amother

Ivory

Sat, Jun 05 2021, 11:21 pm

I think 70k is a reasonable amount for 2 years experience. That's about what you'd be making in a bigger public accounting firm. Most people aren't working in management after 2 years so it's hard to really say what your value is. A manager would definitely be making 6 figures but that's after 5+ years and a CPA.
You can try and negotiate more at your work but companies that underpay don't tend to change. If you do negotiate a higher salary you need to continue to do so as your job changes. Do not take on additional work and responsibility without an agreed upon salary increase. If they get another nursing home or real estate company you should be getting a piece of that if it's increasing your work load.

amother

Impatiens

Sat, Jun 05 2021, 11:31 pm

I am in this industry and live in the tristate area and 70k is fair for two years of experience especially if you arnt working 40 hours a week (not sure if “nearly full time” means almost 40 hours or closer to 30 hours). It doesn’t really matter what your title is honestly. That said, if you feel that you have a huge level of responsibility given the growth in your company you can use that as a way to ask your boss for more money.

amother

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 12:25 pm

amother [ Impatiens ] wrote:

Thank you for your response - I work about 35 hours a week. Trying to formulate a good argument that will actually convince them to raise me by about $20k/year... Has anyone had success in jumping salary levels so quickly?

Amarante

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 1:55 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Are you working 35 because that is normal company hours or because you have negotiated different hours.

In NYC standard hours differ as I have worked in companies which have a 35 hour work week; 37.5 hour work week and a 40 hour work week. Forty hours is accepted as "normal" because it is the weekly hours when overtime kicks in for non-salaried employees just as 8 hours in many places is the time when overtime kicks in. And a 35/37.5 or 40 hour work week is really just for administrative/lower level staff as management and professionals and other salaried employees are expected to work however long it takes to do the job - assuming of course that the job responsibilities are reasonable.

Of course a salaried employee is not generally expected to be a clock watcher as you are paid a salary to get the job done even if that means working more than 40 hours. Generally that also means that you have flexible hours to some extent so you aren't penalized if you go to the dentist during the day because you are paid to do the job.

If you have negotiated a working schedule that is less than what is standard then you might want to step back and think about whether you are willing to give up shorter hours. In my experience, higher salaries with higher levels of responsibility also mean that one is expected to work longer hours. You would still have some flexibility but you would not be able to walk out the door when your theoretical hours are over nor would you be able to not work after 35 hours if you had projects that needed to be done.

amother

Jetblack

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 3:42 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

A job offer in-hand offering you 20K more than you earn working for him.

Failing that - the fact that you are working at the level that you are frees up more experienced people to take on more complicated/higher fees clients.

If the 'recovery' on the fees he's charging on your files is way higher than that of the other projects, you are underpaid.

amother

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 6:42 pm

Amarante wrote:

The firm considers 35+ to be full time. I originally worked a few hours less than that, which meant I was a part-time worker. I then upped my hours to 32 a week for a nominal raise (because the volume of work I was given could not be completed within the amount of hours I officially worked). Now that Fridays are longer, I generally work longer hours, which brings me up to 35.
When there are projects that need completing, I work for hours at night (which my boss says is not expected, but for which I receive no overtime compensation either...) So I definitely understand and live the life of a salaried worker at a higher than entry-level position.

amother

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 6:47 pm

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

Haha good point. I just don't feel comfortable job hunting to the point of getting offers when I am not yet fully considering a job switch.

My work definitely frees up my boss from a lot, and he is even talking about having me and another manager really step up our game so he can primarily focus on marketing and getting new clients. But even now, I have relieved him of the day-to-day of many clients, as I am the one that the others seek out with any questions they may have (both on the clients I manage that they do work for, or with general accounting or software questions).

He is making more than 2x profit on each client I work on (the nature of our work is that I see exactly how much our clients pay per month Wink

)

amother

Jetblack

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 6:54 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

)

I would expect as a manager you know what you are billing your clients for the services provided.

What does 2x profit mean?

Its very "normal" for service company to charge a client 3x what they are paying a person to perform the work.

If it would cost him much more than he pays you to replace you - then you are underpaid.

What does it mean for you to "step up your game" at this point? If he is asking you to do more work - you should ask for more pay.

amother

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 8:20 pm

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

We are basically charging 3x more than what I am paid. The business model is to make 2-2.5x an employee's salary, with the expectation that the profit on management-level employees is less, as we are stretched across far more clients and (theoretically) earning a higher salary.
I can very easily calculate what I "should be" earning based on what I was told. I just don't know if that would be very professional to use as a reason for a raise.

I can't really guess what it would take to replace me, as my role is very unique. I think it would be difficult to find someone with my limited years of experience who could manage multiple complex clients.

Stepping up would mean taking on more high-level work and offloading some lower level work in order to take that work on, but it would obviously entail continuing management of those accounts. So I guess it would mean some more work at the end of the day.

amother

Jetblack

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 8:31 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Your role isn't unique. You are unique that you are able perform in your role as well as you do with only 2 years of experience under your belt... and you shouldn't be penalized financially for that.

Seems to me that using you understanding of the business model to your advantage is professional.

amother

Sun, Jun 06 2021, 8:52 pm

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

Good point - it's not my role that is unique, it's my personal growth into that role that is.
I guess it is worth a try to bring that point up, as well as my knowledge of the business model and the clear indication that I am being underpaid solely based on the profitability factor.

Now the question is how to approach my boss. After my year end review, I was told that we would discuss raises in June (as my initial raise was given last June). Somehow I get the feeling that it will be up to me to broach the subject.

Any advice?

Thank you for all of your good advice so far!