Guide · July 11, 2026

A pricing diagnostic for a services business

A diagnostic for services pricing: measuring realised margin per engagement, separating scope creep from underpricing, and sequencing changes so revenue does not stall during the transition.

By Marsden Advisory· Updated September 17, 2026
Two-by-two positioning matrix with competitors plotted and one position highlighted
Two-by-two positioning matrix with competitors plotted and one position highlighted

Almost every pricing engagement we run starts by discovering that nobody knows the margin on last year's work at engagement level.

## Measure realised margin per engagement

Delivery hours against fees, per engagement, for the last twelve months, including the unbilled hours. The distribution matters more than the average: a handful of engagements usually consumes the margin from all the others.

## Separate scoping from pricing

If overruns cluster in particular work types, you have a scoping and change-control problem, and raising prices will not fix it. Fix the scope definition and the change process first, then price the well-defined work properly.

Where this applies

  • Consulting
  • Implementation

Work with Marsden Advisory

This guide comes from the work Marsden Advisory does. See what they offer, the results they can evidence, and how to start a conversation.

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