Salary Negotiation by the Numbers: How I Used My Beancount Data to Justify a 12% Raise

accountant_alice
Sat, 28 Mar 2026 01:19:49 +0000

This is absolutely brilliant – and I’m feeling a bit embarrassed that I haven’t done this myself! As a CPA who advises clients on business financial decisions all day, I’ve somehow completely neglected to apply the same rigor to my own compensation.

The irony is not lost on me: I track client dollars obsessively, analyze their revenue trends, optimize their expenses… but I’ve never thought to use Beancount data to justify asking for a raise at my own firm.

The CPA Blind Spot

I think there’s something about working in accounting that makes us terrible at advocating for our own compensation. We’re so used to being behind the scenes, helping other people make money decisions, that we forget to apply those same principles to ourselves.

Plus, there’s this culture in accounting firms where you’re supposed to just accept whatever the standard merit increase is and be grateful. Pushing back feels almost… unprofessional? Which is ridiculous when you think about it.

The “True Take-Home” Calculation

One thing I’d add to your analysis: have you calculated your true take-home after accounting for taxes, benefits costs, retirement contributions, and other deductions?

I bet if you did a query like:

SELECT year,
  account_balance('Income:Salary') as gross_salary,
  account_balance('Expenses:Taxes:Federal') + account_balance('Expenses:Taxes:State') as taxes_paid,
  account_balance('Expenses:Healthcare:Insurance') as healthcare_costs,
  (gross_salary - taxes_paid - healthcare_costs) as net_purchasing_power
FROM year in [2023, 2024, 2025]

You’d probably find your actual purchasing power increased even less than the nominal 4% salary bump.

This is especially true if:

Your healthcare premiums went up (mine jumped 18% in 2024)

You maxed out your 401(k) (which is great for retirement but reduces current cash flow)

You’re in a higher tax bracket now (congratulations, but also ouch)

The Opportunity Cost Angle

Here’s another metric I’ve been thinking about: opportunity cost of NOT asking for a raise.

Let’s say you spend 10 hours total:

2 hours setting up Beancount queries and analysis

2 hours researching market rates

1 hour creating the presentation

5 hours spread across: initial conversation, follow-ups, negotiation

If those 10 hours result in a $10,000 raise, that’s an effective “hourly rate” of $1,000 for your negotiation work. And that compounds every year you stay at the company.

Compare that to the alternative: spending 10 hours on a side gig or consulting work that might pay $50-150/hour one time.

The ROI on salary negotiation is INSANE when you think about it this way.

My Personal Challenge

You’ve inspired me. I’m going to do this exact analysis this quarter to prepare for my year-end review in December.

My hypothesis: my real purchasing power has declined over the past 3 years despite nominal raises, and I’ve been subsidizing firm profitability with my wage stagnation.

That’s not sustainable. And I have the data to prove it.

Question for You

How did you handle the psychological/emotional aspect of this? Were you nervous going into the conversation? Did you worry about seeming greedy or demanding?

I think one barrier for many people (especially in accounting, especially women in accounting) is the discomfort with self-advocacy. Even when you have the data, actually saying “I deserve more money” feels hard.

Did your Beancount data give you confidence to push through that? Or was it still uncomfortable?

Would love to hear the behind-the-scenes emotional journey, not just the tactical approach.

Bottom line: CPAs need to take our own advice. If we wouldn’t let a client accept stagnant revenue while costs rise, why do we accept it for ourselves?

Thanks for the wake-up call.