Business & Technology
Ravical launches Workspace to back value-based pricing
Ravical has launched Workspace for accounting and professional services firms, with the platform designed to support value-based pricing rather than billing by time.
The launch comes as firms face growing scrutiny of the billable-hour model, with fee pressure and wider use of artificial intelligence prompting debate over how advisory work should be priced.
Workspace is designed to help firms manage work across their client base rather than at the level of individual advisers. The system reviews client communications, financial data, documents and external triggers to identify work that needs to be done before a request is made.
It then carries out that work through pre-built and custom workflows, using client information, identifying the appropriate specialist within a firm and preparing a draft for review and sign-off. A human remains in the loop throughout the process.
Alongside workflow management, the platform includes a billing agent that examines pricing history, client context and the value of the work delivered to support pricing decisions. Ravical is positioning this as an alternative to charging by hours worked, a model that has long shaped accounting and professional services.
The backdrop is a sector under pressure to show how AI-driven efficiency should affect fees. Earlier this year, KPMG negotiated a 14% fee reduction from its auditor, Grant Thornton, which Ravical cited as evidence of a broader industry reassessment of whether time-based billing still reflects the economics of professional work.
That question has become more pressing as firms introduce AI tools that can complete some tasks much faster than before. If a firm continues to charge by the hour while reducing the time needed for routine or semi-routine work, revenue can fall even as productivity rises.
Joris Van Der Gucht, chief executive and co-founder of Ravical, said firms were being forced to rethink that equation.
“The way work is delivered and priced is changing,” Van Der Gucht said. “The economics of the billable hour are breaking down in real time. When a VAT return that used to take three hours takes 20 minutes, firms face a choice: either absorb the margin loss or build a model that prices what the work is actually worth to the client. Ravical is built for the second option.”
Firm-level model
Workspace has been built to operate at the level of the firm rather than as a personal productivity tool for individual staff. The distinction matters because many AI products introduced to professional services have focused on helping a single adviser draft text, search documents or complete tasks more quickly.
By contrast, Ravical argues that a firm-wide system allows knowledge, workflows and pricing records to build up over time and be reused across teams and clients. In that model, expertise held by senior specialists can be made available more broadly across the practice, while advisers remain responsible for review and the client relationship.
The platform also includes what Ravical calls a knowledge verification layer. Work involving domain knowledge such as tax law, legislation and regulatory guidance is checked against primary sources before it reaches the reviewing adviser, with citations included for direct checking.
That reflects a wider concern in accounting and other regulated professions over the reliability of AI-generated outputs. Firms have been exploring how to use AI in client work while limiting the risk of factual errors, unsupported conclusions or advice based on outdated rules.
Van Der Gucht said capacity constraints in advisory work remained a central issue for firms.
“For most firms, the real bottleneck they face every day is the capacity to deliver advisory work,” he said. “Client demand is there, but firms can’t consistently act on it at scale. The only way to unlock that is to change how the work itself gets done.”
Pressure on fees
The accounting profession is contending with several pressures at once. Compliance work has been subject to automation for years, squeezing margins in some service lines. At the same time, experienced staff remain in short supply, making senior expertise harder and more expensive to deploy across a large client base.
Clients are also becoming more familiar with AI tools, which can alter expectations around turnaround times, responsiveness and what they are willing to pay for. That creates a challenge for firms that still rely on fee structures built around hours logged or full-time equivalent staffing models.
Ravical’s pitch is that firms need systems that do more than cut minutes from existing workflows. Instead, they need a way to organise work across the practice and attach prices to outcomes and client value rather than elapsed time.
Whether firms move quickly will depend on more than technology. Pricing in professional services has long been tied to internal processes, partner incentives and client habits, all of which can be difficult to change. But as AI shortens the time needed for parts of accounting and advisory work, the debate over how firms charge clients is becoming harder to avoid.
Earlier this year, KPMG successfully negotiated a 14% fee reduction from its auditor, Grant Thornton, sharpening attention on how AI and automation may affect pricing discussions across the profession.
The title is awarded to ‘the business most able to demonstrate all-round achievement, a clear vision for the future, success against objectives and sustained growth’.
Bicester Motion, which was also a finalist in the Large Business Award category, became the 30th recipient of the event’s most prestigious award.
The company is based on a former RAF Bomber Training Station.
Since its founding in 2013, Bicester Motion has been based at a 444-acre site of national historic importance.
Under its stewardship, 99 per cent of the site’s buildings have been reactivated or restored for modern use.
A spokesman for Bicester Motion said: “A sustainable mobility future is the key to unlocking future human progress and it imagines a world where we can all move without impact – at a time when mobility will make or break our planet.”
Further recognition may be on the horizon, with Bicester Motion shortlisted for seven awards across several upcoming ceremonies, including the Commercial Property Awards, Construction News Awards, Constructing Excellence London & South East Awards, and the RTPI South East Planning Awards.
The company describes itself as ‘a vibrant and dedicated centre of excellence, where mobility businesses can thrive,’ and aims to ‘build the world’s leading mobility community’.
Planted Plates, founded by Didcot entrepreneur Henna Afzal, began as a food truck at the park’s street food pop-up event, Milton Feast, in 2021.
After five years of steady growth, the business has moved from its first bricks-and-mortar site on Eastern Avenue to a larger unit at Signal Yard, marking a return to its roots within the Milton Park community.
Ms Afzal said: “When I started Planted Plates, I simply wanted to create food that people genuinely looked forward to eating. For me, it’s always been about flavour first.
“You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy great food, and we’ve been incredibly lucky to build such a supportive community of customers over the last few years.
“Milton Park has been part of our journey from the beginning.”
Planted Plates offers a daily-changing menu of plant-based breakfasts, lunches, pastries, and barista coffee.
The new space includes a larger seating area designed to encourage people to meet, work, and socialise throughout the day.
Ms Afzal added: “Starting at Milton Feast gave us the opportunity to test ideas, build a following and grow the business.
“Opening at Signal Yard feels like a full-circle moment and we’re excited to welcome both familiar faces and new customers through the door.
“I am incredibly proud of how far the business has come.
“This move gives us the opportunity to expand our offer, grow the team and continue building something that people genuinely enjoy being part of.”
The cafe also provides vegan catering services to businesses across Milton Park, using a zero-CO2 delivery vehicle.
Ms Afzal’s brother, Jack, has now joined the team as the company looks to recruit further staff.
The opening of Planted Plates is part of Milton Park’s £14m investment in Signal Yard, which aims to create a new social and retail destination for the park’s 280+ companies and the wider community.
Clare Fleet, asset manager of Milton Park at Federated Hermes Real Estate, said: “One of the ambitions for Signal Yard has always been to support independent businesses and create a destination that brings people together.
“Planted Plates perfectly captures that vision.
“Henna has built a fantastic business at Milton Park over the last five years and we’re delighted to see her become the first food and beverage operator to open at Signal Yard.”
Signal Yard is bringing together a mix of independent retailers, food and beverage operators, and health and wellbeing services in a central location at Milton Park.
Planted Plates has also been shortlisted in the Ox in a Box Awards, which celebrate Oxfordshire’s favourite independent food and drink businesses.
Public voting is open via the Ox in a Box website until 20 June 2026.
Rhubarb Seating, based in Oxfordshire, earned the title in Design Conformity’s 2026 industry report, which assessed the sustainability performance of more than 170,000 furniture businesses across the UK and Europe.
It was one of only four UK companies to receive the ‘Leader’ classification, reserved for just 0.1 per cent of those evaluated.
David Matthews, director at Rhubarb Seating, said: “Rhubarb has always got one eye on refurbishment and future-proofing when developing a product, focusing on making it easy to reupholster, repair and re-use.
“Being recognised above most of the sector’s biggest names validates what we’ve always believed: good design and sustainable design are the same thing.”
The recognition follows independent verification of Rhubarb’s Cantay and Banquette seating ranges through Design Conformity’s Carbon Efficiency platform.
Both products achieved C3 Carbon Efficiency Ratings, reflecting strong performance in planned reuse.
The analysis found the Cantay 2-Seater Sofa had a verified carbon footprint of 60.99kg CO₂e, while the Banq Medium Back Straight unit recorded 69.48kg CO₂e.
Mr Matthews said: “There is definitely something inherently beautiful about a board of timber, utilised to its maximum, to create the component elements of a piece of furniture.”
Certified products are now listed on the Design Conformity directory.
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