Bookkeeping for Small and Medium Business

Many business owners spend several hours each week on financial administration: entering transactions, reconciling bank accounts, categorising expenses and assembling records ahead of a BAS. A professional bookkeeper completes the same work more quickly and more accurately, and the accounts remain current rather than being reconstructed against a deadline.

What bookkeeping covers

Bookkeeping is the systematic recording of a business’s financial transactions. Every other financial document depends on it: without reliable records there can be no reliable BAS, tax return or management report.

The service includes:

• Entering income and expenses into whatever system you run
• Bank reconciliation, so the books and the statements agree
• Tracking what you owe and what is owed to you
• Running payroll and working out superannuation
• Coding transactions for GST and preparing the BAS
• Monthly and quarterly reporting you can actually read
• Getting the year-end position ready for the tax return

Outsourcing compared with employing

Cost

Employing a bookkeeper, whether full-time or part-time, involves salary, superannuation, leave entitlements and the administrative overhead of managing an employee. Outsourcing converts that fixed cost into a variable one: you pay for work performed rather than for downtime or leave. For most small businesses this is considerably more economical.

Accuracy and compliance

Bookkeeping errors do not remain contained. They emerge as incorrect BAS lodgements, ATO queries and unreliable tax returns. A professional bookkeeper understands GST coding, payroll obligations and the requirements of Australian accounting standards, which reduces both the incidence of errors and the time spent correcting them.

Continuity

Where bookkeeping rests with a single person, often the owner, it halts as soon as that person is unavailable or departs. An outsourced arrangement continues through internal changes, so the accounts remain current throughout the year.

Software and systems

We work with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online. If your business already uses one of these, we work within your existing configuration. If you are not yet using cloud accounting software, we will advise which platform is most appropriate for your size and industry.

Who this service suits

This service is generally suitable for:

• Sole traders and freelancers who want the accounts handled without becoming an employer
• Businesses of roughly 1–20 staff that have outgrown doing it themselves
• Anyone whose books have fallen behind and need bringing back to current
• Overseas companies running an Australian entity that need the local side kept
• Businesses walking into a first BAS or first year-end return

How the engagement begins

We begin by reviewing your existing records and accounting system. Where the accounts are current, we take over from your most recent reconciled period. Where they have fallen behind, we complete a catch-up before moving to the ongoing arrangement.

Depending on business size and transaction volume, the work is performed weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Reports are delivered on an agreed schedule, providing a consistent view of your financial position.

Bookkeeping and BAS obligations

For businesses registered for GST, the two are inseparable. Every transaction must be coded correctly as carrying GST, GST-free or input-taxed. Coding errors accumulate across a quarter and result in an incorrect BAS: underpaid, overpaid or queried.

We maintain records to a standard that supports clean BAS preparation each period. Where we also lodge the BAS, no handover is required and no further input is needed from you.

Getting started

Contact us regarding the current state of your accounts. We will assess transaction volume, your existing system and your reporting requirements, then propose a specific arrangement. Most businesses are operating within a week.