Most people come to us for compliance first. They want the BAS done right, the tax return lodged on time, and the books in a state they're not embarrassed by. That's a fair place to start. What they find is that once the books are current every day, the rest gets easier: the BAS is a review, not a rescue, tax planning happens before 30 June instead of after, and the numbers start answering real questions about the business.
This page explains what our accounting and bookkeeping service includes, what it costs, how it works, and when you'd be better off with something simpler.
At a glance
| BPAG accounting and bookkeeping | |
|---|---|
| Price | Fixed weekly fee, from $149 per week + GST (Compliance Essentials) |
| Software | Xero, with bank feeds reconciled each working day |
| Lodgements | BAS, company tax return and annual financial statements, lodged by us as your registered tax agent |
| Who does the work | A dedicated client manager, supported by Chartered Accountants and CPAs |
| Where | Australia-wide, by email, phone and video, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, the Canberra region and Adelaide |
| Getting started | Free strategy call, then one engagement signed on your phone |
What do accounting and bookkeeping services actually include?
Bookkeeping and accounting are two different jobs that depend on each other. Bookkeeping records what happened. Accounting checks it, turns it into financial statements and returns, and tells you what it means.
| Job | Bookkeeping | Accounting |
|---|---|---|
| Bank reconciliation and coding | Every transaction matched and coded in Xero | Reviews coding for tax treatment and errors |
| Bills and invoices | Enters bills, schedules payments, chases receipts | Checks accounts payable and receivable make sense at period end |
| Payroll | Processes pays, STP reporting, super | Checks award rates, super and year-end finalisation |
| GST | Codes GST on each line | Prepares, reviews and lodges the BAS |
| Year end | Clean trial balance | Adjustments, depreciation, financial statements, tax returns |
| Advice | Flags anything odd | Tax planning, structure, cash flow and decisions |
At BPAG one team does both. Your client manager owns the file all year, so the person who codes your fuel card in March is working to the same standard as the accountant who signs your tax return in October.
What's included in every plan
- Daily bookkeeping in Xero. Bank feeds reconciled each working day, transactions coded, receipts matched.
- Bills processed and paid on time. We enter supplier bills, set them up for payment on your approval, and keep accounts payable tidy.
- BAS preparation and lodgement. Prepared from reconciled books, checked label by label, lodged by us as your registered agent.
- Annual financial statements and the company tax return (on our Compliance Essentials plan and above).
- A dedicated client manager who knows your business and answers your questions.
- Issues flagged early. If cash is getting tight, a customer is paying late, or GST looks wrong, you hear about it this week, not at year end.
Higher plans add payroll, monthly management reports and CFO-level planning. The tiers are set out below.
Do you need a bookkeeper, an accountant, or both?
Not every business needs a full-service firm. Here's the honest version.
| Your situation | What usually makes sense |
|---|---|
| Sole trader, under the GST threshold, few transactions | Do it yourself in Xero; see an accountant once a year for the tax return |
| Registered for GST, under about 100 transactions a month, no staff | You or a bookkeeper on the books; an accountant reviews each BAS and does the return |
| Staff, a company or trust, or BAS corrections keep happening | One firm doing books, BAS, payroll and returns together |
| Growing fast, borrowing, or planning a sale | Books plus monthly reporting and regular planning meetings |
| Books more than a quarter behind | Clean-up first, then ongoing bookkeeping |
Accounting and bookkeeping for startups
A startup's first year is the cheapest time to get the books right: set Xero up with a clean chart of accounts, register for GST when you need to (not later), and keep founder loans and share issues properly recorded. If you're pre-revenue with a handful of transactions, do the bookkeeping yourself and get an accountant to set things up and review the year. Once you're paying staff or raising money, an investor will expect clean monthly accounts, and that's when a plan like ours earns its fee. Our page for software and tech companies covers R&D and founder-specific issues.
If you sit in the first two rows and the books are under control, you may not need us for bookkeeping. We'd rather say so than sell you a plan you'll resent. Our guide to how to choose an accountant has the questions worth asking any firm, including us.
How does BPAG keep your books up to date every day?
The difference between daily and monthly bookkeeping isn't effort, it's timing. Problems found the day they happen are cheap to fix. Problems found at BAS time cost you a scramble, and problems found at year end cost you tax.
Here is what happens each working day:
- Bank feeds come into Xero overnight. Bank, credit card, payment platforms and merchant facilities.
- Our transaction coding agent suggests a code and GST treatment for each line it hasn't seen before, based on your history and the supplier. It drafts a short question for anything it can't identify.
- A bookkeeper reviews the suggestions, reconciles, and approves. Nothing is posted on the agent's say-so alone.
- Questions go to you by SMS or email. "What was the $412 at Bunnings on Tuesday?" You reply on your phone, or snap a photo of the receipt. No portal password.
- Your accountant reviews the file before each BAS, with every figure on the workpaper traced back to the transactions behind it.
Like all our work, this runs on Nagaris, the practice platform built for Australian accounting firms. AI agents draft and check; qualified accountants review and sign off. Every change and every email waits for a person's approval, and your data is stored in Australia. The AI is a starting point for an accountant's judgment, never a replacement for it.
The detail of how we run your Xero file, including our monthly close checklist, is on our Xero bookkeeping page.
What does accounting and bookkeeping cost?
We price by the week, fixed, so there's no invoice shock in October. All prices are from, plus GST.
| Plan | From | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance Essentials | $149 per week | Dedicated client manager, bookkeeping up to 100 transactions a month, BAS lodgements, company tax return, annual financial statements |
| Business Insights | $249 per week | Everything above, plus weekly payroll for up to 10 staff, monthly management reports, KPI and performance analysis |
| Fractional CFO | $499 per week | Everything above, plus a monthly CFO strategy meeting, cash flow forecasting, proactive annual tax planning and annual industry benchmarking |
Your quote depends on transaction volume, the number of entities, payroll, and how much clean-up is needed at the start. You'll get a fixed figure before you commit. See the full detail on our pricing page, or read our guide to what accountants cost in Australia to compare.
Key point: Ask any firm what happens when you go over the included transactions or ring with a question. A low headline price with hourly add-ons often costs more than a fixed fee.
Not sure which plan fits your transaction volume? Ask us for a fixed quote.
How does switching accountants work?
Switching is easier than most people expect. You don't need to have an awkward conversation with your current accountant, and nothing stops while it happens.
- Free strategy call. We look at your situation, tell you whether we're a good fit, and quote a fixed price.
- Sign one engagement. One engagement covers the whole family group: your company, trust, SMSF and personal returns. You sign on your phone, with no account to set up. ID checks are done through your bank (ConnectID) or a photo ID and selfie.
- We contact your previous accountant. We send a professional clearance letter asking for anything we need to know and for your records: last year's returns, working papers for depreciation and loan accounts, and any outstanding ATO or ASIC matters. Accountants who are members of a professional body are expected to respond.
- ATO and ASIC authority. You nominate us as your agent with the ATO (a few minutes in ATO online services, and we walk you through it). For companies, we become your ASIC registered agent so the annual statement and correspondence come to us.
- Xero access. You invite us as adviser on your existing file. You keep ownership. If you're not on Xero yet, we set it up or migrate you.
- Health check. We review the file, the last BAS and the ATO accounts, and tell you in writing what needs fixing.
- Daily bookkeeping begins. Usually within the same BAS period.
Timing tip: switching at the start of a BAS quarter, or before 30 June, gives the cleanest cut-over. But don't wait for a "perfect" time if your current arrangement is costing you lodgements or sleep.
My books are a mess. Can you still take us on?
Yes. Messy books are the most common reason people come to us. What matters is that we find out how messy before we quote.
A typical clean-up covers:
- Reconciling every bank and card account back to statements, including periods where the bank feed broke. Where statements only exist as PDFs, our bank statement conversion agent turns them into checked, import-ready files.
- Fixing the chart of accounts so the profit and loss means something.
- Clearing suspense accounts, duplicate bills and old receivables that will never be paid.
- Correcting GST coding and preparing any BAS revisions needed.
- Lodging overdue BAS and returns. If you're well behind, our overdue tax and ATO debt service handles the ATO side, including payment plans.
We quote the clean-up separately as a fixed fee, then move you onto a weekly plan.
What should you send us to get started?
The more of this we have before the first proper meeting, the sooner you'll have a firm quote and a plan.
- Xero (or MYOB/QuickBooks) access, or exports if you'd rather not give access yet
- Your last lodged BAS and last two years' tax returns and financial statements
- Any ATO correspondence: debts, payment plans, letters about lodgements
- Company details (ACN, directors, shareholders) and any trust deeds
- Bank and loan statements for accounts not on a feed
- Payroll details if you employ staff: employee list, award, pay frequency
- A note of anything that's worrying you
You can upload documents or photos from your phone.
How long do you need to keep business records?
Generally five years, counted from when the record was made or the transaction was completed, whichever is later. Some records, such as those for assets you'll one day sell, need to be kept for five years after the sale. Digital copies are fine, so a clear photo of a receipt attached to the transaction in Xero counts. That's how we keep your file: every bill and receipt sits against the line it relates to, which is also what makes a BAS quick to check and an ATO question quick to answer. The ATO's record keeping guidance for business has the full rules.
What else sits under this service?
Accounting and bookkeeping is the base. Depending on your business, these pages go further:
- Tax returns, BAS, payroll and ASIC for every lodgement and deadline in one place
- BAS and GST for how we prepare and check your BAS
- Payroll and Payday Super for STP, super on every payday and award compliance
- Financial statements for lenders, investors and year end
- Cash flow and profit optimisation once the numbers are reliable enough to plan with
We do this work for businesses in every sector, with particular depth in trades and construction, hospitality and professional services.
"We have been working with Ray and the fantastic team at BPAG Accountants for several years, and it has truly been the best decision for our company… Their invaluable support has saved us a great deal of money and time." Susan McKendry, Google review
Who will actually do the work?
A client manager who owns your file, supported by bookkeepers and accountants across our four offices in Sydney, Melbourne, the Canberra region and Adelaide. Our accountants are a mix of Chartered Accountants and CPAs, and BPAG is a registered tax agent with the Tax Practitioners Board, bound by its Code of Professional Conduct.
Because the whole team can see your file, work doesn't stop when one person is on leave. Meetings and calls are written up, so you never have to explain the same thing twice. Most of our clients work with us by email, phone and video, wherever they are in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to hire a bookkeeper and an accountant separately?
Sometimes, on paper. A freelance bookkeeper plus a separate tax accountant can cost less per hour, but you pay for the hand-offs: questions asked twice, year-end adjustments that undo the bookkeeper's coding, and nobody owning the whole picture. If your affairs are simple and your bookkeeper is good, that split can work well. Once you have staff, a company or trust, or a BAS that keeps needing corrections, one team usually costs less overall.
Can I keep doing some of the bookkeeping myself?
Yes. Some clients like raising their own invoices or approving bills, and we work around that. We'll set Xero up so your entries and ours don't collide, and we'll still reconcile and review everything before a BAS is lodged. Tell us what you want to keep and we'll price only what we do.
Do you work with MYOB or QuickBooks?
We can, but daily bookkeeping works best in Xero, and that's where our checks and reporting are built. Most clients who come to us on MYOB move across as part of onboarding, usually at the start of a BAS quarter so the cut-over is clean. Our Xero setup and migration service covers the conversion.
Will I lose access to my data if I leave BPAG?
No. Your Xero file is yours. If you leave, we hand back subscription ownership, give your new accountant what they need, and answer their clearance letter promptly. That is how we would want to be treated, and it is what professional standards require.
How quickly can you start?
Once the engagement is signed and we have Xero access, daily bookkeeping usually starts within the same BAS period. If your books are behind, we schedule the clean-up first and tell you before we start how long it will take and what it will cost.
Do I need an accountant if I'm a sole trader?
Not always. A sole trader with simple income, a handful of expenses and no staff can often manage with Xero and an annual check-in. You need more help when you register for GST, employ someone, buy assets, or start making enough profit that structure and planning matter.
Official sources
General information only, current as at 23 October 2026. It is not personal tax, legal or financial product advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account. Talk to us before you act. Where a recommendation needs a licensed financial adviser or a solicitor, we work alongside them.