Xero is good software. It is not a bookkeeper. Most of the Xero files we take over have the same problems: reconciled lines matched to the wrong bill, bank rules coding private spending to the business, a suspense account nobody looks at, and payment platform payouts recorded as sales. The dashboard looks fine. The BAS is wrong.
Our Xero bookkeeping service is built around one idea: if the books are right every day, everything downstream (the BAS, payroll, tax return and any decision you make) is easier and cheaper.
What does Xero bookkeeping include at BPAG?
| Task | How often | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Bank, card and payment platform reconciliation | Every working day | Bookkeeper, with AI-suggested coding |
| Coding to the right account and GST code | Every working day | Bookkeeper reviews every suggestion |
| Questions about unknown transactions | As they arise, by SMS or email | Drafted by our agent, sent after a bookkeeper approves |
| Receipt and invoice matching | Daily | Bookkeeper |
| Supplier bills entered and scheduled for payment | As received, paid on your approval | Bookkeeper |
| Customer invoices and overdue follow-up | As agreed with you | Bookkeeper |
| Payroll in Xero, with STP | Each pay run (Business Insights plan and above) | Payroll officer |
| Month-end close | Monthly | Bookkeeper, reviewed by your client manager |
| BAS review and lodgement | Monthly or quarterly | Accountant |
Bookkeeping is part of our wider accounting and bookkeeping service, so the same team takes your file through to the tax return.
How does daily reconciliation work?
Overnight, Xero pulls in yesterday's transactions from your bank, cards and connected platforms. The next morning:
- Known transactions (your rent, your regular suppliers, your Stripe payouts) are matched against existing bills, invoices or rules. A bookkeeper checks the match rather than accepting it blind.
- New or unusual transactions go through our transaction coding agent. It looks at the payee, the amount, your past coding and the GST status of the supplier, and suggests an account and tax code with a short reason.
- A bookkeeper reviews each suggestion and either approves it, corrects it, or turns it into a question for you.
- Questions go to you by SMS or email. You reply from your phone and can attach a photo of the receipt. There's no portal and no password.
- Anything unresolved stays visible on a short list your client manager reviews, so nothing quietly sits in suspense for months.
The agent drafts; a person decides. Every posting and every message to you is approved by a member of our team first. This runs on Nagaris, and your data is stored in Australia.
Why "every day" matters
Daily isn't about speed for its own sake. It's about when you find problems.
- A supplier double-charges you: found in a day, it's a phone call. Found at BAS time, it's a dispute about something three months old.
- A customer's payment bounces: found in a day, you stop supplying them. Found at month end, you've shipped another order.
- A director uses the business card for something personal: found in a day, it's coded to a loan account and dealt with. Found at year end, it may be a Division 7A problem.
How should a payment platform payout be recorded in Xero?
This is the single most common error we fix, so here is a worked example.
Example: an online store's Stripe payout of $9,420 lands in the bank on Monday. Behind it are $10,000 of customer sales (including $909 of GST), $330 of Stripe fees and a $250 refund.
| Wrong way | Right way |
|---|---|
| One line: $9,420 income, GST on income | Gross sales $10,000 to sales, with $909 GST on income |
| Fees not recorded | Stripe fees $330 to merchant fees (check the GST treatment on Stripe's invoice) |
| Refund not recorded | Refund $250 against sales, reducing GST on income |
| Payout reconciles, but GST and profit are wrong | Payout of $9,420 reconciles to the clearing account to the cent |
The wrong way understates GST on sales and hides your true fee cost. Over a year, for a store doing several hundred thousand dollars through a platform, that's a BAS problem and a pricing problem. We set up a clearing account for each platform so this is handled the same way every time.
What happens to transactions nobody can identify?
They get asked about, once, clearly. Our agent drafts a question with the date, amount, payee and what we think it might be ("Is this $640 at Officeworks a business purchase, and was it equipment or stationery?"). A bookkeeper sends it after checking. You answer when it suits you.
What we don't do is park it in "Ask my accountant" or a suspense account and forget it. Unanswered questions are followed up, and anything still open is cleared before the BAS is prepared.
Can you catch up a Xero file that's months behind?
Yes. Catch-up work is quoted as a fixed fee before we start. A typical catch-up:
- Reconnects broken feeds and fills gaps from statements. Where you only have PDF bank or credit card statements, our statement conversion agents turn them into reconciled, import-ready CSV files, checking that opening and closing balances agree before anything goes into Xero.
- Reconciles every account back to the bank statement balance.
- Clears suspense and "ask my accountant" accounts.
- Removes duplicate bills and invoices created by double imports or old rules.
- Fixes the chart of accounts so the reports make sense.
- Corrects GST coding, and prepares revised or adjusting BAS figures where earlier lodgements were wrong.
If you're on MYOB or another system and want to move, our Xero setup and migration service handles the conversion. Not sure whether to move at all? Read our comparison of Xero vs MYOB.
What's on our monthly close checklist?
A month isn't "done" because the bank is reconciled. This is the checklist we work through each month before the numbers go to you.
| Step | What we check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Every account reconciled | Bank, cards, loans, payment platforms and clearing accounts agree to statements | Unreconciled balances hide missing income or double-counted costs |
| 2. Suspense cleared | Nothing left in suspense or "ask my accountant" | These usually turn into BAS errors |
| 3. Receivables reviewed | Overdue invoices followed up; doubtful debts flagged | Profit means nothing if customers don't pay |
| 4. Payables reviewed | Bills entered, duplicates removed, credit notes applied | Stops double payments and missed discounts |
| 5. Payroll reconciled | Wages, PAYG withholding and super liabilities agree to payroll reports; super paid within Payday Super deadlines | Unpaid super now attracts the super guarantee charge quickly |
| 6. GST control account | GST account agrees to the BAS figures for the period | Catches coding errors before they're lodged |
| 7. Loans and owner accounts | Director loans, owner drawings and related-party transfers coded correctly | Avoids Division 7A and personal spending in business costs |
| 8. Asset purchases | Equipment over the capitalisation threshold recorded as assets, not expenses | Correct depreciation and instant asset write-off claims |
| 9. Accruals (if reporting on accruals) | Major costs and income in the right month | Monthly profit that reflects reality |
| 10. Review and lock | Client manager reviews the P&L and balance sheet, then the period is locked | Stops anyone changing a closed month by accident |
On our Business Insights plan and above, this flows into a monthly management report: profit, cash, trends and the two or three things worth acting on.
What mistakes do we see most often in Xero files?
- Bank rules on autopilot. A rule set up for one supplier catches another with a similar name, often with the wrong GST code.
- Payment platform payouts coded as sales. The net payout is recorded as income, so fees are missing and GST on sales is understated.
- Transfers between your own accounts coded as income or expenses. These should be transfers, not profit.
- Loan repayments coded entirely to expenses. Only the interest is an expense; the principal reduces the loan.
- GST claimed on things with no GST. Bank fees, wages, super, insurance stamp duty and overseas subscriptions from unregistered suppliers are common culprits. Our BAS and GST page has the full table.
- Personal spending on the business card left in business expenses. It inflates deductions and, for companies, creates loan account issues.
- Old periods edited after the BAS was lodged. The books then no longer match what the ATO has. Locking each period stops this.
Is outsourced Xero bookkeeping worth it, or should you do it yourself?
If you have a handful of transactions a month, no staff and you're comfortable in Xero, do it yourself and have an accountant review each BAS. That's the cheapest sensible setup.
It stops making sense when the time you spend is worth more than the fee, when the BAS keeps needing fixing, or when you can't remember the last time the suspense account was empty. For most businesses with staff or more than about 100 transactions a month, that point has already passed.
What does it cost?
Xero bookkeeping is included in our fixed weekly plans. Compliance Essentials starts from $149 per week + GST, including bookkeeping up to 100 transactions a month, BAS lodgements, the company tax return and annual financial statements. Business Insights (from $249 per week + GST) adds payroll for up to 10 staff and monthly management reports. Your Xero subscription is separate. Full detail is on our pricing page.
What should you send us?
- Adviser access to your Xero organisation
- Statements for any accounts not on a bank feed
- A list of payment platforms you use (Stripe, Square, Shopify, PayPal, Afterpay and so on)
- Your last BAS as lodged
- Any regular suppliers or customers with unusual arrangements (pre-payments, deposits, retentions)
- Who in your business can answer our questions, and how they'd prefer to be asked
"It's been wonderful working with the BPAG team! They are true experts and have provided incredibly valuable business advisory and tax services, helping my business grow." Mitchell King, Google review
Frequently asked questions
Can Xero do the bookkeeping by itself?
No. Xero automates a lot: bank feeds, bank rules, matching suggestions and invoice reminders. But someone still has to decide what each transaction is, whether GST applies, and whether a match is right. Bank rules applied without checking are one of the most common sources of BAS errors we see.
Do I need to give you my Xero login?
No. You invite us to your existing Xero organisation as a user with adviser access. You stay the subscriber and owner of the file, and you can remove our access at any time.
What if my bank feed has stopped working?
It happens more often than it should, especially with smaller banks and some card providers. We reconnect the feed where possible. For the gap, we convert your PDF statements into import-ready files with our bank statement conversion agent, check the opening and closing balances match, and import them so nothing is missed.
How many transactions is 'normal' for a small business?
A sole-operator consultant might have 40 a month. A café or online store can have several hundred, mostly card settlements and supplier bills. Our Compliance Essentials plan includes bookkeeping for up to 100 transactions a month; above that, we quote on your actual volume.
Can you handle Stripe, Shopify, Square or other payment platforms?
Yes. Payment platforms are where Xero files most often go wrong, because the payout that hits your bank is net of fees, refunds and chargebacks. We set up clearing accounts so gross sales, fees and GST are recorded correctly and the payout reconciles to the cent.
Do you also do the BAS?
Yes. Bookkeeping and BAS are done by the same team, and your accountant reviews the file before each BAS is lodged. That's the main reason daily bookkeeping pays for itself: the BAS becomes a check rather than a clean-up.
Official sources
General information only, current as at 18 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.