How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost in Australia? (2026 Guide)

"How much does a bookkeeper cost?" is one of the first questions every business owner asks — and one of the hardest to get a straight answer to. Websites say "contact us for a quote", hourly rates hide the real monthly total, and nobody tells you what happens to the bill when your business gets busier.

I've spent more than 20 years in accounting and finance, and I run a bookkeeping practice, so I'll give you the numbers straight — including what we charge and why.

The three ways bookkeepers charge in Australia

• Hourly rates — typically $70–$120 per hour. Qualified freelance bookkeepers generally sit in this range, with registered BAS agents and more experienced bookkeepers at the upper end. Some charge less — treat very cheap rates as a red flag rather than a bargain.
• An employee on your payroll. A full-time bookkeeper in Australia typically earns somewhere around $65,000–$80,000 a year, before you add 12% super, leave, software licences, training and recruitment costs. Part-time and casual arrangements scale that down, but the on-costs never disappear.
• Fixed monthly packages — typically $350–$1,500 per month. A subscription covering an agreed scope: reconciliations, coding, BAS, payroll, reporting. This is the model that's become the standard for small business, and it's the model we use at Bean Guru.

What actually drives the price

Whichever model you choose, the same handful of factors determine what you'll pay:

• Transaction volume. A café putting through thousands of small transactions is more work than a consultant invoicing four clients a month.
• Payroll. Every employee adds processing, superannuation and leave tracking. Payroll is also where compliance mistakes hurt most.
• How many accounts and entities you have. Multiple bank accounts, credit cards, loans or related entities all add reconciliation work.
• BAS and compliance needs. Preparing and lodging BAS legally requires a registered BAS agent — more on that below.
• The state of your books today. If you're months (or years) behind, there's catch-up work before ongoing bookkeeping can start.
• How much insight you want. Basic compliance is one thing; monthly management reports you actually understand are another.

What fixed-fee bookkeeping looks like in practice

At Bean Guru we quote a fixed monthly fee upfront, after reviewing your Xero file and transaction volume. As a guide:

• From $350/month — sole traders and simple businesses with modest volume and no payroll
• $500–$1,000/month — growing businesses with payroll, regular BAS and steady transaction flow
• $1,000–$1,500/month — established businesses with higher volume and deeper reporting needs
• $2,000–$3,000+/month — larger or multi-entity businesses that want a full finance function without hiring in-house

The fee is fixed once agreed — if your needs change significantly, we talk it through first. You'll never open an invoice and get a surprise. Full details are on our pricing page.

Bookkeeper vs employee: the comparison most people skip

Once a business gets busy enough, many owners assume the next step is hiring a bookkeeper in-house. Run the numbers first. On top of salary, an employee costs you 12% superannuation, four weeks of annual leave, sick leave, software licences, training to stay current with ATO changes, and the recruitment cost of finding them — and finding their replacement when they move on.

And there's a risk nobody prices in: a single point of failure. When your one bookkeeper is sick, on holiday, or hands in their notice, your books simply stop. An outsourced team keeps working regardless — that built-in redundancy is why even our larger clients, the ones investing $2,000–$3,000 a month, choose a subscription over an employee.

Don't forget the BAS agent question

In Australia, preparing and lodging your BAS for a fee is legally restricted to registered BAS agents, regulated by the Tax Practitioners Board. A registered agent costs a little more, but you get professional standards, professional indemnity insurance, extended lodgement deadlines, and safe-harbour protection if something goes wrong. If an unregistered bookkeeper is doing your BAS, the risk sits with you. (We've written more about this in Is Your Bookkeeper a Registered BAS Agent?)

How to keep your bookkeeping costs down (whoever you use)

• Keep business and personal spending separate. Untangling them is the single biggest time-waster we see.
• Capture receipts as you go — a photo at the counter beats a shoebox in July.
• Stay on one accounting platform. Chopping and changing software costs hours every time.
• Do it monthly, not annually. Catch-up work always costs more than keeping up.
• Don't wait until you're behind. The longer books are neglected, the more expensive they are to fix — and the more deductions slip through the cracks.

Common questions

Bottom line

A good bookkeeper in Australia will cost you somewhere between $350 and $1,500 a month for most small businesses — and should hand you back something worth far more: accurate GST claims, no missed deadlines, real visibility of your numbers, and your evenings back. The cheapest option is rarely the one with the lowest hourly rate; it's the one where you know exactly what you'll pay and exactly what you'll get.