This article provides insight into prices of utilising the bookkeeping services offered in Sydney Australia. Bookkeepers or BAS agents as they are called now provide range of accounting services for business owners and are be responsible for functions such as data entry, payroll, and reconciliations of bank and credit card accounts. Bookkeepers also perform specialised function of accounts receivables and accounts payables (for their clients) which may require directly dealing with client's suppliers and customers.
The aim of business is to earn profit. Reducing cost is the best way of earning high profits. Most business would require their costs be as minimal as possible. Just like other expenses accounting and bookkeeping costs must be low as well. But business needs to understand that Accounting and Bookkeeping is specialised area of study and involves high level of professionalism and attention to details plus knowledge offcourse. For a small business, hiring a full time accountant may not be recommended unless the amount of work at the office requires high level of involvement. Most small businesses do not have accounts receivable requirements and conduct accounts payables themselves. Thus a freelance bookkeeper is appropriate for such businesses.
A freelance bookkeeper is more like a family doctor. The reason for this is because just like a patient needs to disclose everything about their health to a doctor a client hiring a freelance bookkeeper need to trust the bookkeeper and may require disclosing a lot of financial details to the bookkeeper.
Now the question is how much a freelance bookkeeper must be paid. The answer lies in following:
Qualifications and Experience: In Australia there are various universities and Institutions providing Accounting qualifications. The most respected qualifications for a freelance bookkeeper can be a Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) or an accountant from National institute of accountants. These bookkeepers or accountants are highly educated and in their study they do cover most areas of business accounting needs. A good freelance bookkeeper does have number of bookkeeping experience and thus usually their bookkeeping rates vary between Australian Dollar $25.00 per hour to $110.00 per hour depending on the experience. If a person is charging a low price that does not mean that the bookkeeper is not good. The difference lies in the kind of services they provide to the clients, how popular and busy they are.
Services: A freelance bookkeeping service can be anywhere from working at home or going to clients premises and completing the accounts, which is also known as on site and off site bookkeeping respectively. A bookkeeper may be required to enter invoice, generate or print invoices, preparing appropriate labels and posing the invoices to customers which is accounts receivables function Or Generating the Purchase reports and remitting payments to Suppliers and communicating with them the same, the function usually known as accounts payables. Some companies may not require those services so they might only require a bookkeeper to maintain the accounts and reconcile bank or credit card statements. The usual charges for these kind of services is between $25.00 to $35.00 an hour. Anything more than that is too much.
Popularity and New Entrants: A more popular bookkeeper will offer high rates than less popular ones. At the end of the day any reasonable accountant with good knowledge can prepare appropriate books for the company. A new freelance bookkeeper can offer services and a very low price than more experienced ones. Some businesses may give chance to new Entrants and try out their services. These new freelance bookkeepers have been observed to charge anything from $22.00 per hour to $28.00 per hour
BAS Agents and Tax Agents: Australian Taxation office now recognises a bookkeeper as a BAS agent if they charge advice and services on GST and BAS issues. A freelance bookkeeper may have quality assurance procedure with a tax agent and be working under a direction of registered tax agent or may be a BAS service provider themselves. Bookkeeping fees for a registered BAS agent and unregistered bookkeeper will vary. An unregistered bookkeeper will not be able to charge fees to provide BAS or GST services and thus business may have to pay some part of the fees to tax agent for their services. The BAS lodgement fees vary between different tax agents and BAS agents. Thus if you do not have a tax agent of yours, you would need to know beforehand if the bookkeeper is a BAS agent or not. BAS agent will be able to lodge your BAS's without the need of Tax Agent. This can be either cheap or expensive depending on your relations with BAS agents. Because BAS agent is keeping books themselves and lodging BAS as well, they may be able to offer a low cost solution for your business. The unregistered bookkeeper may charge lower hourly rate of around $25.00 per hour to $30.00 per hour and quality assure their work and lodge BAS via a tax agent who may charge anywhere between $50.00 to $200.00 for per BAS or yearly BAS lodgement which will still cost cheaper.
The best way of analysing the cost you may pay to a bookkeeper will depend on number of transactions. More the number of transactions more the time will a freelance bookkeeper will take to complete the accounts as they need to check the documentary evidences attached with the transactions. A good starting point of paying a freelance bookkeeper is $25.00 to $30.00 an hour if they are working off site that is their own premises. If a freelance bookkeeper is working onsite they may be paid anywhere between $28.00 per hour to $35.00 per hour. A business must understand that even of a bookkeeper will take 3-4 hours a month to complete the accounts and thus the monthly bookkeeping expenses will not be more than $140.00 a month which is way less than what a regular full time bookkeeper will charge that is at least $400.00 to $500.00 a week. This article has been prepared keeping in view the usual rates charged by freelance bookkeepers in Sydney, Australia and the Australian business obligations towards the Taxation office.
The aim of business is to earn profit. Reducing cost is the best way of earning high profits. Most business would require their costs be as minimal as possible. Just like other expenses accounting and bookkeeping costs must be low as well. But business needs to understand that Accounting and Bookkeeping is specialised area of study and involves high level of professionalism and attention to details plus knowledge offcourse. For a small business, hiring a full time accountant may not be recommended unless the amount of work at the office requires high level of involvement. Most small businesses do not have accounts receivable requirements and conduct accounts payables themselves. Thus a freelance bookkeeper is appropriate for such businesses.
A freelance bookkeeper is more like a family doctor. The reason for this is because just like a patient needs to disclose everything about their health to a doctor a client hiring a freelance bookkeeper need to trust the bookkeeper and may require disclosing a lot of financial details to the bookkeeper.
Now the question is how much a freelance bookkeeper must be paid. The answer lies in following:
Qualifications and Experience: In Australia there are various universities and Institutions providing Accounting qualifications. The most respected qualifications for a freelance bookkeeper can be a Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) or an accountant from National institute of accountants. These bookkeepers or accountants are highly educated and in their study they do cover most areas of business accounting needs. A good freelance bookkeeper does have number of bookkeeping experience and thus usually their bookkeeping rates vary between Australian Dollar $25.00 per hour to $110.00 per hour depending on the experience. If a person is charging a low price that does not mean that the bookkeeper is not good. The difference lies in the kind of services they provide to the clients, how popular and busy they are.
Services: A freelance bookkeeping service can be anywhere from working at home or going to clients premises and completing the accounts, which is also known as on site and off site bookkeeping respectively. A bookkeeper may be required to enter invoice, generate or print invoices, preparing appropriate labels and posing the invoices to customers which is accounts receivables function Or Generating the Purchase reports and remitting payments to Suppliers and communicating with them the same, the function usually known as accounts payables. Some companies may not require those services so they might only require a bookkeeper to maintain the accounts and reconcile bank or credit card statements. The usual charges for these kind of services is between $25.00 to $35.00 an hour. Anything more than that is too much.
Popularity and New Entrants: A more popular bookkeeper will offer high rates than less popular ones. At the end of the day any reasonable accountant with good knowledge can prepare appropriate books for the company. A new freelance bookkeeper can offer services and a very low price than more experienced ones. Some businesses may give chance to new Entrants and try out their services. These new freelance bookkeepers have been observed to charge anything from $22.00 per hour to $28.00 per hour
BAS Agents and Tax Agents: Australian Taxation office now recognises a bookkeeper as a BAS agent if they charge advice and services on GST and BAS issues. A freelance bookkeeper may have quality assurance procedure with a tax agent and be working under a direction of registered tax agent or may be a BAS service provider themselves. Bookkeeping fees for a registered BAS agent and unregistered bookkeeper will vary. An unregistered bookkeeper will not be able to charge fees to provide BAS or GST services and thus business may have to pay some part of the fees to tax agent for their services. The BAS lodgement fees vary between different tax agents and BAS agents. Thus if you do not have a tax agent of yours, you would need to know beforehand if the bookkeeper is a BAS agent or not. BAS agent will be able to lodge your BAS's without the need of Tax Agent. This can be either cheap or expensive depending on your relations with BAS agents. Because BAS agent is keeping books themselves and lodging BAS as well, they may be able to offer a low cost solution for your business. The unregistered bookkeeper may charge lower hourly rate of around $25.00 per hour to $30.00 per hour and quality assure their work and lodge BAS via a tax agent who may charge anywhere between $50.00 to $200.00 for per BAS or yearly BAS lodgement which will still cost cheaper.
The best way of analysing the cost you may pay to a bookkeeper will depend on number of transactions. More the number of transactions more the time will a freelance bookkeeper will take to complete the accounts as they need to check the documentary evidences attached with the transactions. A good starting point of paying a freelance bookkeeper is $25.00 to $30.00 an hour if they are working off site that is their own premises. If a freelance bookkeeper is working onsite they may be paid anywhere between $28.00 per hour to $35.00 per hour. A business must understand that even of a bookkeeper will take 3-4 hours a month to complete the accounts and thus the monthly bookkeeping expenses will not be more than $140.00 a month which is way less than what a regular full time bookkeeper will charge that is at least $400.00 to $500.00 a week. This article has been prepared keeping in view the usual rates charged by freelance bookkeepers in Sydney, Australia and the Australian business obligations towards the Taxation office.
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