TL;DR: Outsourced bookkeeping services mean a qualified external bookkeeper keeps your books up to date for you, usually remotely in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, instead of you or an employee doing it. A good service covers bank reconciliations, invoicing and bills, payroll, BAS and IAS lodgement, and regular reports. Pricing is usually a fixed monthly fee or an hourly rate, based on how much work your business needs. Choose a registered BAS agent so they can legally lodge your BAS, and look for one who also helps you understand your numbers, not just record them.
On this page
- What are outsourced bookkeeping services?
- What bookkeeping services include
- How much do bookkeeping services cost in Australia?
- Outsourced vs in-house bookkeeping
- Do online bookkeeping services need to be local?
- How to choose a bookkeeping service
- Signs it’s time to outsource
- FAQ
What are outsourced bookkeeping services?
Outsourced bookkeeping services are when you hand your day-to-day financial record keeping to an external bookkeeper or bookkeeping firm instead of doing it yourself or hiring staff. Most outsourced bookkeepers now work online: they log in to your cloud accounting software, such as Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, and keep it up to date from wherever they are.
You still own your business’s data and software. The bookkeeper simply does the work in it, so your books are accurate, your lodgements are on time and your accountant gets clean records at tax time.
What bookkeeping services include
Every provider packages things differently, but a complete outsourced bookkeeping service in Australia usually covers:
| Service | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Bank reconciliations | Every transaction matched and coded, so your balances are right |
| Accounts payable | Supplier bills entered, scheduled and paid on time |
| Accounts receivable | Invoices sent and overdue customers followed up |
| Payroll and Single Touch Payroll (STP) | Staff paid correctly, with STP reported to the ATO every pay run |
| Superannuation | Super paid on time. Under Payday Super (from 1 July 2026), super is paid with each pay run |
| BAS and IAS lodgement | Activity statements prepared and lodged by a registered BAS agent |
| Monthly reporting | A profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cash position you can actually read |
| Catch-ups and clean-ups | Getting months (or years) of backlog up to date |
Some firms, including Dedicated Bookkeeping, go further with advisory services: cash flow forecasting, budgets, virtual CFO dashboards and fixing slow, manual finance processes. This is the difference between knowing what happened last month and knowing what is coming next month.
How much do bookkeeping services cost in Australia?
The cost of bookkeeping services depends on how much work your business needs and how the service is priced.
There are three common ways to pay:
- Hourly: best if your needs are irregular or you only want a catch-up.
- Fixed monthly fee: one agreed price each month, so there are no surprises. This is increasingly the norm.
- Per transaction: less common, and it can be hard to predict.
What drives the price: how many transactions you have, how many staff you pay and how often, how many bank accounts and entities you run, whether you need trust accounting, and how far behind the books are.
At Dedicated Bookkeeping, pricing is agreed up front, as either a fixed fee or an hourly rate, after a free discovery call. You know exactly what is included before any work starts.
Outsourced vs in-house bookkeeping
| Outsourced bookkeeping service | In-house bookkeeper | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Pay only for the hours or scope you need | Salary, super, leave, equipment and training |
| Expertise | An experienced team across many businesses | Depends on one person |
| Registered BAS agent | Usually, yes | Not necessarily. Employees lodge for their employer only |
| Cover for leave or illness | Built in | You need a backup |
| Software and systems | Set up and maintained properly | Depends on the person |
| Best for | Most small and growing businesses | Larger businesses with daily finance workload |
For most businesses without a full-time finance workload, outsourcing costs less than employing someone and gives you broader expertise.
Do online bookkeeping services need to be local?
Not any more. With cloud software, secure document sharing and video calls, an online bookkeeping service can look after a business anywhere in Australia as easily as one down the road. What matters more is experience in your industry, registration as a BAS agent and how quickly they respond. We cover this in detail in Should “bookkeeper near me” mean local?
How to choose a bookkeeping service: 7 questions to ask
- Are you a registered BAS agent with the Tax Practitioners Board? Only registered agents can charge a fee to lodge your BAS. You can check any agent on the TPB register.
- Which software are you certified in? Look for Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks certification.
- Have you worked with businesses like mine? Trades, allied health, law, real estate and hospitality all have their own quirks.
- Is your price fixed, and what exactly is included? Get it in writing before you start.
- Who will I deal with? A named, experienced person, or a different person each month?
- How will you report to me, and how often? Monthly reports you can understand are the minimum.
- Do you work alongside my accountant? A good bookkeeper makes your accountant’s job faster, which lowers your tax-time bill.
Signs it’s time to outsource your bookkeeping
- You are doing the books at night or on weekends.
- Your BAS is stressful or late.
- You don’t know your real cash position without logging in to the bank.
- Invoices go out late, or overdue customers aren’t being chased.
- Your accountant keeps asking you to fix things before tax time.
- You are months behind. See Behind on bookkeeping? How to catch up.
Why Dedicated Bookkeeping
Dedicated Bookkeeping has provided bookkeeping and advisory services to Australian businesses for more than 16 years. We are registered with the Tax Practitioners Board as a BAS Agent and certified in Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks. We are based on the Gold Coast and work remotely with businesses Australia-wide. Founder Ed Hutton brings a Lean Six Sigma process-improvement background, so we don’t just keep your books; we fix the manual steps and reporting delays that slow you down.
Book a free discovery call → or see all our services.
FAQ: bookkeeping services
What do bookkeeping services include?
Bookkeeping services usually include bank reconciliations, accounts payable and receivable, payroll and Single Touch Payroll, superannuation, BAS and IAS lodgement, and monthly financial reports. Some providers also offer cash flow forecasting and advisory.
How much do bookkeeping services cost in Australia?
It depends on how many transactions you have, how many staff you pay, how many entities you run and how far behind the books are. Most bookkeepers offer a fixed monthly fee or an hourly rate. At Dedicated Bookkeeping, pricing is agreed up front after a free discovery call.
Is it cheaper to outsource bookkeeping than hire a bookkeeper?
For most small businesses, yes. You pay only for the work you need, with no salary, super, leave or training costs, and you get cover when someone is away.
Can an online bookkeeper work with my business if they’re not local?
Yes. With cloud software such as Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, an online bookkeeper can look after a business anywhere in Australia. Industry experience and BAS agent registration matter more than location.
Does my bookkeeper need to be a registered BAS agent?
If they charge a fee to prepare or lodge your BAS, or give advice on BAS matters, they must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board as a BAS agent.
Will an outsourced bookkeeper work with my accountant?
Yes. A good bookkeeper keeps your records accurate all year and hands clean books to your accountant for tax returns and year-end work, which usually reduces the accountant’s time and fees.