Owners at this stage ask us…
Usually not. We often work alongside your admin, they keep the day-to-day moving, we take the reporting, compliance and advisory layer. You get a finance function without anyone losing their job.
Profit and loss with budget comparison, margin by division or team, cash position and forecast, aged receivables, payroll and leave liabilities, and your KPIs against target, topped with a one-page summary in plain English.
It's the practical core of it: the reporting discipline and monthly accountability, grounded in books we keep ourselves so the numbers are always right. If you outgrow it, you'll graduate to a CFO with immaculate foundations.
Yes. Mixed-award payroll is exactly where we spend our time, classifications, entitlements, super, STP and the contractor-vs-employee line. It's also where the biggest hidden liabilities live, so we audit it first.
A fixed monthly fee based on your size and structure, quoted after a proper look at your books and always a fraction of a finance hire.
More questions from owners growing past half a million
Usually yes. By $500k you have enough transactions, payroll and GST that DIY errors cost more than the fee, and your time is better spent running the business than reconciling it.
A bookkeeper keeps your accounts accurate year-round and lodges your BAS; an accountant handles your annual tax return and structuring. Most growing businesses need both, working together.
Profit is timing on paper; cash is what is actually in the bank. Money tied up in unpaid invoices, stock, tax owing and loan repayments is the usual gap, and a cash flow forecast reconciles the two.
A common target is three months of fixed operating costs in a separate account. If that is a stretch, start with one month and build from there.
Move the GST you collect into a separate account as it lands, so the BAS payment is money you are already holding rather than money you have to find.
It is a structuring call for your accountant, driven by asset protection, tax and growth plans, but many service businesses consider it as profit grows past the point where sole-trader tax rates sting.
It depends on your structure: sole traders take drawings, company directors usually take a wage or director fees with the right PAYG and super treatment. Recording it correctly matters more than most owners realise.
Set up PAYG withholding, Single Touch Payroll, super fund choice, workers compensation and the correct award rate. Getting it right from the first pay run avoids expensive back-pay later.
Super is currently due quarterly, but from 1 July 2026 Payday Super requires it to be paid at the same time as wages. Businesses using the super gap as working capital will feel that change most.
Map each role to the right award and classification, then check base rates, penalties, overtime and allowances. Deliberate underpayment has been a criminal offence since 1 January 2025.
STP reports every pay run to the ATO automatically through your software. It is easy to get wrong at setup, so it is worth having someone confirm your pay items are mapped correctly.
Invoice the moment work is done, shorten your terms, automate reminders, take deposits on large jobs, and put a payment link on every invoice. Consistent follow-up beats tougher terms.
The ATO enters you into PAYG instalments once your business income passes a set level, so you pre-pay tax through the year. Budgeting for it avoids a large end-of-year bill.
Only once your total Australian wages cross your state payroll tax threshold (in Victoria, $1 million a year). It is worth watching as your wage bill grows so it never catches you by surprise.
At this size, weekly rather than quarterly. One miscoded bank feed or missed invoice can distort a whole month, and errors compound before BAS time.
Profit and loss, balance sheet, aged receivables, aged payables and a short cash flow forecast. Together they tell you if you are making money, what you own and owe, and whether you will have enough cash.
Yes, and engaging early is far better than missing a deadline. Interest applies, so a plan is a bridge rather than a free loan.
The ATO can make directors personally liable for unpaid PAYG, GST and super. Lodging on time, even when you cannot pay, is what keeps you protected.
Compare your gross and net margins to your own trend and to ATO small business benchmarks. A falling margin on rising revenue is the classic sign you are growing yourself broke.
