Brisbane bookkeeping, kept to the date.

A bookkeeper keeps the day to day record: reconciling bank accounts, coding transactions, running payroll and, as a registered BAS agent, preparing and lodging activity statements. A registered tax agent, usually your accountant, prepares and lodges income tax returns and gives tax advice. A BAS agent cannot lodge an income tax return, so most small businesses use both, and clean books make the accountant's part shorter.

The standard due dates are 28 October for July to September, 28 February for October to December, 28 April for January to March and 28 July for April to June. If a due date falls on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge and pay on the next business day. Statements lodged through a registered agent can carry different dates, so check what applies to your own account.

The outstanding period is reconciled and lodged first, so penalties and interest stop building. Being behind on three quarters is the same work as one quarter done three times, oldest first. Where a penalty has already been applied, a request for remission can be made, but the outcome is the ATO's decision and nobody can promise it.

On a cash basis you report GST when money actually changes hands. On an accrual basis you report it when an invoice is issued or received, even if it has not been paid. A business with aggregated turnover under $10 million can generally choose cash, which suits many small businesses because GST is only paid on money already received. Talk it through with your accountant before changing it.

You must register once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 a year, or $150,000 for a non-profit organisation. Taxi and ride-sourcing drivers must register whatever their turnover. Below the threshold registration is optional, and it is worth discussing with your accountant because it changes your prices and your reporting.

Yes, all three. If you are already set up, adviser access is added to your file and nothing changes about how you work. If you are not set up yet, a new file is configured from scratch with your bank feeds connected.

Single Touch Payroll reports each pay run's wages, tax withheld and super information to the ATO on or before payday, straight from payroll software. It applies to every employer, whatever the number of staff. At the end of the financial year the payroll is finalised through STP by 14 July, which makes each employee's income statement ready for their tax return.

The super guarantee rate is 12% of an employee's ordinary time earnings, the rate that has applied since 1 July 2025. Payroll is set up to calculate it on every pay run, so the amount owing is always visible in the file.

After setup, very little: forwarding receipts and bills as they arrive, and answering the occasional question about what a payment was for. Reconciling, coding and reporting happen on this side of the desk, on a fixed monthly rhythm agreed when you start.

Yes, it is a large share of the work. Catch-up bookkeeping brings each period current in order, oldest first, from bank statements, receipts and invoices, so overdue statements can be lodged and the file can be relied on from then. It is quoted after a look at the file, because two years of a sole trader and two years of a business with staff are very different jobs.

Registered BAS agents are listed on the public Tax Practitioners Board register, searchable by name or registration number. The number for Ledger Lane is printed at the foot of this page. Check it for any bookkeeper you are considering, because preparing or lodging a BAS for a fee requires that registration.

On the work in front of it: how many transactions, how many bank accounts, whether payroll is included and whether catch-up is needed first. A fixed monthly quote is given in writing at no charge after a short look at your file, so the price is known before any work starts.