Outsourced bookkeeping in Australia is not one product. Some providers sell a $99 dashboard. Some sell a weekly embedded team. Some sell a seat in Manila. Ranking them as if they were the same thing is how buyers end up with a cheap file and an expensive mess. This guide compares ten real services on delivery model, published pricing, BAS-agent registration and who they actually suit.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Disclosure. Scale Suite publishes this guide. Our entry appears first because we are one of the providers in this market. We have said where another option is the better call. Weigh our entry accordingly.
Who this page is not for. Sole traders and businesses under about 20 staff or $2 million revenue looking for a $99 reconciliation; businesses staying on SAP, Dynamics, Wiise or Chris21; anyone whose core need is a registered tax agent rather than a bookkeeping function.
Four products share the label. An embedded team owns weekly processing, BAS lodgement and reporting under one fee, typically $1,500 to $6,000 a month. A fixed-fee bookkeeping practice reconciles and lodges, usually $500 to $2,500 a month. A franchise or local practitioner is a person in a suburb. An offshore seat is labour at $20 an hour or a few hundred dollars a month, with review and lodgement staying on your desk. Compare inside a product, not across them.
A loaded in-house bookkeeper in Australia now costs $95,000 to $110,000 a year once superannuation, leave and on-costs are counted. That is the number to put next to any monthly fee.
Four factors: delivery model, whether pricing is published, Tax Practitioners Board BAS-agent or tax-agent registration, and fit by size. Every provider below is a real operating service. Pricing is indicative from public pages reviewed September 2026; confirm directly. Only a registered BAS agent or tax agent can lodge a BAS for a fee. Check the number on the TPB register yourself.
Scale Suite, which is us, so weigh this entry accordingly, runs bookkeeping as part of an embedded finance team: weekly Xero reconciliation, accounts payable and receivable, payroll including Payday Super and STP Phase 2, BAS and IAS as registered BAS agents (registration 26298194), cashflow tracking and a Chartered Accountant review layer. The point is not a cheaper bookkeeper. It is one team accountable for the close.
Indicative pricing: From $1,500 per month; most clients invest $2,500 to $6,000 for the complete function. No lock-in, 30-day money-back guarantee.
Best fit: Australian businesses past a solo bookkeeper, typically from about 20 staff or $2 million revenue, on Xero.
The catch: Built on Xero and Employment Hero. If you are committed to MYOB or an ERP, say so on the first call and we will tell you we are the wrong firm.
See weekly Xero bookkeeping from $1,500 a month.
Scale Suite is on this list (that's us). Weekly Xero bookkeeping starts at $1,500 a month for businesses with 20 or more staff. Outsourced finance services.
Visory assigns an onshore Australia or New Zealand team of two to four bookkeepers working in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, with published tiers tied to monthly expense volume rather than a custom quote. Packages include real-time accrual bookkeeping, monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, and quarterly BAS.
Indicative pricing: Published from $545 a month (expenses up to $75,000), from $895 a month (up to $125,000), custom above that. Reviewed September 2026 on Visory's pricing page.
Best fit: SMEs that want an onshore team and a published price ladder, without buying a CFO layer.
The catch: Fees step with expense volume. This is finance admin, not a managed finance function with senior oversight in the fee.
iKeep is a chartered-led bookkeeping practice with Sydney and Melbourne offices and a hybrid onshore account manager plus offshore processing team. Weekly reporting is the cadence they sell. BAS preparation sits inside the bookkeeping packages. Virtual CFO is a separate step-up.
Indicative pricing: Custom packages, not a single public ladder. Confirm directly.
Best fit: Owners who want a named Australian account manager and weekly numbers, and are comfortable with offshore processing underneath.
The catch: The hybrid model only works if BAS-relevant work is supervised to Tax Practitioners Board rules. Ask who reviews and who lodges, by name and registration number.
Beany is a low-cost online bookkeeping product aimed at smaller files: dashboard access, email support, published tiers from around $99 a month on the entry plan.
Indicative pricing: Published from about $99 a month, scaling toward a few hundred for fuller packages. Confirm current tiers directly.
Best fit: Straightforward businesses well under $3 million revenue that want compliance, not a finance conversation.
The catch: You trade personal service for price. Same-day help and management reporting are not the product.
Digit is a Perth-headquartered Xero Platinum Partner with a Manila processing team and registered BAS agents. They publish Melbourne pricing from $850 a month and sell fixed fees with no lock-in and cross-cover when someone is on leave.
Indicative pricing: Published from $850 a month on the Melbourne bookkeeping page; other cities quoted. Confirm directly.
Best fit: Xero-only businesses that want a systematised bookkeeping and payroll function at the lower published end of the market.
The catch: Bookkeeping and reporting, not a senior strategic layer. Price the stack you actually need before comparing the entry figure to a managed-team fee.
A Melbourne accounting and advisory firm with a Queen Street city office. Bookkeeping sits inside a broader firm relationship: tax, structure, SMSF, virtual CFO. Useful when you want one adviser across the business and your personal position.
Indicative pricing: Quoted after a strategy session. Confirm directly.
Best fit: Established businesses that want bookkeeping bundled with tax and structure, including foreign-owned entities.
The catch: You may be buying partner-led advisory you will use twice a year if the actual gap is weekly processing.
A national franchise of local bookkeepers, roughly 150 to 180 franchisees. The product is a person in a suburb, which is the right answer if you want face-to-face and are in a regional town the embedded-team providers do not visit.
Indicative pricing: Set per franchisee. Confirm with the local office.
Best fit: Owners who want in-person, local service rather than a remote team.
The catch: Quality and software depth vary by franchisee. Interview the person who will do the file, not the brand.
A remote-first Xero practice built around ecommerce and marketplace sellers: Shopify, Amazon, settlement versus revenue, fees and inventory. That specialisation is the reason to shortlist them, and the reason not to if you are a trade or professional-services firm.
Indicative pricing: Subscription, figures often behind a quote widget. Confirm directly.
Best fit: Ecommerce and marketplace businesses where settlement timing is the bookkeeping problem.
The catch: Vertical focus is real. A construction or wholesale file is outside what makes this provider worth the fee.
Melbourne CPA-qualified accountants and registered tax agents, working across Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks. Bookkeeping and the annual return can sit in the same firm, and they are one of the few on this list that are not Xero-only.
Indicative pricing: Quoted after a free consultation. Confirm directly.
Best fit: Small and medium businesses wanting bookkeeping plus tax under one roof, especially on MYOB.
The catch: A compliance and bookkeeping firm, not a monthly management-reporting rhythm with a senior review layer in the base fee.
An offshore bookkeeping house selling labour at a low hourly rate, commonly cited around $20 an hour plus GST in public comparisons. Legitimate when you have someone in Australia who owns process, review and lodgement.
Indicative pricing: From about $20 an hour plus GST for offshore processing. Confirm directly.
Best fit: Businesses with existing finance leadership that need capacity, not accountability.
The catch: You did not buy a function. BAS-relevant work must be supervised by a registered Australian agent. A cheap file that nobody reviews is how GST mapping goes wrong for a year.
Decide the product first. If you need someone accountable for the weekly close and the BAS, shortlist an embedded team or a registered practice, not a seat. Then check three things in writing: the BAS or tax-agent registration number (and look it up), what moves the fee, and the exit terms including whether the Xero file stays in your name.
Internal benchmark: 2026 finance salary guide. Cost by volume: cost of bookkeeping in Australia.
How much does outsourced bookkeeping cost in Australia?
Published entry points run from about $99 a month for a micro dashboard to $1,500 to $6,000 a month for an embedded team. Most established SMEs paying for a real monthly close sit between $800 and $2,500. Confirm what is in the fee: processing only, or payroll, BAS lodgement and commentary as well.
Can an outsourced bookkeeper lodge my BAS?
Only if they are a registered BAS agent or tax agent. Check the TPB register. Registration is a legal requirement where a fee is charged, not a nice-to-have.
Is offshore bookkeeping legal?
Yes, with Australian professional oversight and TPB-compliant supervision of BAS work. The risk is buying hours and assuming you bought lodgement and review.
Scale Suite is a Sydney-based provider of outsourced finance teams for Australian SMEs. Weekly bookkeeping, payroll, BAS/IAS lodgement, cashflow reporting and fractional CFO oversight, as one embedded team. CA-qualified, Xero Certified, registered BAS agents. Packages from $1,500 a month, no lock-in.
See outsourced finance / weekly Xero bookkeeping for businesses that have outgrown a solo bookkeeper.
Reviewed September 2026. Provider details and pricing change; confirm directly. Scale Suite is a registered BAS Agent, not a licensed tax advisor. General information only.
Scale Suite is a Sydney-based provider of outsourced finance and HR services for Australian SMEs. We deliver bookkeeping, financial reporting, payroll processing, fractional CFO support, recruitment, employee onboarding, people and culture support, and fractional HR oversight, all as a fully embedded team that works inside your business.
Employment Hero Gold Partner, CA-qualified, and Xero Certified, we replace fragmented finance and HR processes with one responsive, senior-level function at a fraction of the cost of full-time hires. We serve growing businesses across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, with packages starting from $1,500 per month and no lock-in contracts.
30 minutes with our team.
We will review your current finance setup, compare the full cost of an internal hire against our embedded team, and show you exactly what your finance function should cost at your stage of growth.
You will leave with a clear view of what is working, what is missing and where you would save.
No lock-in contracts. 30-day money-back guarantee.
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