"Outsourced finance function" is the most loosely used phrase in Australian business services. Providers apply it to everything from a reconciliation service to a genuine finance department, and the price range runs from a few hundred dollars a month to more than the salary you were trying to avoid. The real benchmark: most Australian SMEs pay $2,500 to $6,000 a month for a complete function that would cost more than $220,000 a year to staff internally. Even against a single finance manager hire, the saving runs 40 to 60 per cent before you count recruitment fees, leave cover and the management time you get back.
The complete function has five layers: transaction processing, payroll, compliance lodgement, management reporting and forecasting, and senior oversight. Every provider below claims the phrase; this guide shows which layers each one actually delivers, at what indicative price, so you can compare products rather than labels. Our explainer on finance function outsourcing covers the model itself; the outsourced finance team cost guide covers what each layer should add to the fee.
Published: August 2026
Four factors, weighted equally: layer coverage (which of the five layers are included, not implied), pricing transparency, credentials (BAS or tax agent registration, CA or CPA oversight), and fit by business type. Every provider is a real, operating Australian service. Pricing is indicative from public information at the time of writing and should be confirmed directly. Scale Suite publishes this guide and appears first; where a specialist beats us for a particular buyer, we have said so.
Two redirects before you read further. If you are a trades or construction business, go to Arbour Advisory at number three: job costing and progress-claim mechanics are their core product and a generic function will not give you per-job profitability. If you are venture-backed with a raise inside twelve months, go to Standard Ledger at number five. We would tell you the same on a call, so we may as well tell you here.
A complete finance function is five layers, and the fee should be explainable layer by layer. Transaction processing is the base: reconciliation and coding, priced on volume, from a few hundred dollars a month standalone. Payroll adds per-headcount cost and, since Payday Super began on 1 July 2026, a per-pay-run super obligation that has turned payroll from a fortnightly task into a weekly compliance rhythm. Compliance lodgement requires BAS or tax agent registration; a provider without it legally cannot lodge for a fee, whatever the price. Management reporting and forecasting is where the function starts paying for itself, converting reconciled history into cashflow visibility and decisions. Senior oversight is the review layer: a qualified accountant accountable for the numbers being right, not just present. Complete five-layer functions run $1,500 to $6,000 a month for most SMEs. When a quote is materially below that, a layer is missing; when it is materially above, you are usually paying firm overhead or buying the fractional CFO layer at $2,500 to $15,000 a month on its own. The useful discipline is pricing the layers you need before pricing the providers who sell them.
Scale Suite (we publish this guide, so discount accordingly) is one of the few providers where all five layers sit inside a single fee and a single team. Transaction processing and reconciliation run weekly, payroll and AP/AR sit alongside, BAS and IAS lodge under our own registration as BAS agents (26298194), reporting covers weekly cashflow tracking, variance analysis, budgeting, forecasting and financial modelling, and senior oversight comes from Chartered Accountants with Big 4, startup and multinational backgrounds. Because the layers are not stitched together from modules, the same team that reconciles the bank on Tuesday builds the forecast on Friday, so strategic decisions rest on numbers current to the week. Delivery is embedded through shared platforms with same-day responses, national from Sydney, and an embedded HR service line (recruitment, onboarding, people and culture, Employment Hero Gold Partner administration) is available under the same engagement.
Indicative pricing: Published. From $1,500 per month; most clients $2,500 to $6,000 per month. No lock-in, 30-day money-back guarantee.
Best fit: Businesses whose finances have outgrown a bookkeeper but where a $100K+ finance manager is premature.
The catch: Built on Xero. MYOB and ERP-committed businesses should look at firm-led options.
Brisbane-based and operating since 2014, SBO has been in this category longer than most, and has narrowed hard into verticals: eCommerce, search funds, digital agencies and SaaS. They call the approach "Operational Finance", with weekly rather than quarterly involvement, and the platform stack (Xero, Shopify, A2X, Cin7, Airwallex) tells you who the client is. A CA firm, fully remote, with team across Australia, India and the Philippines.
Indicative pricing: Not published; engagements of this shape commonly run $3,000 to $8,000 per month. Confirm directly.
Best fit: eCommerce operators and search funds who want an adviser fluent in their specific numbers, inventory, platform fees, acquisition diligence.
The catch: The vertical focus is the product. If you are a services or trades business, you are outside their core client set, and confirm whether payroll processing is in scope, as it is not prominent in their published offer.
Arbour delivers an integrated function from transactions through virtual CFO guidance with genuine depth in trades and construction: job costing, progress claims and seasonal cashflow planning are core equipment rather than afterthoughts.
Indicative pricing: Published from around $2,500 per month.
Best fit: Trades and construction businesses that need per-job profitability, not just a compliant ledger.
The catch: Outside trades, the offer reads more generic.
A national bench of experienced part-time CFOs engaged by the day for the top layer only: strategy, funding, banking, exit preparation. Processing and compliance are explicitly not the product, so your total function cost is their fee plus everything you already pay.
Indicative pricing: Day-rate based; the Australian market for this layer runs $2,500 to $15,000 per month by cadence and seniority.
Best fit: Businesses with a solid processing engine that need senior judgement for a defined phase.
The catch: A CFO on top of messy books is expensive guesswork. Fix the layers underneath first, and benchmark the layer against our guide to fractional CFO costs in Australia.
Standard Ledger runs finance for startups and scaleups around the raise cycle: models, due diligence rooms, ESOP administration and board reporting that investors recognise. Offices in Sydney and Melbourne, delivery national.
Indicative pricing: Published tiers, commonly from around $1,000 per month early-stage, scaling with CFO involvement.
Best fit: Venture-backed companies where the next raise shapes everything.
The catch: The startup toolkit is the point. Conventional trading businesses with volume are better served by generalist teams.
Fullstack pairs startup accounting with one of the better-known R&D Tax Incentive practices in the country, which matters when the annual claim is a material share of your cash inflow and you want the claim team inside the accounting relationship rather than across town.
Indicative pricing: On application; monthly accounting retainers commonly $1,000 to $3,500 plus R&D engagement fees.
Best fit: Tech companies where the R&D claim funds real runway.
The catch: Make sure the everyday operating rhythm gets the same energy as claim season.
iKeep's hybrid local-offshore model delivers fixed-fee bookkeeping with advisory as a step-up and a paid diagnostic at entry. Well-systematised at the processing layer; the upper layers are modules.
Indicative pricing: Published bookkeeping tiers from several hundred dollars a month; full-function scope quoted.
Best fit: Businesses stepping up from bookkeeping gradually.
The catch: Price the complete stack before comparing against packaged providers, or the comparison flatters the entry tier.
hammerjack supplies Australian-managed, Philippines-based finance and back-office teams at per-seat pricing, with more management wrapper than raw staffing providers. It is the capacity end of this market: strong economics, but the function's design and review stay with you.
Indicative pricing: Typically $2,500 to $4,500 per month per full-time finance seat, all-in.
Best fit: Cost-led buyers with strong internal finance leadership.
The catch: Seats are not a function. Someone still owns the close, the review and the lodgements, and TPB supervision requirements apply to BAS work.
Map your gap to the model before comparing a single price. If the whole function is the gap, shortlist managed teams and interrogate layer coverage: ask each provider to confirm, in writing, which of the five layers the fee includes and who performs the senior review by name; our outsourced finance services page shows the five layers scoped in full. If only the top layer is missing, buy fractional and keep your processing, but read the in-house finance manager vs outsourced team comparison first, because the crossover point where a team beats a hire arrives earlier than most owners expect. If cost is the only driver, offshore seats win on paper and lose on owner attention, which is a real cost that never appears on the invoice.
Then run the numbers properly: your scenario through the hire vs outsource calculator, the quote against our finance team benchmarks, and the provider's registration against the TPB register. Finally, read the exit clause. Every provider on this list who is confident in their work will let you leave on a month's notice; treat anything longer as information.
What does an outsourced finance function cost in Australia in 2026?
Complete five-layer functions run $1,500 to $6,000 per month for most SMEs. Partial products cost less because they are less: bookkeeping-only from a few hundred dollars monthly, fractional CFO layers $2,500 to $15,000 monthly, offshore seats $2,500 to $4,500 each.
What should be included in an outsourced finance function?
All five layers: transaction processing, payroll, compliance lodgement, management reporting and forecasting, and senior oversight. If a proposal is silent on any layer, it is not included. Get the layer list in writing.
What is the difference between an outsourced finance function and outsourced bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping is the first layer only. The function is the whole engine, and the price difference between the two reflects payroll, compliance accountability, reporting and senior review, not margin.
Can an outsourced provider lodge BAS and IAS?
Only registered BAS agents or tax agents can lodge for a fee. Verify the registration number on the Tax Practitioners Board public register; unregistered providers preparing BAS for payment are breaking the law.
Do I lose control of my financial data?
Not if you set it up properly. The software file stays in your name, bank access stays read-only where possible, and the provider works inside your systems with a documented close process. Decline any provider who wants the file in their name.
How long does it take to transition to an outsourced function?
Two to six weeks: access and process documentation in week one, a catch-up phase if the books are behind, then the first full month-end under the new team. Catch-up work is usually quoted separately; see what drives that price in our catch-up bookkeeping cost guide.
Can an outsourced finance function replace a finance manager?
For most SMEs, yes, and at 40 to 60 per cent below the loaded cost, because the function covers processing through senior review rather than one person's capacity. The exception is when decisions genuinely need someone in the room daily; the in-house vs outsourced comparison covers where that crossover sits.
Does an outsourced finance function work for a business with staff in multiple states?
Yes, and multi-state is where it earns its keep: payroll tax thresholds, long service leave and workers compensation differ by state, and a function that tracks all of them beats a single hire who knows one state well.
Is the cost of an outsourced finance function tax deductible?
Fees for running your business's finance function are ordinarily deductible business expenses, unlike the recruitment and on-costs of a hire, which spread differently. Confirm treatment for your structure with your tax accountant.
Scale Suite is a Sydney-based provider of outsourced finance teams and fractional CFO services for Australian SMEs. We deliver weekly bookkeeping, payroll, BAS/IAS lodgement, cashflow reporting, management accounts, and strategic fractional CFO oversight, all as a fully embedded team that works inside your business.
CA-qualified, Xero Certified, and registered BAS Agents, we replace fragmented bookkeepers and once-a-year accountants with one responsive finance 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.
We review and check this guide periodically. At the time of writing (August 2026), all information was current. Scale Suite is a registered BAS Agent, not a licensed tax advisor or financial advisor. This content is general information only and does not constitute professional tax, financial, or legal advice. Some details may change over time.
Sources
Tax Practitioners Board register: https://www.tpb.gov.au/public-register
Provider websites and published pricing pages, reviewed August 2026.
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.
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