If you search "how much does a bookkeeper cost" or "accountant fees Australia," you'll find plenty of answers. But those answers only tell you part of the story because no business runs its finances on a single role.
By the time you're turning over $2M to $10M, your finance function involves multiple people, multiple software subscriptions, and your own time. The real question isn't what any one role costs. It's what the whole thing adds up to when you stack every layer together.
This is the breakdown nobody else publishes, because most providers only want to talk about their slice. We're going to add it all up.
Every business above about $1M in revenue needs some version of these five layers, whether they realise it or not.
Layer 1: Transaction processing. Someone needs to code bank transactions, enter bills, issue invoices, reconcile accounts, and manage receipts. This is your bookkeeping layer. It's high volume, relatively low complexity, and needs to happen consistently, daily or weekly at minimum.
Layer 2: Payroll and employee administration. Someone needs to run pay runs, calculate super, handle leave accruals, manage STP reporting, issue payment summaries, and stay across award interpretation and payroll tax obligations. This might be the same person doing your bookkeeping, or it might be separate.
Layer 3: Compliance and tax. BAS preparation and lodgement, income tax returns, year-end financial statements, and any specialist compliance (FBT, payroll tax returns, workers comp declarations, R&D claims). This is typically your external accountant.
Layer 4: Financial reporting and analysis. Monthly profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow reporting, budget versus actual analysis, and KPI tracking. This is where raw bookkeeping data gets turned into information you can actually use to make decisions. It requires someone who understands your business, not just your chart of accounts.
Layer 5: Strategic finance. Cash flow forecasting, financial modelling for hiring or investment decisions, pricing strategy, debt management, banking relationships, and board or investor reporting. This is CFO-level work.
Most businesses under $3M try to cover all five layers with a bookkeeper and an annual accountant. It doesn't work. Layers 4 and 5 simply don't get done, and the business runs on gut feel rather than financial insight.
At this stage, your finance function typically looks like this.
A part-time bookkeeper handling layers 1 and 2. If you hire someone in-house at 2 to 3 days per week, you're paying $30,000 to $45,000 per year in salary plus $3,500 to $5,200 in super. If you outsource, expect $1,500 to $3,000 per month ($18,000 to $36,000 annually).
An external accountant for layer 3, costing $3,000 to $8,000 per year depending on complexity. Straightforward company with clean books: lower end. Multiple entities, trusts, or international operations: higher end.
Accounting software (Xero or MYOB) at $50 to $80 per month ($600 to $960 annually). Add payroll software if not included, receipt management tools, and possibly an invoicing or accounts receivable platform. Total software: $1,000 to $3,000 per year.
Layers 4 and 5 are almost certainly being done by you, the business owner. If you spend 5 hours per week on finance tasks (reviewing cash flow, making payment decisions, worrying about whether you can afford that next hire), that's 260 hours per year. Value that at whatever your productive hourly rate is. For most business owners in this bracket, that's $100 to $200 per hour, meaning $26,000 to $52,000 worth of your time going to finance tasks rather than growing the business.
Total cost at $1M to $2M: $50,000 to $100,000 per year when you include everything. Most business owners think they're spending $25,000 to $40,000 because they don't count their own time or the full cost of employment.
This is the stage where the cracks appear. Transaction volume has doubled or tripled. You've got more employees, more complex payroll obligations, and potentially payroll tax registration. Your bookkeeper is maxed out or struggling with accuracy. Your accountant is still only engaged quarterly. And you desperately need monthly reporting but have no one to produce it.
Here's what a properly resourced finance function looks like at this stage.
A full-time bookkeeper for layers 1 and 2: $60,000 to $75,000 salary, $6,900 to $8,600 super, plus payroll tax if applicable, workers comp, and overheads. Fully loaded: $78,000 to $100,000 per year.
Your external accountant, now dealing with more complexity: $6,000 to $15,000 per year.
Someone capable of producing monthly financial reports and analysis (layer 4). If you hire a finance manager or financial controller, you're adding $100,000 to $140,000 in salary, fully loaded at $130,000 to $180,000. Many businesses at this stage can't justify this cost, so this layer either doesn't get done, gets done poorly by the bookkeeper, or gets done by the owner.
Layer 5 strategic finance still falls to the owner, or doesn't happen at all. A fractional CFO engagement adds $2,500 to $5,000 per month ($30,000 to $60,000 annually).
Software costs increase: $3,000 to $6,000 per year for accounting, payroll, reporting tools, and integrations.
Total cost at $3M to $5M with full internal capability: $180,000 to $360,000 per year. In reality, most businesses at this stage spend $100,000 to $150,000 and accept the gaps, meaning no monthly reporting, no strategic finance, and the owner still doing 5 to 10 hours per week of finance oversight.
At this revenue level, the stakes are too high to wing it. Cash flow management involves hundreds of thousands in monthly commitments. Payroll runs to $100,000+ per month. A single compliance mistake (missed payroll tax, incorrect super payments, failed BAS obligations) can result in significant penalties.
The full finance function at this stage looks like this.
Bookkeeper (possibly with an assistant for high-volume businesses): $78,000 to $120,000 fully loaded.
Finance manager or financial controller to own reporting, budgeting, and financial operations: $130,000 to $180,000 fully loaded.
External accountant for year-end, tax, and specialist compliance: $10,000 to $25,000 per year.
Fractional or part-time CFO for strategic finance: $40,000 to $80,000 per year.
Software and tools: $5,000 to $12,000 per year.
Total cost at $5M to $10M: $260,000 to $420,000 per year. That's before you account for recruitment costs (if you need to replace someone), training time, and the management overhead of running a multi-person finance team.
Beyond salaries and fees, there are costs that don't appear on anyone's quote.
Recruitment. Finance professionals turn over. When your bookkeeper leaves (average tenure: 2 to 3 years for in-house roles), you face recruitment agency fees (15% to 20% of salary), 2 to 4 weeks of hiring time, and 1 to 3 months of reduced productivity while the new person learns your systems. For a $70,000 bookkeeper, a single turnover event costs $15,000 to $25,000. For a finance manager, double it.
Management time. Someone needs to review the bookkeeper's work, manage the accountant relationship, brief the CFO, and handle performance conversations. In most SMEs, that person is the business owner. This is time you're spending managing your finance function instead of running your business.
Error cost. Underpaying super results in the super guarantee charge (SGC), which includes the shortfall plus interest and an administration fee. Getting payroll tax wrong triggers penalties and interest. Incorrect BAS lodgement leads to ATO attention. Inaccurate financial reporting leads to bad business decisions, the most expensive error of all, and the hardest to quantify.
Software and integration costs. It's not just Xero or MYOB. It's payroll software, receipt capture tools, reporting platforms, budgeting tools, accounts payable automation, and the time spent connecting them all. Every additional tool adds a subscription cost and an integration maintenance burden.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of what a business at $3M to $5M revenue pays for its finance function.
Building internally with a bookkeeper ($85K fully loaded), external accountant ($10K), Xero and payroll software ($4K), and the owner spending 5 hours per week on finance ($40K in opportunity cost): approximately $139,000 per year. Gaps: no monthly reporting, no strategic finance, no cash flow forecasting, owner still heavily involved.
Building internally with full coverage adding a finance manager ($150K fully loaded) and fractional CFO ($45K): approximately $294,000 per year. Full capability, but expensive, and you're now managing three finance relationships plus software.
Outsourced finance team covering bookkeeping, payroll, monthly reporting, and CFO oversight at $3,500 to $5,500 per month: approximately $42,000 to $66,000 per year. Covers layers 1 through 5 under a single engagement. External accountant still needed for year-end and tax ($10K). Total: $52,000 to $76,000 per year.
The difference is significant. For roughly what you'd pay a full-time bookkeeper alone, an outsourced model can deliver capability across all five layers of the finance function.
Want to see where your business sits? Use our employee cost calculator to see the fully loaded cost of any finance hire, then request a free proposal to compare it against Scale Suite's embedded finance model. We cover all five layers from $1,500/month with daily integration, Chartered Accountant oversight, and no lock-in contracts. Book a 30-minute call.
An outsourced finance team can price below internal hiring costs because of three structural advantages.
First, utilisation. Your business might need 15 hours of bookkeeping, 5 hours of reporting, and 3 hours of CFO input per week. That's 23 hours total, not enough to justify even one full-time hire, let alone three roles. An outsourced team allocates exactly the hours each layer requires, shared across a portfolio of clients.
Second, capability depth. A single bookkeeper can't also be a finance manager and a CFO. An outsourced team structures with different people at different skill levels, giving you access to expertise you'd otherwise need to hire separately.
Third, continuity. When your bookkeeper goes on leave or resigns, the work still gets done. The knowledge isn't locked in one person's head. The team covers absences without interrupting your financial operations.
Add up everything you're spending today: bookkeeper (salary or fees), accountant (annual fees), software subscriptions, any fractional or contract finance support, and your own time. Be honest about the hours.
Then look at what's not getting done. Are you getting monthly financial reports that actually help you make decisions? Do you have a rolling cash flow forecast? Is someone proactively identifying financial risks and opportunities? Or are you running on historical data and instinct?
The total cost of your finance function isn't just what you're paying. It's what you're paying plus the value of what's missing.
For most businesses in the $2M to $10M range, the gap between what they're spending and what they actually need is smaller than they think, if they structure it differently. The most expensive finance function isn't the one that costs the most. It's the one that leaves the biggest gaps.
How much does a finance team cost for a small business in Australia?
The total cost of a finance function for an Australian small business depends on revenue stage. At $1M to $2M revenue, expect $50,000 to $100,000 per year across bookkeeping, accounting, software, and owner time. At $3M to $5M, a properly resourced function costs $180,000 to $360,000. At $5M to $10M, the total is $260,000 to $420,000 per year. Most businesses underestimate their true costs by 30% to 50% because they don't account for owner time, recruitment costs, and error costs.
What is the fully loaded cost of a bookkeeper in Australia?
A full-time bookkeeper in Australia costs $78,000 to $100,000 per year when you include salary ($60,000 to $75,000), superannuation (11.5%), payroll tax (if applicable), workers compensation, leave entitlements, equipment, and software. Outsourced bookkeeping typically costs $18,000 to $36,000 per year ($1,500 to $3,000/month) for an equivalent service level.
What finance function does a $5M business need?
A business at $5M revenue needs all five layers of a finance function: transaction processing (bookkeeping), payroll and employee administration, compliance and tax (BAS, income tax, payroll tax), monthly financial reporting and analysis, and strategic finance (cash flow forecasting, financial modelling, pricing strategy). Built internally, this requires a bookkeeper, finance manager, external accountant, and fractional CFO. An outsourced finance team can cover all five layers under a single engagement.
How much does an outsourced finance team cost in Australia?
An outsourced finance team covering bookkeeping, payroll, BAS, monthly reporting, and CFO oversight typically costs $2,500 to $6,000 per month ($30,000 to $72,000 annually) in Australia. This covers all five layers of the finance function and compares to $180,000 to $360,000+ for equivalent internal capability at the $3M to $5M revenue stage. An external accountant is still needed for year-end and tax work ($6,000 to $15,000 per year).
What is the biggest hidden cost in a finance function?
The biggest hidden cost is typically owner or founder time. Most SME owners spend 5 to 10 hours per week on finance tasks (cash flow review, payment approvals, chasing bookkeeper for answers, making financial decisions without proper analysis). At $100 to $200 per hour in opportunity cost, this represents $26,000 to $104,000 per year in productive time diverted from business growth. Recruitment and turnover costs are the second biggest hidden expense, with a single bookkeeper replacement costing $15,000 to $25,000.
When should a business switch from a bookkeeper to a full finance team?
The transition typically happens at $2M to $3M in revenue, when transaction volume outpaces what a bookkeeper can handle accurately, when the business needs monthly reporting (not just annual compliance), when cash flow management becomes critical to operations, or when the owner is spending 5+ hours per week on finance decisions. The trigger is usually a combination of increasing complexity and the realisation that the bookkeeper is delivering data but not insight.
Scale Suite delivers embedded finance and human resource services for ambitious Australian businesses.Our Sydney-based team integrates with your daily operations through a shared platform, working like part of your internal staff but with senior-level expertise. From complete bookkeeping to strategic CFO insights, we deliver better outcomes than a single hire - without the recruitment risk, training time, or full-time salary commitment.
Considering building an internal finance team?
We'll show you exactly what our three-tier model covers, how it compares to internal hires, and what it would cost for your business.
We'll reply within 24 hours to book your free 30-minute call.
No lock-in contracts and 30-day money-back guarantee.
Prefer to book directly? Schedule your free 30-minute call here
