How Much Does an Accountant Cost for a Small Business?
There’s no single answer to how much an accountant costs for a small business. Accounting fees vary depending on your business structure, the services you need — such as tax returns, BAS, bookkeeping or payroll — and how organised your financial records are.
So, how much do small business accountants cost in practice? Most accountants will first look at the amount and complexity of work involved, then quote a fixed annual fee, monthly package or hourly rate. A sole trader with clean, reconciled books will generally require less work than a company or trust with employees, regular BAS lodgements and more complex transactions.
Rather than focusing on one generic price, this guide explains what drives small business accounting fees, what accountants may include in their quote, and how to compare accounting costs between providers.
This article contains general information only and isn’t personal financial or tax advice. Every business is different, so speak with a registered tax agent or accountant about your specific situation.
Key takeaways:
- Business structure is one of the biggest cost drivers — accounting for a company or trust generally costs more than accounting for a sole trader, since each involves its own separate return or resolution.
- Accountants commonly price using a fixed annual fee, a fixed monthly retainer, or an hourly rate, depending on whether the work is ongoing or a one-off engagement.
- Behind-on-bookkeeping work usually costs more, since an accountant reconstructing a year of unreconciled records is doing bookkeeping-level work at accountant-level rates.
- Whether BAS lodgement and payroll are included in a quote or billed as separate services is one of the most common reasons two accountant quotes aren’t directly comparable.
- Only a registered tax agent can legally prepare and lodge tax returns for a fee, under the Tax Agent Services Act — a distinct requirement from holding a CPA or CA designation.
- The real comparison isn’t paying an accountant versus paying nothing. It’s comparing accountant fees with the cost of missed deductions, penalties or poor business decisions.
What affects accounting fees the most?
These are the factors that usually have the biggest impact on accounting fees. It isn’t a price list. Two businesses can have the same cost driver but still require very different amounts of work.
| Cost driver | Usually increases fees? | Why it changes the workload |
|---|---|---|
| Company or trust structure | Yes | Separate returns, financial statements and/or trust resolutions may be required |
| More transactions or accounts | Often | More data needs to be reconciled, reviewed and explained |
| Unreconciled or overdue books | Yes | Records usually need to be corrected or reconstructed before accounting work can begin |
| Employees and payroll | Often | Payroll, super and reporting add recurring checks and obligations |
| Regular BAS lodgements | Yes, if included | The accountant or BAS agent is doing work throughout the year, not only at year-end |
| Ongoing advice and reporting | Yes | Meetings, management reports and decision support expand the engagement beyond compliance |
How much do small business accountants cost?
A price you find online for a small business accountant almost always describes one specific engagement, not a universal rate. Two Melbourne businesses with similar revenue can have very different accounting needs — a sole trader consultant with a handful of invoices a month is a different job to a trading company with employees, inventory and multiple revenue streams. Instead of looking for one number, it’s more useful to understand what actually affects the price.
Business structure: the starting point for cost
The legal structure your business operates under has a direct effect on accounting cost. A sole trader reports business income and expenses on their personal tax return — one return, one job. A company has its own separate return and obligations, and generally needs financial statements prepared alongside it. A trust often needs a distribution resolution finalised before the end of the financial year, on top of the returns for whoever receives a distribution from it. None of these structures is automatically the best choice. The right one depends on factors beyond cost, but the structure itself is often the first thing that moves the price.
What services are actually included
“Accountant” can mean very different scopes of work between providers. Some engagements cover only an annual tax return. Others bundle in BAS preparation and lodgement (which generally needs a registered BAS agent or tax agent), ongoing bookkeeping, payroll processing or advice throughout the year. One of the easiest mistakes to make is assuming two quotes include the same services when they don’t. The lower quote may cover only the tax return and bill everything else separately.
Transaction volume and record quality
How much work an accountant has to do before they can even start on your return or advice depends heavily on how current and accurate your books already are. A business with clean, reconciled records handed over promptly is a straightforward job. A business handing over a shoebox of receipts and a part-reconciled file is a different job entirely — the accountant has to do reconstruction work first, which takes real time regardless of the business’s revenue. This is the same dynamic covered in more depth in our guide to bookkeeping costs, and it applies just as directly to accounting fees.
Employees and payroll
Once you have employees, accounting becomes more involved. Wages, super and Single Touch Payroll reporting all add work throughout the year. A Melbourne employer may also need help understanding whether Victorian payroll tax or other state-based requirements apply.
How payroll is managed can also affect the amount of work your accountant needs to do. Some businesses process payroll themselves using software, while others use a payroll provider to handle some or all of the process.
What is a payroll provider?
A payroll provider is a business or service that helps employers manage payroll tasks such as calculating wages, processing pay runs, maintaining payroll records and handling related reporting. The exact scope varies between providers, so some may offer payroll processing only, while others provide broader payroll support.
This is different from simply buying payroll software. Payroll software gives the business tools to calculate and manage payroll internally, whereas a payroll service generally involves another provider taking responsibility for agreed payroll tasks on the business’s behalf.
Payroll software vs payroll services
The main difference between payroll software and a payroll service is who does the work. With payroll software, someone within the business generally enters, reviews and processes the payroll using the system. With an outsourced payroll service, more of those recurring tasks are handled by the provider.
Payroll software providers can also differ considerably. Features may include automated pay calculations, employee records, leave management, superannuation functionality, Single Touch Payroll reporting and integrations with accounting software. The right level of functionality depends on the number of employees, pay arrangements and how much of the payroll process the business wants to manage internally.
A simple payroll calculator sits at the other end of the spectrum. It may help calculate an individual employee’s pay, but full payroll software is designed to manage the broader payroll process and maintain records across multiple employees and pay periods.
Our payroll outsourcing costs guide explains what drives the price when payroll is part of the picture. Whether you manage payroll internally or use a provider, it’s also worth checking what payroll work is included in your accountant’s fee rather than assuming it forms part of a general accounting package.
A practical Melbourne example
Consider two hypothetical businesses with similar annual revenue. The first is a Richmond-based consultant operating as a sole trader, issuing a small number of invoices and keeping one bank account reconciled in Xero. The second is a Brunswick hospitality company with employees, weekly supplier bills, equipment purchases, payroll and quarterly BAS lodgements.
On paper, their revenue is similar. The accounting work isn’t. The consultant may need one individual return with a business schedule and a year-end review. The hospitality company may need company financial statements and a company tax return, four BAS lodgements, payroll and super checks, asset treatment and more frequent bookkeeping review. Its higher fee would reflect the broader scope and transaction complexity, not simply the fact that it operates in hospitality.
The same pattern appears across Melbourne trades, healthcare practices and professional services firms. Industry provides context, but it doesn’t determine the workload. In practice, a useful quote starts with a short discovery conversation, not a turnover figure alone.
How much do accountants charge small businesses?
| Pricing model | How it works | Where it suits well |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed annual fee | A set fee for a defined scope (e.g. tax return, financials) | Predictable, once-a-year engagements |
| Fixed monthly retainer | A set monthly fee covering ongoing support across the year | Businesses wanting year-round access to advice, not just at tax time |
| Hourly rate | Billed for time actually spent | Ad hoc questions, one-off advice, or highly variable work |
| Bundled package | Tax, BAS, bookkeeping and/or payroll combined into one fee | Businesses wanting one provider and one predictable bill |
A fixed monthly retainer has become more common for small businesses wanting ongoing advice, not just a once-a-year transaction. There’s no universally best model. The right choice depends on how simple your affairs are and how much contact you want throughout the year.
What’s usually included vs billed separately
Accounting firms package their services differently, so the label on the quote is less important than its written scope. The table below shows common arrangements, but it should never replace checking the inclusions with the firm quoting the work.
| Service | Often included in a defined annual package | Often separate or only in broader packages |
|---|---|---|
| Business tax return | Yes | Extra entities or amended returns |
| Year-end financial statements | Often | Management accounts prepared during the year |
| BAS preparation and lodgement | Sometimes | Catch-up BAS or corrections to prior lodgements |
| Routine bookkeeping | Rarely | Usually a separate recurring service |
| Payroll processing | Rarely | Usually priced by scope, headcount and pay cycle |
| Trust distribution resolution | Sometimes for a trust package | Beneficiary returns may be quoted separately |
| General questions | Sometimes, within limits | Projects, written advice and complex structuring work |
| Software subscription | Sometimes | Additional files, apps or payroll modules |
Ask whether the fee covers one entity or extends to a trust and its beneficiaries, whether the quote assumes the bookkeeping is already reconciled, and whether advice during the year is included. Those three details explain many apparent price differences.
Why catching up costs more than staying current
Preparing a return from a full year of unreconciled transactions is slower than working from records that were kept current. The accountant first has to work out what happened after the fact. That’s why many accountants quote catch-up or multi-year lodgement work separately from their standard annual fee. It takes longer, not simply because more years are involved, but because each year needs to be reconstructed before it can be reviewed.
How much does a CPA cost for a small business?
There isn’t a standard CPA fee for a small business. Only someone registered as a tax agent can legally prepare and lodge a tax return for a fee, under the Tax Agent Services Act. A CPA or Chartered Accountant (CA) designation is a separate professional membership through a body like CPA Australia. It has its own study and ongoing education requirements, but it isn’t the legal registration that permits lodging returns. A CPA-qualified accountant may charge more than an accountant who doesn’t hold that designation. The difference tends to matter most when you need complex advice or help with structuring decisions.
The cost of not having a good accountant
The real question isn’t whether accountant fees exist. It’s whether they’re lower than the cost of getting things wrong. A missed deduction, late lodgement penalty or outgrown structure can cost more than professional advice and compliance. These problems often surface in a proper annual review, not during a rushed return prepared under time pressure.
Accountant vs bookkeeper: a common source of cost confusion
A lot of “why is my accountant so expensive” questions actually come down to an accountant doing bookkeeping-level work at accountant-level rates, because there’s no bookkeeper keeping the file current through the year. Our bookkeeper vs accountant guide covers where each role’s work actually starts and stops, which is often the clearest way to understand why a combined bookkeeper-plus-accountant arrangement can end up cheaper overall than one person doing both roles inconsistently.
Questions worth asking before accepting a quote
- Does this fee cover one entity, or does it extend to a trust and its beneficiaries?
- Is BAS preparation and lodgement included, or billed separately?
- Does the quote assume my bookkeeping is already reconciled, or does it include catching that up?
- Is the fee a one-off annual charge, or an ongoing monthly retainer with year-round access?
- Is whoever will prepare or lodge my return a currently registered tax agent?
- Does the price change if I have employees or need payroll support?
Red flags in an accountant quote
If one quote is noticeably cheaper than others for what looks like the same scope, ask what’s excluded. Common examples include BAS lodgement, a trust’s separate resolution and returns, or advice beyond the return itself. Be cautious of a fixed quote that’s given without asking about your business structure, transaction volume or whether your books are up to date. A fair price generally can’t be set without that information.
When should you consider changing accountants?
Price alone isn’t always a good reason to move, particularly if the current accountant understands a complex history that a new firm would need time to learn. A change is worth considering when you regularly don’t know what is included, receive unexplained invoices, struggle to get answers before deadlines, or only hear from the accountant after a decision can no longer be changed. It may also be time to review the relationship if the business has added employees, entities or interstate operations and the existing service has not grown with it.
Before switching, ask the prospective accountant about onboarding costs, professional clearance, transfer of records, responsibility for upcoming lodgements and access to the accounting software file. Time the handover so it is clear which firm is responsible for the next BAS or return; changing providers does not remove an existing lodgement deadline.
Getting help
If you’d like a quote based on your actual business—not a generic estimate—we’re happy to help. Our small business accounting and tax accountant pages explain how we support Melbourne small businesses. If you’re not sure whether you need a bookkeeper, an accountant or both, start with our bookkeeper vs accountant guide — or, if you’re a sole trader specifically, our guide to whether a sole trader needs an accountant.
Official resources
- BAS services — Tax Practitioners Board
- Public Register — Tax Practitioners Board, to check if a tax agent is currently registered
- Cost of managing your tax affairs — Australian Taxation Office
- Managing your tax and superannuation — business.gov.au
- Payroll tax — State Revenue Office Victoria
Frequently asked questions
Is a business tax return more expensive than a personal one?
Generally yes, since a business return involves more source data — income, expenses, depreciation, and often BAS reconciliation across the year — compared to a personal return built mostly from payment summaries and a handful of deductions. The exact difference depends on the business's structure and how organised its records already are going into tax time.
Does accounting for a company or trust cost more than accounting for a sole trader?
Usually, yes. A company or trust has its own separate tax return, and a trust often needs a distribution resolution prepared before the end of the financial year, on top of the work involved in the individual return of anyone drawing an income from that structure. A sole trader reports business income and expenses directly on their personal return, which is usually a simpler single-return job.
Do accountants charge more if my bookkeeping is behind?
Often, yes, since an accountant working from unreconciled records has to do bookkeeping-level catch-up work before they can do accounting-level work like preparing a tax return. That catch-up is frequently billed at accountant hourly rates, which tends to cost more than if the same reconciliation had been done by a bookkeeper as the year went along.
Is it worth paying more for a CPA over a non-qualified 'tax preparer'?
It depends on what you need. For a straightforward personal return, a registered tax agent without a CPA may be perfectly adequate. For ongoing small business advice, structuring decisions or anything more complex, a CPA-qualified accountant has completed formal study and ongoing professional education requirements through CPA Australia, which can matter more as complexity grows. Registration as a tax agent (not the CPA designation itself) is what legally permits preparing and lodging tax returns for a fee.
Can I negotiate accountant fees?
Many accountants are open to discussing scope — for example, the business handling more of its own bookkeeping and record organisation to reduce the accountant's workload, or moving from ad hoc engagements to a fixed ongoing arrangement. What's harder to negotiate down safely is the underlying work a genuinely complex return or structure requires without a step being skipped.
Does switching accountants cost extra?
There's often a review or onboarding cost the first time a new accountant looks at your file, since they need to understand your structure, prior-year positions and any carried-forward items before taking over. It's not usually a large separate fee, but it's worth asking whether it's included in the first year's quote or billed as a one-off.
Is accountant cost tax deductible?
Fees for managing your tax affairs, including accountant and tax agent fees, are generally deductible. This is general information, not tax advice for your specific circumstances — confirm what applies to your situation with your accountant.
How much does it cost if I've never lodged a business tax return before and I'm behind?
There's no fixed figure, but late or multi-year catch-up work is consistently more involved than a single current-year return, since prior years often need reconstructing before the current one can be finalised. Raise this upfront so the quote reflects the actual scope. Otherwise, you may be quoted for one simple return when the real job is much larger.
Should I choose a monthly accounting package or an annual tax-only service?
An annual tax-only service can suit a simple business with reliable bookkeeping and little need for advice during the year. A monthly package is usually a better fit when the business needs regular BAS, payroll, reporting or access to advice before decisions are made. Compare the full scope and annual cost of each option, not just the size of the monthly payment.
How do I choose an accountant for a Melbourne small business?
Start by checking that anyone providing tax agent services is registered with the Tax Practitioners Board, then ask whether they regularly work with your business structure and industry. A useful Melbourne accountant should also be able to explain how BAS, payroll and any relevant Victorian obligations fit into the quoted scope, who will actually do the work, and what happens when you need advice between lodgements.
How much should an accountant cost for a small business?
There is no universal small business accounting fee. The cost depends on the business structure, services required, transaction volume, payroll, BAS obligations and how organised the records are. Accountants may quote a fixed annual fee, monthly package or hourly rate after reviewing the actual scope.
How much does a CPA cost for a small business?
There is no separate standard CPA price for a small business. A CPA-qualified accountant may charge more depending on their experience and the complexity of the work, but the fee still depends mainly on the scope required, such as tax returns, BAS, bookkeeping, payroll or structuring advice. CPA membership and tax-agent registration are separate considerations.
Why do accounting fees vary between small businesses?
Accounting fees vary because businesses create different amounts and types of work. Structure, transaction volume, employees, BAS frequency, the services included and the condition of the bookkeeping can all change the time and expertise required, even where two businesses have similar revenue.
What is the difference between payroll software and a payroll provider?
Payroll software gives a business the tools to calculate and manage payroll internally, while a payroll provider generally handles agreed payroll tasks on the business's behalf. A simple payroll calculator may only calculate an individual pay amount, whereas full payroll software can include employee records, leave, superannuation, Single Touch Payroll reporting and accounting integrations. The right option depends on the number of employees, payroll complexity and how much work the business wants to manage internally.
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