An Accountant for Melbourne Sole Traders
Spend less time worrying about tax and bookkeeping. We keep your books in order, prepare your individual tax return and help you work out what to put aside for tax, with CPA-qualified oversight and clear monthly pricing.
We work remotely with sole traders across Melbourne, using cloud software plus phone or video catch-ups when you need them.
Sole Trader Bookkeeping in Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks
For most sole traders, the bookkeeping setup can stay pretty simple. We start by reconciling the bank feed, cleaning up expense coding and separating business spending from personal transactions. We work in the software you already use, or help you choose one if you’re still on spreadsheets.
Xero
Bank rules, invoice templates, receipt capture and reports your tax return can be prepared from.
MYOB
Clean coding, reconciled accounts and GST reports ready for each BAS.
QuickBooks
Business and private transactions separated so mixed-use costs are easy to apportion.
Keep the file current during the year. Then your tax return can be prepared from numbers that have already been checked, rather than reconstructed from bank statements later.
Your Business Income Is Your Personal Income
A sole trader is the simplest business structure in Australia, and it’s where many Melbourne businesses start. There’s no legal separation between you and the business. You use your individual TFN, report the business profit in your personal tax return and are personally responsible for the business’s debts.
That simplicity is useful, but every business decision affects your personal tax position. Nobody withholds tax or pays super for you, so both need a plan.
Support can include:
- A clear split between business and personal money, even if you only have one bank account today.
- A realistic figure to set aside from each payment for tax, GST and super.
- Your individual tax return prepared from reconciled books, with the business schedule completed properly.
- Fewer surprises when the ATO sends a BAS, PAYG instalment notice or tax bill.
Sole Traders at Every Stage
Where You Might Be Right Now
The work usually changes as the business grows. These are the points where sole traders most often need a hand.
Earning on the Side
If you have an ABN alongside a job, the business income and your wages are reported in the same return. A side income can still change your tax bill.
Your First Full Year
Going full-time means there’s no employer withholding tax anymore. It’s a good time to open a separate account and start putting money aside for tax.
Getting Close to $75,000
As turnover nears the GST threshold, you need to know when to register and what it will mean for your invoices, pricing and BAS.
Registered and Lodging BAS
Once you’re registered, the coding needs to be right each quarter. That’s what your BAS and any PAYG instalments are based on.
Taking On Your First Employee
Your first employee brings payroll obligations. You’ll need to deal with PAYG withholding, Single Touch Payroll and super guarantee for them.
Outgrowing the Structure
Higher profits or bigger contracts can make a company worth considering. The decision should be based on your actual numbers and risk.
Where Sole Traders Usually Get Caught Out
The bookkeeping is usually manageable. What tends to catch sole traders out is the timing of tax—particularly when PAYG instalments start or GST registration becomes necessary.
The second-year tax squeeze
After your first profitable return, the ATO can ask you to pay that year’s tax bill and start PAYG instalments for the current year at around the same time. If nothing was put aside, that hits hard.
Business money in a personal account
When client payments, groceries and transfers share one account, it’s easy to miss a deductible cost or count a personal transfer as income.
Mixed-use costs claimed in full
Phones, internet, cars and home offices are usually part business, part private. Only the business share can be claimed, and you need records showing how you worked it out.
No super going in for you
Employees get super paid on their behalf. As a sole trader, nobody does that for you unless you decide to, and years can pass before you notice.
How We Get Your Accounts Up to Date
We start with the records you have and work out what needs attention.
Send us your records
We’ll need bank statements, your last tax return and notice of assessment, ABN and GST details, plus software access if you have it.
We review where things stand
We check GST registration, PAYG instalments and how mixed-use expenses have been claimed.
We confirm the work and fee
We’ll explain what we’ll handle, what we need from you and when it gets done. Then we give you a fixed monthly price.
Then we keep the accounts up to date
We reconcile the books through the year, so BAS and tax returns are prepared from numbers we’ve already reviewed.
“As a sole trader, every number in your books ends up on your own tax return. Getting those numbers right during the year is easier than trying to fix everything at tax time.”
What We Look After for Sole Traders
What we handle depends on how established the business is and whether you’re registered for GST.
Each part connects to one of our core services: bookkeeping through the year, BAS preparation once you’re registered, and our tax accountant service for the return itself. If you take on your first employee, our payroll services cover PAYG withholding, Single Touch Payroll and super.
Your Individual Tax Return
Your personal return with the business and professional items schedule, prepared from reconciled books and including your other income such as wages or interest.
Bookkeeping and Reconciliation
Bank feeds reconciled, expenses coded and business and private transactions kept apart, so deductions are supported when they’re claimed.
GST and BAS
Registration advice, GST coding reviews and BAS preparation once you’re registered.
Set-Aside and Instalment Planning
A practical amount to reserve from each payment, with instalments checked against what you’re earning.
How Tax Works When You’re a Sole Trader
Income tax: your business profit goes on your individual tax return, is added to any other income you earn and taxed at individual marginal rates, plus the Medicare levy. There’s no flat business rate, so the more the business makes, the higher the rate on each extra dollar.
PAYG instalments: once your latest return shows instalment income of $4,000 or more and tax payable of $1,000 or more, the ATO will generally put you into PAYG instalments. These are prepayments of next year’s tax, credited against your final bill. If your income has dropped, the instalment amount can usually be varied.
GST: registration is required once your GST turnover reaches, or is likely to reach, $75,000. You have 21 days to register. Below that, it’s optional; once registered, GST collected is not spending money. Our BAS guide explains what gets reported each quarter.
Super: super guarantee applies to anyone you employ, not to you. You can make personal contributions to your own fund, and these can generally be claimed as a deduction if you give your fund a notice of intent before you claim. Our sole trader accounting guide covers each of these in more detail.
When Ongoing Accounting Starts to Help
Plenty of sole traders only see an accountant at tax time. That works while things are simple. Once GST, PAYG instalments or another income stream comes into the picture, tax time alone may not be enough. By then, many of the decisions affecting your tax have already been made.
Your accounts are overseen by a CPA. Jia Lee is a CPA-qualified accountant with 7+ years’ experience across bookkeeping, compliance, payroll and reporting.
Pricing is fixed and monthly. After a review, ongoing support is scoped into a fixed monthly fee, so a question about a deduction doesn’t come with an hourly bill.
Support is remote, across Melbourne. Share records through cloud software and talk by phone or video, without needing to visit an office.
Not sure whether you need help yet? Read our guide on whether a sole trader needs an accountant. We also cover contractor accounting for project income and subcontractor records, tradie bookkeeping if you work on the tools, and business structuring if you’re considering a company.
Example: A Sole Trader’s Second Year
The following is an illustrative example based on issues commonly seen with sole traders. It does not describe a specific client.
Say you’re a Melbourne graphic designer finishing your first full year. You lodge late, then the tax bill arrives and your first PAYG instalment notice follows. Income and personal spending have been running through one account, while phone, internet and home office costs were claimed in full.
We’d separate the bank transactions, work out the business-use portion of the phone and internet costs, and check the home-office records. We’d also review when GST registration should have started and whether the PAYG instalments still make sense based on this year’s income.
From there, the practical changes are straightforward: a separate business account, a set percentage of each invoice moved into a tax savings account, and a working-from-home hours log. If this year’s income is lower, the instalments may be varied. The next return is then prepared from books reviewed throughout the year.
Sole Trader Accountant FAQs
Do I need an accountant as a sole trader?
No, there’s no legal requirement. Many sole traders handle their own books and tax return while things are simple. An accountant becomes more useful once you’re registered for GST, paying PAYG instalments, claiming mixed-use expenses or earning income from several sources.
Does my business need its own TFN or tax return?
No. As a sole trader, you use your individual TFN and lodge one individual tax return. Your business income and expenses go on the business and professional items schedule, alongside any wages or other income.
When do I have to register for GST?
Register within 21 days once turnover reaches, or is likely to reach, $75,000. Below that, registration is optional, but it means charging GST and lodging BAS.
Why have I received a PAYG instalment notice?
It is a prepayment of your next tax bill, not extra tax. The amount can usually be varied if your income has dropped.
Do I have to pay super for myself?
No. Super guarantee applies to people you employ. You can choose to contribute to your own fund; personal contributions can generally be deductible when the required notice is given.
Can I claim my phone, car and home office?
Usually only the business-use share. If your phone is used 60% for work, that’s the portion you can claim. Home office claims need a record of the hours you worked from home, and car claims need either a logbook or the cents-per-kilometre method, depending on which you use.
When should I change from a sole trader to a company?
There’s no single income figure that decides it. Profit level, personal risk, contracts that require a company, plans to hire and how you want to draw money out all play a part. We look at your numbers first, and our business setup and structuring service handles the change if it makes sense.
How much does a sole trader accountant cost?
It depends on whether you’re registered for GST, how many transactions you have and how much of the bookkeeping you do yourself. After reviewing your records, we quote a fixed monthly fee for the scope we agree on, so you know the cost in advance.
Do I need to meet you in person?
No. We support Melbourne clients remotely through cloud software, email, and phone or video calls, so you can share records and ask questions around your workday.
Get Your Sole Trader Accounts in Order
Send us what you have and we’ll take a look at where things stand with GST, PAYG instalments and your next tax return. We’ll then explain what we can help with and what the fixed monthly fee would be.
Request Your Fixed Fee Quote