Bookkeeping for Consultants & Sole Traders
When you work for yourself, every hour spent on bookkeeping is an hour not spent billing. It is the most expensive admin there is, and it is usually done badly at the last minute. We handle the books for consultants, freelancers and independent contractors across Perth, keeping GST, instalments and deductions in order so your time goes where it earns.
Struggling With the Paperwork?
Working for yourself means you are the business, so bookkeeping competes with billable hours and usually loses. If GST, expenses and tax time are causing stress, it may be time for some help.
Here are a few signs it might be time to get support:
Business and personal money mixed together?
When it all runs through one account, you cannot see what you actually earn. We separate it so your position is clear.
Caught out by a PAYG instalment?
Instalments have a way of arriving when the cash is not there. We keep you ahead of what is due so it is planned rather than survived.
Leaving deductions on the table?
Home office, software, equipment, travel and professional development are all commonly missed. We make sure they are captured.
Our Bookkeeping Services for Consultants & Sole Traders
Most sole traders do not have a bookkeeping problem so much as a time problem. The work is not complicated, it is just never the most urgent thing on the list.
We keep your income and expenses recorded, manage your GST and BAS if you are registered, keep you ahead of PAYG instalments, capture every deduction you are entitled to and give you a clear picture of what you are actually earning.
We work with consultants, freelancers, contractors and independent professionals, and we keep it deliberately simple. Where the personal services income rules affect how your income is treated, we will flag it and point you to advice.
Reviewed by Justine Jarratt, Registered BAS Agent 26237102, with over 19 years of experience supporting Perth small businesses.
How Our Consultants & Sole Traders Bookkeeping Service Works
Simple, flexible support designed to keep your business running smoothly behind the scenes.
1. Get Your Setup Clean
We separate business from personal, get you into Xero properly and make sure your GST registration matches your position.
2. We Keep It Current
Income, expenses and GST stay recorded as you go, so nothing is reconstructed from memory in July.
3. You Always Know Where You Stand
You will see what you have earned, what you owe and what is coming, with BAS and instalments handled before they surprise you.
Why Choose Us for Your Consultants & Sole Traders Bookkeeping?
Sole traders come to us when they realise the hours spent on their own books are worth more billed to a client.
Your Time Back, Billed Instead
The hours you spend on bookkeeping are the most expensive hours in your business. We give them back to you.
Every Deduction Captured
Home office, software, equipment and travel are commonly missed. We make sure they are claimed.
No Surprises From the ATO
GST and PAYG instalments are planned for rather than discovered, so nothing lands when the cash is not there.
Built for Irregular Income
Feast and famine is normal when you work for yourself. We keep your reporting steady so you can plan through it.
PSI, Instalments and the Rules That Apply When You Work for Yourself
Working for yourself brings a set of tax rules that do not apply to businesses with employees and premises, and the most significant of these is the personal services income regime. Where more than half of the income from a contract is a reward for your personal skill, effort or expertise rather than for the sale of goods or the use of equipment, that income is personal services income. If the rules apply and you do not meet one of the tests that takes you outside them, your deductions are restricted and the income may be attributed to you personally regardless of whether you operate through a company or trust.
The tests turn on the practical facts of how you work. The results test looks at whether you are paid to produce a specific outcome, supply your own tools and are liable for rectifying defects. There are further tests concerning how many clients you have, whether you employ others to do part of the work, and whether you maintain separate business premises. A consultant who derives most of their income from a single client is more likely to be caught than one working across several. Many people set up a company on the assumption that it resolves the question. It does not.
We are not able to advise you on whether the rules apply to your circumstances, and we will not pretend to. What we do is recognise the pattern in your income, flag it early rather than after year end, and make sure your records are organised so your accountant can form a view efficiently.
PAYG instalments are the other feature of self employment that catches people out. Once you have lodged a return showing business income above the relevant amount, the ATO may enter you into the instalment system, which means paying tax through the year rather than after it. The first year of instalments frequently overlaps with the balancing payment for the previous year, so two obligations arrive close together. Planning for that is the difference between an inconvenience and a crisis.
We keep business and personal separated, manage your GST and BAS where you are registered, keep you ahead of instalments, capture the deductions that are commonly missed including home office, software, equipment, insurance and professional development, and give you a clear view of what you are actually earning.
Our Reviews
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to register for GST as a sole trader?
It depends on your turnover and how you operate. We help you understand the threshold, register when you need to and stay on top of the obligations that follow.
What can I claim as a consultant or freelancer?
Home office, software, equipment, travel, insurance and professional development may all be deductible. We guide you on what qualifies and record it correctly.
What are the personal services income rules?
They affect how income earned mainly from your personal effort is treated and what you can claim. We help you understand whether they are likely to apply and recommend professional advice where they do.
Can you help me separate business and personal spending?
Yes. Getting that separation right is usually the single biggest improvement a sole trader can make, and we will set it up with you.
What if my income is irregular?
That is normal when you work for yourself. We keep your reporting consistent so you can plan through the quiet stretches rather than react to them.
How do I come on board?
Book a free, confidential chat about how you work and what is currently taking up your time.
Need Reliable Consultants & Sole Traders Bookkeeping Solutions?
Let us handle the numbers. Book a free, confidential consultation today and get your books sorted the easy way.