Estimate a low-to-high range for a year of bookkeeping, BAS or tax work from the hours involved and an hourly rate range you choose.
Pick the type of work closest to the job, enter how many hours it takes in a year and any fixed costs you pay regardless of who does the work. The tool multiplies the hours by the low and high hourly rates and adds the fixed costs: low = hours × low rate + fixed and high = hours × high rate + fixed.
The rate ranges in the drop-down are illustrative placeholders only, not survey data or market prices. Replace them with rates from the quotes you receive. Many firms quote a fixed fee instead of an hourly rate; you can still use the tool by asking the firm roughly how many hours the fixed fee assumes.
Worked example (illustrative): a small company needs about 20 hours of tax agent work a year for its financial statements, company return and the director's individual return. At $140 to $260 an hour that is $2,800 to $5,200. Add $900 of fixed costs (accounting software subscription and the ASIC annual review fee) and the range is $3,700 to $6,100.
Limits: hours depend heavily on the state of your records. Unreconciled bank accounts, missing receipts or several entities can double the time. The tool ignores GST on fees (a GST-registered business can usually claim it back) and does not model the tax deduction; use the after-tax cost calculator for that. See what drives accountant fees before comparing quotes.
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