Bookkeeping in Adelaide
Bookkeeping services for Adelaide businesses.
Visory provides bookkeeping services for Adelaide businesses, from care providers and community organisations to practices and firms. A dedicated team you know by name works inside your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, with Delphi AI taking the repetitive parts under that team’s oversight, and keeps your books to South Australia’s payroll tax and leave rules. Visory’s head office is in Melbourne. One flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.
- A dedicated team you know by name
- South Australian rules in every pay run and close
- One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Who we work with in South Australia
Growing businesses across South Australia.
Health care and social assistance is South Australia’s largest employing industry, and around 84% of its workers are in Greater Adelaide (Jobs and Skills Australia, February 2025 data). Adelaide also has one of the oldest capital city populations, with a median age second only to Hobart’s at 30 June 2025 (ABS), which shapes demand for aged care and health services.
- Services businesses turning over roughly $750k to $20m, led by a CEO, managing director or founder.
- Not-for-profits, including NDIS providers, reporting to a board and to funders.
- Franchise networks and hospitality groups, with many sites and many pay runs.
- Aged care and home care providers Adelaide’s median age of 39.3 years is second only to Hobart’s among the capitals, and South Australia is the second-oldest state (ABS, 30 June 2025).
- NDIS providers South Australia’s portable long service leave scheme for community services began on 1 October 2025, so disability and community employers now register, lodge a return each quarter and pay a levy.
- Not-for-profits and charities The same community services scheme covers not-for-profit employers, and health care and social assistance is the state’s largest employing industry (Jobs and Skills Australia, February 2025 data).
- Medical and allied health practices Around 84% of South Australia’s health care and social assistance workforce is in Greater Adelaide (Jobs and Skills Australia, February 2025 data).
South Australian rules
The South Australian rules your finance function runs on.
Four employer rules set by South Australia, each with the instrument that sets it and what it does to your month. Your team works to them every pay run and every close.
Payroll and the books agree every month.
A return and payment are due by the 7th of the following month, or the next business day, and the annual reconciliation by 28 July. Each return draws on the same reconciled wages as your books.
An employer registers once its Australia-wide wages, or its group’s, pass $1,500,000 a year. Tax is nil up to $1.5 million; between $1.5 million and $1.7 million a variable rate rises from 0% to 4.95%; above $1.7 million the rate is 4.95%. It is charged on South Australian taxable wages less a deduction of up to $600,000 a year, apportioned by South Australian share of Australia-wide wages for interstate employers.
Payroll Tax Act 2009 (SA); threshold and phase-in from 1 January 2019; $600,000 deduction from 1 July 2009.Sources RevenueSA, payroll tax rates and thresholds RevenueSA, how is payroll tax calculated
The liability grows at 1.3 weeks a year.
That is faster than in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland, so the provision in your balance sheet grows faster than headcount suggests, and from year seven a resignation alone triggers payment.
Workers accrue long service leave at 1.3 weeks for each completed year of service, 13 weeks after 10 years. After 7 years, pro rata leave is paid when employment ends by resignation, dismissal or redundancy, unless the worker is dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct or ends the contract unlawfully, such as without the notice they owe. Construction and community services have portable schemes.
Long Service Leave Act 1987 (SA).Sources SafeWork SA, long service leave SafeWork SA, taking long service leave Attorney-General’s Department SA, portable long service leave for community services workers begins Consumer and Business Services SA, construction industry portable long service leave
Evening shifts split in two.
An evening shift on 24 or 31 December is part ordinary time and part public holiday, so rosters and award checks have to split it.
South Australia’s holidays include Adelaide Cup Day (the second Monday in March), Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, the King’s Birthday (the second Monday in June), Labour Day (the first Monday in October) and the Proclamation Day holiday on 26 December, with Monday 28 December added in 2026 because it falls on a Saturday. From 7pm to midnight on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve is a part-day public holiday.
Public Holidays Act 2023 (SA); Act in force from 1 January 2024.Source SafeWork SA, public holidays
Choose the premium basis each year.
In the remuneration return you choose last year’s actual remuneration, with no adjustment, or an estimate settled at year end. Clean monthly numbers make that choice a decision rather than a guess.
Employers with workers in South Australia must register with ReturnToWorkSA within 14 days of employing, unless total remuneration for 2026-27 will be under $16,806. The average premium rate stays at 1.85% for a fourth year. An employer remuneration return is due by 15 September each year.
Return to Work Act 2014 (SA); 2026-27 figures from 1 July 2026.Sources ReturnToWorkSA, legislation ReturnToWorkSA, register for cover ReturnToWorkSA, employer remuneration return ReturnToWorkSA, average premium rate for 2026-27 maintained
Rules last checked 7 October 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. General information only. It does not take your circumstances into account.
How it works from anywhere
Can a team outside Adelaide run an Adelaide business?
Yes. Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and its team works across Australia, so nothing about the work depends on where your office is.
Your own file
Your books stay in your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file. Your team works inside it, so you see the same numbers they do, whenever you look.
A team you know by name
A dedicated team runs the work, led by a Business Performance Partner. You meet them by video call, and you always know who to ask.
South Australian rules, built in
Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and its team works across Australia, with businesses throughout South Australia. Your books stay in your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, and your team works inside it with you. Every pay run and every close is checked against the rules on this page.
Business hours, and the platform after them
Your team works 9am to 5pm Melbourne time on business days, all year round, and the Visory platform is open to you around the clock for documents, approvals and your numbers.
What we run for Adelaide businesses
The whole finance function, actually handled.
Bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable, run end to end by a dedicated team with Delphi AI working under their oversight. Flat monthly fee. No hourly billing.
Bookkeeping
Every transaction coded and reconciled, month-end closed on schedule.
Explore bookkeepingPayroll
Pay runs prepared, checked, and paid on time, every cycle.
See how payroll runsAccounts payable
Bills captured, checked against what's already paid, and paid when you say so.
See accounts payableAccounts receivable
Invoices out on schedule, overdue accounts followed up in your name.
See accounts receivableVisory Insights
Once a month: what changed, what it means, and what to do next.
See how Insights worksBusiness Performance Partner
A named partner who walks you through the numbers and the next move.
How your partner worksVisory Insights
What your numbers should show in South Australia.
Clean books are the start. Every month, Insights turns them into a plain-English report, and a named Business Performance Partner walks your leadership team through what they mean for the year ahead.
The first $200,000 above the threshold
Between $1.5 million and $1.7 million of wages, the rate climbs from nil to 4.95%. For a business with all its wages in South Australia, the tax goes from nothing to about $54,450 across that band. Insights shows where the next hire lands.
Which premium basis suits a growing team
ReturnToWorkSA lets you base the premium on last year’s actual pay, with no adjustment, or on an estimate settled at year end. A Business Performance Partner shows what each choice means for cash, including any year-end top-up.
A long service leave provision at 1.3 weeks a year
South Australian workers accrue 1.3 weeks for each year of service, and pro rata leave is paid when employment ends after 7 years. Insights shows the provision at that rate and who passes seven years next.
Looking for a virtual CFO in Adelaide? Visory has no standalone CFO offer. That work sits inside Visory Insights and your sessions with a Business Performance Partner. See Visory Insights
What customers say
In a customer’s words.
“Having Visory as a flexible partner to handle our day-to-day has meant real relief for our CFO. From an economies of scale perspective, the outsourced model is cost-effective compared to bringing someone in-house, and the handoff to our external accountant for tax has been noticeably smoother than it was before.”
Common questions
Questions Adelaide businesses ask.
Straight answers about bookkeeping for an Adelaide business, from a team that works remotely.
Does Visory have an office in Adelaide?
Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and our team works across Australia, so we support businesses in Adelaide as we do everywhere else. You get a dedicated team you know by name, video calls when you want to talk things through, and your books kept in your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, which you own and can open at any time.
What hours does my Visory team work in Adelaide time?
Your team works 9am to 5pm Melbourne time, all year round, on business days. In Adelaide that is 8.30am to 4.30pm all year, because Adelaide and Melbourne change their clocks for daylight saving together. Outside those hours, the Visory platform is your 24/7 access point, so your financial information is there whenever you need it.
Can a bookkeeper who isn’t in Adelaide look after my business?
Yes. What matters is that the team knows South Australian rules, from the payroll tax phase-in to long service leave at 1.3 weeks a year, and works inside your own accounting file. Visory works remotely with a dedicated team you know by name, connected to your bank feeds and software, and you meet the team by video call.
How much does a bookkeeper cost in Adelaide?
Visory charges one flat monthly fee for the scope we agree, with no hourly billing and no timesheets. The fee reflects the services you take, from bookkeeping and payroll to Insights, and the volume of work in your business. You get the quote in writing after a discovery call, so you know the monthly cost before you start.
See how pricing works Do you work in Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks?
Yes. Visory works inside the systems you already use: Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks for the ledger, your payroll software for pay runs, and your bank feeds. Your books stay in your own accounting file, which you own and can open at any time. Any change to your setup is agreed with you first.
Can Visory lodge my BAS?
Yes. Visory is a registered BAS agent, so your team prepares your business activity statement from reconciled books and lodges it with the ATO for you. The GST and PAYG withholding figures come from the same Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file your team keeps current every month. Payroll tax and workers compensation returns work differently: they draw on reconciled payroll.
When does a South Australian business have to pay payroll tax?
An employer registers once Australia-wide wages, or group wages, pass $1.5 million a year. The rate phases in from nil to 4.95% between $1.5 million and $1.7 million, after a deduction of up to $600,000. Monthly returns are due by the 7th and the annual reconciliation by 28 July. This is general information; RevenueSA sets the rules.
How does long service leave work for South Australian employees?
Workers accrue 1.3 weeks for each completed year of service, 13 weeks after 10 years. After 7 years, pro rata leave is paid when employment ends, unless the worker is dismissed for serious and wilful misconduct or leaves without the notice they owe. Your books should carry the liability from the first year.
Can you look after staff in more than one state?
Yes. Each state taxes the wages paid in it, with its own threshold, rate and returns, and South Australia shares its $600,000 deduction by your South Australian share of wages. Public holidays and long service leave differ too. Visory keeps one payroll and one set of books, with each state’s rules applied to the staff who work there.
Do you offer a virtual CFO in Adelaide?
Visory has no standalone CFO offer: that work sits inside Visory Insights, which gives you monthly plain-English reporting and structured sessions with a named Business Performance Partner, which covers what many growing businesses look for when they search for a virtual CFO. The team that explains your numbers is the team that closed the month.
See Visory InsightsGetting started
Start with clarity, not a contract.
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A clear commercial proposal for the scope we agree, on one flat monthly fee. No hourly billing. You decide whether to go ahead.
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