Bookkeeper salary: how much does a bookkeeper cost?

The median full-time bookkeeper in Australia earned $1,400 a week before tax in May 2025, about $72,800 a year, and the median hourly earnings for bookkeepers were $37, according to Jobs and Skills Australia. That is what the bookkeeper takes home before tax. What a bookkeeper costs your business depends on how you engage them: an employee on a salary, a contractor on an hourly rate, or an outsourced service on a set monthly fee.

This guide compares the three models from an employer’s point of view: what each one really costs, how bookkeepers charge businesses, and when hiring a bookkeeper is worth it. If you’re a bookkeeper researching pay rather than a business owner, the salary figures below come from Jobs and Skills Australia, which is a good place to start, and you can see open roles on Visory’s careers page.

• How much does a bookkeeper cost?
• How much do bookkeepers charge businesses?
• Bookkeeping cost and rates
• How hiring a bookkeeper saves businesses money
• Bookkeeper salary and cost FAQs

How much does a bookkeeper cost?

According to Jobs and Skills Australia, the median full-time bookkeeper earned $1,400 a week before tax in May 2025 (about $72,800 a year), and the median hourly earnings for bookkeepers were $37. Those are employee earnings, not the total cost to your business: an employer also pays superannuation, leave and other on-costs.

Freelance and contract bookkeepers set their own hourly rates, which vary widely with experience, the work involved and whether they are a registered BAS agent. Outsourced bookkeeping services usually charge a set monthly fee that depends on the size and complexity of your business.

The actual cost of a bookkeeper varies depending on a number of factors. Let’s look at each one.

How much do bookkeepers charge businesses?

Bookkeepers mainly use one of three models to charge businesses: salary, hourly rate, and a set monthly fee. To help you choose the right model, let’s look at how each works.

Salary: employee

A salaried bookkeeper is usually an in-house employee. They may work full-time or part-time, depending on your arrangement. Jobs and Skills Australia reports that 60% of bookkeepers work part-time, so a part-time in-house role is common.

A full-time in-house bookkeeper tends to suit businesses with a high volume of transactions, several entities or complex payroll, where there is enough work to fill the role every week.

An in-house bookkeeper gives you someone on site, but there are significant costs to consider on top of the salary.

• Base bookkeeper salary
• Superannuation guarantee: 12% (the rate since 1 July 2025) of qualifying earnings, paid with each payday since 1 July 2026
• Paid leave: 4 weeks’ annual leave and 10 days’ personal/carer’s leave a year for a full-time employee under the National Employment Standards
• Workers compensation insurance, and payroll tax if your wages exceed your state threshold
• Recruitment, training and development costs
• Office space and equipment expenses
• Bookkeeping software costs

In-house bookkeeper salary

The median full-time bookkeeper earned about $72,800 a year in May 2025 (Jobs and Skills Australia). Pay rises with experience and with skills such as BAS, payroll and financial statement preparation. An employee bookkeeper may also be covered by a modern award, which sets minimum pay rates; check the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool before you set a salary.

Even a part-time bookkeeper on half that salary would cost more than $36,000 a year before super and on-costs. Either way, the cost is substantial, considering you still need to pay for accounting and tax services.

Generally, the decision to hire an in-house bookkeeper isn’t for cost-cutting purposes, but it can come with its benefits. If your situation doesn’t require an in-house resource, outsourcing bookkeeping usually makes more sense.

Hourly rates: sole traders, freelancers, and consultants

If you engage a sole trader, consultant or freelancer as your bookkeeper, they usually charge hourly rates. The rates vary based on the types of tasks and the expertise you need.

A contractor’s hourly rate is higher than an employee’s hourly pay, because it covers their own insurance, software, super and downtime. In return, you don’t pay leave, training, office space or equipment for them. Make sure the arrangement is a genuine contracting relationship: if a contractor is paid mainly for their labour, you may still owe them super.

The main thing to manage with hourly billing is scope. Agree what is included, how hours are tracked and when you’ll be told if a job will take longer than expected.

Hourly bookkeeper cost

Hourly bookkeeper costs add up fast. Multiply the rate you are quoted by the hours your books really take each month, and allow for busy periods such as BAS quarters and the end of the financial year, when you can expect to pay more.

Another drawback of hourly bookkeeping rates is that it’s hard to budget for each month when your bookkeeping hours (and costs) fluctuate.

Set monthly fee: bookkeeping service

Outsourced bookkeeping services such as Visory’s bookkeeping services charge a set monthly fee, so you know what the service will cost before the month starts.

See Visory’s current pricing and how outsourced bookkeeping services work. Confirm the included services, expense-band definition and GST treatment before comparing it with an employee’s salary. Visory runs your bookkeeping with a dedicated team and its AI, Delphi, which that team oversees.

Cost for bookkeeping services (monthly fee)

Outsourcing is a strong alternative if you don’t have the budget or need for an in-house bookkeeper or you simply want to cut down on employee costs. You could also opt for an outsourced bookkeeping service instead of hiring freelancers at hourly rates.

Since bookkeeping services charge a flat monthly fee, you know exactly how much you need in your budget each month. Compare that fee with the full monthly cost of an employee: the median full-time bookkeeper’s pay alone is about $6,070 a month, before super and other on-costs.

Remember, cost is only one factor to consider. A bookkeeping service with a team behind it can cover leave and absences, and it can take on more work as your business grows without you hiring more people.

To recap, here’s a comparison of the costs for bookkeeping services based on salary, hourly, or monthly rates.

Type of pricing	Bookkeeper	Cost per month
Salary	In-house employee	About $6,070 median full-time pay (May 2025), plus 12% super and on-costs
Hourly	Freelance, sole trader	Hourly rate × hours worked
Monthly fee	Bookkeeping service (Visory)	Current quote for the agreed scope

Bookkeeping cost and rates

Besides the contract type, other factors may affect the cost of a bookkeeper, such as:

• Location
• Qualifications
• Level of experience
• Type of services
• Frequency of service
• Size of your business

Bookkeeper salaries and freelancer rates vary between cities and regions. A Sydney bookkeeper or a Melbourne bookkeeper, for example, may cost more than one in a regional town.

Tasks and rates

As mentioned earlier, the cost for bookkeeping services can vary by task. Generally, a bookkeeper should handle the tasks below.

• Data entry (record and classify transactions to the appropriate accounts on the accounting software)
• Bank reconciliation (download bank statements and reconcile the accounts)
• Invoicing (prepare, send, and track invoices)
• Track expenses
• Generate reports
• Manage accounts payable and receivable
• Other additional duties as their skills allow

More complex bookkeeping and accounting services, such as preparing and lodging BAS, come with a higher cost.

Bookkeeping experience and qualifications

The experience and qualifications of a bookkeeper impact their salary significantly.

For instance, an entry-level bookkeeper should handle data entry, invoicing, tracking expenses, generating reports, and bank reconciliation. If they are skilled in BAS and financial statements preparation, you should expect to pay more, and so forth.

Before hiring, familiarise yourself with the different bookkeeper levels and the duties they can perform. At the same time, look out for their qualifications to help identify the right candidate.

Many employers look for a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping. Anyone who provides BAS services (such as preparing or lodging BAS, or advising on GST or PAYG withholding) for a fee must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board, or work under a registered agent. To register as a BAS agent, an individual generally needs:

• A Certificate IV Financial Services (or higher) in bookkeeping or accounting, plus a Board-approved course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles
• 1,400 hours of relevant experience in the past 4 years (or 1,000 hours if they are a voting member of a recognised BAS or tax agent association)
• To be a fit and proper person

Registered BAS agents must also meet the Tax Practitioners Board’s professional indemnity (PI) insurance requirements. You can check a bookkeeper’s registration on the TPB register.

How hiring a bookkeeper saves businesses money

Maintaining your books might seem manageable initially, but keeping tabs can be challenging as your business grows and transactions increase. Having a bookkeeper or bookkeeping service handle the books keeps you compliant and frees up your time to focus on your main objective: generating revenue.

But that’s not all. Hiring a bookkeeper can save you money in several ways. Here are a few of them.

Spend less on accounting

A professional bookkeeper keeps your books clean and organised, so less accounting time goes on fixing records at year end. Accounting services usually cost more per hour than bookkeeping, so the less clean-up is needed, the less you pay.

Bookkeepers are more affordable

Bookkeepers can help you perform some tasks at a lower cost than if you were to hire an accountant to do them. For instance, bookkeepers can handle payroll processing, accounts payable and management reports, and a registered BAS agent can prepare and lodge your BAS. Generally, they charge less than accountants, meaning you can save money.

Focus on activities that generate revenue

Hiring a bookkeeper to handle your books frees up your time and gets the finance function tasks done properly. While you incur the cost of their services, it frees up your time, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

As you bring in more business, the revenue covers the bookkeeping service cost. You also get more time to rest, which minimises the risk of burnout and its potential effect on your business.

More accuracy

Another benefit of a professional bookkeeper is that they’re responsible for keeping your books updated and accurate. With many duties demanding your attention, the risk of making errors is always present. In addition, a bookkeeper knows how to treat different transactions, which reduces compliance-related mistakes.

Moreover, their bookkeeping knowledge allows them to be more efficient than you would be performing the same tasks. All these factors contribute to savings for your business.

Tax time is easier

A bookkeeper tracks transactions and keeps your records up to date, so you spend less time preparing for tax time. The documents your accountant needs to lodge your return arrive accurate and organised, and your BAS is lodged on schedule.

Bookkeeper salary and cost FAQs

What is the average bookkeeper salary in Australia?

Jobs and Skills Australia puts the median full-time bookkeeper’s earnings at $1,400 a week before tax in May 2025, about $72,800 a year. Half of full-time bookkeepers earn more than that and half earn less. Experience, BAS agent registration, payroll skills and location all move an individual salary above or below the median, and 60% of bookkeepers work part-time, so many earn a fraction of the full-time figure.

What is the hourly rate for a bookkeeper in Australia?

The median hourly earnings for an employed bookkeeper were $37 in May 2025 (Jobs and Skills Australia). A freelance or contract bookkeeper charges more per hour than that, because the rate has to cover their own super, insurance, software and downtime, and a registered BAS agent charges more again for BAS work. Ask for the rate, the tasks it covers and how hours are tracked.

Do bookkeepers earn less than accountants?

In general, yes. Accounting services usually cost more per hour than bookkeeping, and accountants typically hold a degree and a professional accreditation, while a bookkeeper may hold a Certificate IV and, for BAS work, Tax Practitioners Board registration. That gap is why a clean set of books saves money: the less year-end clean-up your accountant does, the fewer of their hours you pay for. Our guide to bookkeeping vs accounting sets out who does what.

Full-time bookkeeper or outsourced bookkeeping: which costs less?

A full-time employee on the median salary costs about $6,070 a month in pay alone, before 12% super, leave, software and recruitment. An outsourced service charges one set monthly fee for an agreed scope and brings a team rather than one person. Visory’s pricing page puts most engagements between about A$1,250 and A$4,000 a month ex GST for the whole finance function, with bookkeeping alone starting near the bottom of that range. To weigh the options side by side, see our guide to outsourced bookkeeping in Australia.

Hand over your finance function and scale your business

Understanding how much a bookkeeper costs can help you choose the best option for your business. No matter the stage of your business, a bookkeeper can handle your books and free up your time, so you can concentrate on growing your business.

Outsourcing is a cost-effective bookkeeping option for many growing businesses. A freelancer can cost less than an in-house bookkeeper, while an outsourced bookkeeping service gives you a set monthly fee and a dedicated team rather than a single person.

Visory runs your finance function: bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable and receivable, with a dedicated team you know by name, for one flat monthly fee. See how Visory’s pricing works, or book a discovery call to talk through what your business needs.