Bookkeeping in Sydney

Bookkeeping services for Sydney businesses.

Visory provides bookkeeping services for growing Sydney businesses. A dedicated team keeps your books, payroll and bills current inside your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, to New South Wales payroll tax, leave and holiday rules. Delphi AI, overseen by that team, is there if you want it. Visory’s head office is in Melbourne, its team works across Australia, and one flat monthly fee covers the agreed scope.

  • A dedicated team you know by name
  • New South Wales rules in every pay run and close
  • One flat monthly fee for the agreed scope
Sydney’s skyline, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge across the harbour from Cremorne Point.
Photo: Jesper van der Pol, Unsplash License

Who we work with in New South Wales

Growing businesses across New South Wales.

Health care and social assistance is the largest employing industry in Greater Sydney, with professional, scientific and technical services close behind and a larger share of local jobs than the New South Wales average (economy.id, 2024/25). Across New South Wales, those two industries lead the five largest employers, and around 64% of the state’s health care and social assistance workers are in Greater Sydney (Jobs and Skills Australia, August 2025 data).

New South Wales rules

The New South Wales rules your finance function runs on.

Four employer rules set by New South Wales, 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.

Once wages pass the threshold, a monthly return is due by the 7th and the annual reconciliation by 28 July, so each return should draw on reconciled payroll, not a year-end catch-up.

Set by Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW)

Payroll tax is 5.45% of New South Wales taxable wages above an annual threshold of $1,200,000. The threshold does not phase out as wages grow, but a business with wages in other states gets only its New South Wales share of it.

Payroll Tax Act 2007 (NSW); rate and threshold unchanged since 1 July 2022, including 2026-27.

The liability starts on day one.

Leave can fall due from year five, so it belongs in your balance sheet before it is triggered, and a resignation should never be a surprise.

Set by Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW)

Two months (about 8.67 weeks) of paid leave after 10 years of continuous service, then one month for each further 5 years. Between 5 and 10 years, pro rata leave is payable when employment ends in set circumstances, such as the employer ending it for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct. Building and construction, contract cleaning and community services have portable schemes run by the Long Service Corporation.

Long Service Leave Act 1955 (NSW); community services portable scheme from 1 July 2025.

The holiday calendar changes from year to year.

Pay runs that cross these days need penalty rates and award conditions checked, and supplier payment runs move around them.

Set by Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW)

New South Wales holidays include Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, the King’s Birthday (the second Monday in June) and Labour Day (the first Monday in October), with an additional day when Christmas, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day falls on a weekend, and, in 2026 and 2027, when Anzac Day does (Monday 27 April 2026 and Monday 26 April 2027). The August Bank Holiday is not a public holiday for most businesses; it closes bank branches.

Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW).

Declared wages should match payroll.

Clean monthly numbers turn the wage declaration into a check rather than a project.

Set by Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) and Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW)

Employers must hold a workers compensation policy unless they pay $7,500 or less in wages a year, employ no apprentice or trainee, and are not part of a group. The icare Nominal Insurer is the largest insurer, and SIRA regulates the scheme. Actual wages are declared at the end of each policy period, within four months. The Nominal Insurer’s target collection rate is frozen at 1.99% for 2026-27 and 2027-28.

Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) and Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW); 2026-27 premium year.

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 Sydney run a Sydney 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.

New South Wales rules, built in

Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and its team works across Australia, with businesses throughout New South Wales. 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.

Visory Insights

What your numbers should show in New South Wales.

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.

A threshold that shrinks as you expand

Opening in a second state cuts your New South Wales threshold to its share of Australian wages. Insights shows a leader the payroll tax line moving before Sydney headcount does, so expansion plans carry the real cost.

Workers compensation is frozen on average only

icare has held its average rate at 1.99% for 2026-27 and 2027-28, but your premium still follows declared wages and claims. Your Business Performance Partner helps you see that number in the budget, not just the renewal notice.

Bulk billing as a payroll tax number

Medical centres claim a payroll tax rebate on GP contractor payments when 80% of GP services are bulk billed in metropolitan Sydney. For a practice near the line, Insights puts the bulk billing rate in the monthly report.

Looking for a virtual CFO in Sydney? 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.”

Hiram Ng CEO, Equisent Group

Common questions

Questions Sydney businesses ask.

Straight answers about bookkeeping for a Sydney business, from a team that works remotely.

Does Visory have an office in Sydney?

Visory’s head office is in Melbourne and our team works across Australia, so we support businesses in Sydney as we do everywhere else. A Sydney business gets a dedicated team you know by name, who work inside your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file and meet you by video call. Your records stay in your file, which you can open at any time.

What hours does my Visory team work in Sydney time?

Your team works 9am to 5pm Melbourne time, all year round, on business days. In Sydney that is 9am to 5pm all year, because Sydney 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 Sydney look after my business?

Yes. Bookkeeping happens in your accounting file, not in an office, so a remote team can keep a Sydney business current. What matters is that the team knows New South Wales rules on payroll tax, long service leave and public holidays, and that you know who they are. Your team is named, and you speak by video call.

How much does a bookkeeper cost in Sydney?

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. Your team works inside your own Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, so the books stay yours and nothing has to move to a new system. If you are changing software, the team can plan the move with you. Delphi AI, overseen by your team, prepares routine work in the same file when you choose to use it.

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 New South Wales business have to pay payroll tax?

Once its taxable wages pass the threshold, $1,200,000 a year for 2026-27, with Australian wages and grouped businesses counted. Monthly returns are due by the 7th and the annual reconciliation by 28 July. Visory keeps payroll reconciled to the books, so each return draws on the same wages.

How does long service leave work for New South Wales employees?

Employees earn two months of paid leave after 10 years of continuous service, and pro rata leave can be payable from year five when employment ends in set circumstances. The liability builds from day one, so it belongs in your balance sheet. Community services, cleaning and construction have portable schemes run by the Long Service Corporation.

Can you look after staff in more than one state?

Yes. Each state sets its own payroll tax threshold, long service leave rules and public holidays, and a business with wages in several states gets only a share of each threshold. Your team keeps one payroll reconciled to the books and works to each state’s rules, so returns in every state draw on the same wages.

Do you offer a virtual CFO in Sydney?

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 person explaining your margin is the person whose team closed your month.

See Visory Insights
More questions, longer answers. Every question has its own link. See all common questions

Getting started

Start with clarity, not a contract.

Three steps, in whatever rhythm suits you. Each one is useful on its own.

  1. Two people shake hands across a desk beside a laptop

    Book a discovery call

    An obligation-free conversation about your goals and what you want the numbers to tell you.

    Obligation-free
  2. A woman takes notes beside a laptop showing a financial report

    Get your free financial health check

    A senior member of the Visory team will analyse your financials and show you where your finance function can improve. It is free, and it is your own numbers.

    Free · your own numbers
  3. Top-down view of hands on a laptop showing the Visory accounts receivable workflow

    Receive a clear proposal

    A clear commercial proposal for the scope we agree, on one flat monthly fee. No hourly billing. You decide whether to go ahead.

    Flat monthly fee

Get started

The best is ahead for your business.

Start with a discovery call. We will listen first, then show you what your own numbers have been trying to tell you.

Sources (16) · rules last checked 7 October 2026

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