What Drives a Small Business Accountant's Fee, and How to Compare Quotes

How much does an accountant cost a small business?

The government pages used for this guide publish no fee schedule or average business fee, so the practical way to judge a price is by the work the quote covers. The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and business.gov.au pages used here cover what accountants do and how to check and work with one, not what to pay one.

The closest official dollar figure found for this guide is about individuals, and it does not isolate business work. According to Taxation statistics 2023-24 from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), published on 17 June 2026, 6,259,076 individuals recorded other expenses incurred in managing their tax affairs in the 2023-24 income year, with an average of $389 and a median of $205. The ATO's 2023-24 return instructions count costs such as tax reference material and software in these expenses, as well as lodging through a registered tax agent, so the line does not separate accountant fees. It also does not cover company returns, so it is not a price for business work.

Fee bands do appear on accounting firms' websites, but the firm pages read for this guide gave no source for theirs. Treat a band like that as one firm's own figure. A more reliable test of whether a fee is reasonable is to work out what it buys, which the side-by-side worksheet further down is built to do.

What drives the fee: the work the quote has to cover

A quote prices a set of work, so the useful step is to pin that work down before asking for a price. Answering the questions below gives each accountant the same picture, which makes their quotes easier to compare.

BAS is a good example of how scope varies between businesses, because the ATO describes monthly, quarterly and annual reporting. Year-end work varies too. The business.gov.au end of financial year checklist lists tasks a business might need to complete, including a stocktake, finalising pay as you go withholding through Single Touch Payroll, and lodging an income tax return. Overdue work is a separate conversation, which is why the table prices catch-up work on its own.

Who does the work changes what you are buying

Two quotes can differ because they describe different roles, so check which role each quote is pricing. The business.gov.au finance checklist describes three:

• Bookkeeper: keeps track of day-to-day transactions, looks after banking, chases overdue payments, pays wages and prepares some financial statements.
• BAS agent: helps prepare and lodge the BAS.
• Accountant: helps with preparing financial statements, managing tax, and financial and business advice.

A quote from an accountant may or may not include the bookkeeping, and a bookkeeping quote may not include any year-end work. Asking who does each task, and whether it is one provider or several, shows whether a lower price simply covers a smaller part of the job. The bookkeeper, BAS agent or accountant guide goes further on where each role fits.

Registration is worth checking at the same time. According to the TPB, you can use the TPB Register to see whether a tax practitioner is registered. The business.gov.au website also suggests looking for a registered tax practitioner symbol on the practitioner's website.

Fixed fee or hourly: neither is cheaper by default

Neither pricing model is cheaper by default, because the total depends on the scope and the hours rather than on the label. An hourly quote gives you a rate, and a fixed fee gives you a total for a stated scope. The sources used for this guide publish no official hourly rate for accountants, so this guide does not give one.

An hourly quote is only as useful as its estimate. Multiply the rate by the estimated hours to get a comparable total, then ask these questions:

• How many hours are estimated for each task?
• Do different staff charge different rates?
• Is there a cap, and will you be told before the estimate is passed?

A fixed fee is only as useful as its scope list. A low fixed fee with a short scope can cost more than a higher fee with a long one once extras are added, so ask how work outside the list is priced and agreed before it starts.

Whichever model you are offered, the TPB recommends discussing how much the work will cost, or general information about the practitioner's fee structure.

What a fixed fee should list as included and excluded

A fixed fee quote should list the work it covers and the work it leaves out, in enough detail that you could tick each item off. The TPB recommends discussing the details of the work and when it needs to be done by, and says many registered tax practitioners will ask you to sign a letter of engagement setting out both parties' obligations. That letter is a natural place for this list.

Included work to look for:

• The entities covered, by name, including any owner's individual return
• The period covered, such as one financial year or an ongoing monthly service
• Each lodgement by name and number, such as four activity statements and one income tax return
• Bookkeeping: who does it, and how far it goes
• Payroll: who runs it, and for how many people
• Software: whether set-up and the subscription are part of the fee
• Advice: how many calls or sessions are included
• The timetable, and what you need to supply and by when

Exclusions to look for:

• Catch-up work on earlier periods
• Responding to ATO or regulator questions
• Changes to the business structure
• One-off advice outside the listed sessions

The quote should also state the rate for extra work and who approves it.

Compare two quotes side by side

To compare two quotes, use this worksheet: put each one's scope in the same table and compare prices only once the rows match. The example below is illustrative: it is not a real pair of quotes and shows no prices, because the method matters more than any figure.

Then work through these steps in order:

1. Turn each "Not stated" into a yes or no by asking the accountant in writing.
2. Add the cost of anything one quote excludes and the other includes, such as bookkeeping you would need to buy elsewhere.
3. Compare totals only when both quotes cover the same rows.
4. Choose based on the service you want, because the lowest total may still leave work with you.

In this example, Quote A could carry the lower headline price and still leave bookkeeping and the owner's return for someone else. That does not make Quote A a worse choice. A business that already has a bookkeeper may not need the bookkeeping row at all.

Sole trader or company: a company generally carries more paperwork

No official source used for this guide gives a price for a sole trader or a company. According to business.gov.au, sole traders and companies have different legal, tax and reporting obligations, and a company generally has more paperwork and potentially higher ongoing costs.

ASIC paperwork shows how that can reach a quote. ASIC sends an annual statement to all registered companies, with an invoice for an annual review fee, so a company's quote should say who deals with that statement. The review fee is on ASIC's invoice, so ask whether the quote's price includes it.

The side-by-side worksheet works for either structure. Which structure suits a business depends on its circumstances, and that question belongs with a registered tax agent. The sole trader or company guide sets out the differences in general terms.

How Lomandra Accounting sets fees

Lomandra Accounting offers fixed fee options aligned to scope and transaction volume, with clear inclusions and timelines. Clients receive a defined scope, transparent pricing and a delivery timetable before work begins. Advisory and virtual chief financial officer (CFO) sessions can be packaged monthly or quarterly. This guide lists no Lomandra price, because the fee follows the scope.

You can start with a quick scoping call, where Lomandra reviews your position and provides a clear plan. Before engaging Lomandra Accounting, it helps to prepare:

• Last year's tax returns and financials
• Current bookkeeping files
• Bank and loan statements
• Payroll reports
• BAS and instalment activity statement (IAS) history
• ASIC company statements, trust deeds and minutes

Lomandra Accounting is a CPA Practice registered with the Tax Practitioners Board, and works as a virtual firm using phone, video and email wherever you are based in Australia. Sunshine Coast businesses can start from the business accountant page or the Sunshine Coast accountant page.

This guide is general information, not advice about your tax position or which provider to choose. To talk through your own scope, book a scoping call.