Your numbers, finally working for you.
Outsourced bookkeeping, payroll and BAS for Melbourne businesses on Xero. A team of 30+ specialists ? fixed fees, no lock-in, no surprises.
From first call to fully embedded in your business.
A 30-minute call, a look at your Xero file, and an honest answer about whether we're the right fit.
- Review your current setup and flag any issues
- Agree on scope, frequency, and fixed fee
- Meet your dedicated team before we start
- Smooth handover from previous bookkeeper
Your books reconciled, payroll processed, BAS lodged. You focus on the business ? we handle everything behind the numbers.
- Weekly bank reconciliation in your Xero file
- Pay runs processed, STP lodged same day
- Accounts payable and receivable managed
- Proactive communication when things come up
Monthly reports that tell you where the business actually is ? not where it was 60 days ago when your accountant last looked.
- Monthly P&L, balance sheet, and cashflow
- Cashflow forecasting and set-aside guidance
- Year-end workpapers ready for your accountant
- Quarterly review calls with your client manager
The one-person finance function is a single point of failure.
A professional services firm, a health practice, a creative agency ? they hit $1-2 million in revenue and hire their first bookkeeper. That person becomes the entire finance function. Bookkeeping, payroll, BAS, supplier payments, management reporting.
It works. Until it doesn't. When that person takes leave, gets sick, or resigns, the business discovers just how much institutional knowledge was sitting in one person's head.
Digit replaces that single role with a team of three: a lead bookkeeper, a payroll specialist, and a client manager. The cost is typically lower than one in-house hire.
See how outsourced bookkeeping works"You can be exposed as a business if you are wholly reliant on one in-house role for a critical function."
Sales growth and cashflow are different animals.
Victoria added 16,486 new businesses in 2024-25. Xero Small Business Insights data shows Victorian sales growing 4.7% year-on-year. But nationally, SME suppliers wait an average of 35.4 days to be paid. The 95th percentile: 64 days.
For a Melbourne consulting firm issuing $30,000 invoices on 30-day terms, being paid at 50 or 60 days means you're effectively lending clients money at zero interest. That's the kind of slow bleed that shows up in your bank balance at 2am ? not in your P&L.
We build cashflow forecasts that separate what's available from what's committed, so you see the problem before it becomes a crisis.
See how cashflow forecasting works"The cafe owner in Fitzroy and the professional services firm in the CBD both use Xero. Their problems look nothing alike."
They are really part of our team. I asked whether Gaycel could be included in Private Media's internal performance review ? the same process every other team member goes through.
Why Melbourne businesses choose Digit
We're a Perth-based firm. We'll say that upfront. Our head office is in Elizabeth Quay and our team spans Perth and Manila. We don't have a Melbourne office you can walk into.
What we do have is a model that doesn't need one. Everything runs through Xero and cloud apps. Our Melbourne clients talk to us on scheduled calls and through dedicated Slack or Teams channels. Some have worked with us for years and never set foot in our office.
Get in touch
Registered BAS agents with the Tax Practitioners Board. Due dates don't move because someone's on leave.
Lead bookkeeper, payroll specialist, client manager. Cross-trained so nothing stops when someone's unwell.
Fixed monthly fee, month-to-month. No hidden costs. If you don't love us, leave us ? no strings attached.
AI-powered receipt capture, automated bank rules, smart app integrations. Less manual work, cleaner data.
Xero Platinum Partner ? top 2% globally. We only work in Xero and we know it inside out.
We scope it, implement it, support you through it. You get an outcome, not a report.
Most Melbourne clients started with a 30-minute call.
We look at your Xero file, understand the shape of your business, and tell you honestly whether we're the right fit. Fixed fees. No lock-in. No pressure.
No obligation ? just a conversation
Frequently asked questions about Bookkeeping and Payroll for Melbourne Businesses
How much do bookkeeping services cost in Melbourne?
Melbourne sole practitioners charge anywhere from $45 to $90 an hour, which reflects both the higher cost of living and the complexity that comes with professional services accounts. For a business turning over $1 to $3 million, hourly billing usually lands between $800 and $2,000 a month. Fixed-fee outsourced bookkeeping starts around $500 and scales from there. The difference with fixed pricing isn't just predictability - it's that your provider is rewarded for working efficiently rather than stretching hours
Do I need a local bookkeeper in Melbourne?
Not if you're on Xero. Your bookkeeper gets the same bank feeds, invoices, and reports whether they're in Southbank or South Australia. Plenty of Melbourne professional services firms and health practices already work with bookkeepers outside Victoria - the cloud model made proximity a non-issue years ago. The things worth asking about instead: BAS agent registration, whether you get a team rather than a single person, and whether they can handle award-based payroll if you've got staff. Those are the ones that actually affect your business
What is the risk of relying on one bookkeeper?
It's the biggest operational blind spot most Melbourne businesses don't plan for. When a sole bookkeeper resigns or goes on extended leave, the business finds out just how much was living in one person's head. Which accounts get reconciled weekly. How the payroll allowances work for staff on different awards. The workarounds nobody wrote down because there was never a reason to. Replacing that knowledge takes weeks or months. BAS deadlines don't care. An outsourced team fixes this by design - cross-trained people mean your accounts keep moving no matter who's on leave
What should a bookkeeper do for a professional services firm?
A consulting, health, or creative firm in Melbourne needs a bookkeeper doing more than reconciliation. Aged debtor monitoring so you know who's paying late. Weekly bank reconciliation so your P&L reflects this month, not last month. Payroll under the relevant professional or general award. BAS preparation and lodgement by a registered BAS agent. Monthly reporting broken out by service line or project - not just one lump total that tells you nothing. And if your firm bills on retainers or milestones, they should be tracking work in progress too. Otherwise the financial reports don't match what's actually happening in the business
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
The bookkeeper handles everything that happens during the year - reconciliation, payroll, BAS, management reporting. The accountant comes in at year-end for financial statements, tax returns, and tax planning. They work in sequence, not in competition. The bookkeeper's job is to keep the data clean and current so the accountant has something solid to work with when tax time hits. Where it falls apart is when nobody's clearly responsible for the handover. Late BAS, messy reconciliations, a tax return built on guesswork - that's usually a gap between the two roles, not a failure of either one
Can a remote bookkeeper handle Melbourne payroll and award compliance?
Yes. Award compliance is governed by the Modern Award and Fair Work legislation, not by where your bookkeeper sits. A payroll specialist running pay through Xero Payroll submits STP Phase 2 data straight to the ATO regardless of location. What actually matters is whether they know the specific award your employees fall under - Clerks Private Sector, Health Professionals, Restaurant Industry, whatever applies - and can get the base rates, penalties, overtime, and super right. One thing to watch: Victorian long service leave under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 has its own accrual rules that differ from other states. Your provider needs to track those properly in the payroll system
