$5,000+
GST Refunds Recovered across 5 amended BAS returns
$10,000
Journal Error Reversed incorrectly reported BAS liability
400+
Missing Transactions
identified and correctly entered
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INDUSTRY:
Building Trades — Caulking and Sealant Services -
ISSUE:
Overcomplicated processes, manual systems, and fees far exceeding the work required. -
OUTCOME:
$20,000 per year saved, streamlined systems implemented, business stabilised.
The Situation
This client operates a caulking and sealant business which is a specialist trade that, like most small trade businesses, should have relatively straightforward bookkeeping requirements.
When he contacted us, he had one specific question: was the $500 per week he was paying his current bookkeeper a fair and reasonable charge for the work involved?
It is a question more business owners should ask. Bookkeeping fees are not always easy to benchmark and many small business owners who are focused on running their trade day to day have limited visibility into what their bookkeeper is actually doing, how long it is taking, and whether the systems in place are appropriate for a business of their size.
For this client, the honest answer to his question was that no, the fee was not justified and the reason why revealed something important about how his bookkeeping had been set up.
What We Found
1. Processes built for a large business but applied to a small one
The first thing that became apparent when reviewing the accounts was that the bookkeeping structure in place had been designed with a level of complexity that was simply not appropriate for a small trade business. There were multiple layers of processes and procedures, workflows, reconciliation steps plus reporting structures that might make sense for a company with a large team, multiple departments, or complex financial reporting requirements.
For a caulking business of this size, they served no practical purpose. They were generating work and therefore generating fees without producing any useful financial information or compliance benefit. The client was not receiving more accurate books or better reporting as a result of this complexity. He was simply paying for time spent performing steps that did not need to exist.
This is a pattern that can develop gradually when a bookkeeper applies a one-size-fits-all approach to their clients, or when systems are set up without a clear understanding of what the business actually needs. The result is a structure that runs inefficiently from the start and becomes progressively harder to question the longer it remains in place.
2. Everything was being done manually
Compounding the issue of overcomplicated processes was the fact that the bookkeeping was being performed using manual bank reconciliations which is a method that was standard practice years ago but has been largely superseded by bank feed technology available through modern accounting platforms including MYOB, Xero, and QuickBooks.
A manual bank reconciliation requires the bookkeeper to download or print bank statements and manually match each transaction against entries in the accounting software. It is time-consuming, prone to human error, and entirely avoidable for any business whose bank supports a direct feed into their accounting platform.
For this client, not a single bank feed had been configured.
The bookkeeper was performing manual reconciliations across all accounts every week which was adding hours to the process that modern systems would reduce to minutes. Every hour spent on manual reconciliation was an hour billed to the client at a rate that was never examined or questioned.
3. No MYOB SuperStream clearing house in use
The business was also not using MYOB’s SuperStream clearing house for superannuation payments. SuperStream is a government-mandated standard for the electronic payment and reporting of superannuation contributions, and MYOB’s integrated clearing house allows superannuation to be paid to multiple funds in a single transaction directly from within the software.
Without this, superannuation was being managed and paid through a more manual process, again, consuming time that an automated system would eliminate. Setting up the MYOB clearing house is a once-off configuration task that permanently reduces the time required to manage superannuation obligations for every pay cycle that follows.
4. The invoicing process was not efficient
The client’s invoicing workflow had not been reviewed or optimised, and was adding unnecessary administrative time to each billing cycle. For a trade business where invoicing is a direct and regular activity, raising invoices after each job, managing payment follow-up and reconciling receipts any inefficient invoicing process compounds quickly across the working week.
A streamlined invoicing process, properly configured within the accounting software, reduces the time required per invoice, reduces the risk of invoices being missed or delayed, and improves the speed at which payments are received. For a small trade business already struggling with cash flow and new work pipeline, faster invoicing and payment collection is a direct commercial outcome.
The combined effect of overcomplicated processes, manual reconciliation, and an unoptimised invoicing workflow was that a straightforward set of books for a small trade business was consuming far more time than it should.
That time was being charged to the client every week — and the client had no way of knowing it was avoidable.
What we did
The remediation work for this client was less about correcting financial errors, the books themselves were broadly in order, and more about rebuilding the bookkeeping infrastructure from the ground up to match the actual size and needs of the business.
The key steps were as follows:
- Reviewed all existing processes and procedures and stripped out everything that was not necessary for a business of this size and structure.
- Configured bank feeds directly into MYOB for all accounts, eliminating manual reconciliation entirely.
- Set up the MYOB SuperStream clearing house for superannuation, enabling single-transaction super payments directly from the software.
- Redesigned and streamlined the invoicing workflow to reduce the time required per billing cycle and improve payment turnaround.
- Assessed the ongoing bookkeeping requirements honestly and established a fee structure that reflected the actual time involved.
The result of these changes was a dramatic reduction in the time required to maintain the books each week. Tasks that had been consuming hours were now taking minutes. The books remained accurate and compliant, nothing of substance was removed from the process, only the unnecessary complexity that had been layered on top of it.
The outcomes
Issue Identified | Resolution & Outcome |
Overcomplicated processes and procedures designed for a large business | All unnecessary processes removed; structure rebuilt to match the actual size of the business |
Manual bank reconciliations across all accounts — no bank feeds configured | Bank feeds set up in MYOB; manual reconciliation eliminated entirely |
MYOB SuperStream clearing house not in use; super managed manually | SuperStream configured; superannuation now paid in a single transaction per cycle |
Inefficient invoicing workflow adding unnecessary time to each billing cycle | Invoicing process redesigned; faster billing and improved payment turnaround |
Weekly bookkeeping fee of $500 — not proportionate to work required | Fee reduced to approximately $90 per week — a saving of $20,000 per year |
Client unable to invest in marketing due to excessive overhead costs | Fee saving freed up funds to explore marketing and new work acquisition strategies |
Beyond the books we created financial savings
The financial saving was significant at around $20,000 per year is a material sum for any small trade business.
In this case, the impact of that saving went beyond the balance sheet. When we spoke with the client about where the business was heading, he raised a concern that had nothing to do with bookkeeping, he was struggling to bring in new work.
A trade business that cannot sustain its work pipeline is a business in genuine difficulty, regardless of how well its books are kept. For this client, the excessive bookkeeping fees were not simply an overhead cost they were consuming funds that could otherwise have been directed toward marketing and business development.
With $500 per week going out the door on bookkeeping alone, there was nothing left over to invest in generating new leads or building the client’s profile in his local market.
As part of our engagement, we took some time to discuss practical, accessible marketing options that a sole trader or small business in the building trades can pursue without significant upfront investment. This included advice on Google Business Profile optimisation, the value of requesting and responding to online reviews and basic strategies for generating referrals from existing clients and builder relationships.
None of these require a large budget, they require consistency and follow-through.
Without the reduction in fees, the client’s situation was likely to deteriorate. A business with high fixed costs and a declining work pipeline has limited options. The bookkeeping review did not just tidy up the accounts, it removed an obstacle that was standing between this business and its ability to survive and grow.
Bookkeeping fees that are disproportionate to the work involved do not just cost money — they crowd out the investments that a business needs to grow.
Reducing this client's fees from $500 to $90 per week did not just improve his cash position. It made it possible for him to address the single biggest threat to the long-term viability of his business.
Without the reduction in fees, the client’s situation was likely to deteriorate. A business with high fixed costs and a declining work pipeline has limited options. The bookkeeping review did not just tidy up the accounts, it removed an obstacle that was standing between this business and its ability to survive and grow.
What this example demonstrates
This is a different type of bookkeeping problem to the ones most business owners think about. There were no major compliance errors here, no unclaimed GST refunds, no misallocated transactions on the scale seen in other cases. The issue was simpler and in some ways more insidious: a small business was paying for a bookkeeping service that was structured incorrectly for its needs, and no one had ever stopped to ask whether the structure made sense.
For small trade businesses in particular, bookkeeping should be proportionate. The systems, the processes, and the fees should reflect the actual complexity and volume of the business, not a template designed for a larger operation or a billing arrangement that has never been reviewed. When bookkeeping is set up correctly for the business it serves, it takes less time, costs less money, and produces more reliable information.
Every small business owner who is currently paying a bookkeeper without understanding exactly what they are paying for is worth asking the same question this client asked: is this fee justified? The answer is not always what you expect.
Key takeaways for business owners
- If you are unsure whether your bookkeeping fees are reasonable, ask for a breakdown of the time spent and the tasks performed. A good bookkeeper should be able to provide this transparently.
- Bank feeds are standard in 2026. If your bookkeeper is still performing manual bank reconciliations, ask why — and whether the time being spent on this is reflected in your fees.
- SuperStream and payroll automation tools are built into MYOB, Xero, and QuickBooks. If these are not being used, your bookkeeper may be spending more time on payroll and super than is necessary.
- Bookkeeping processes should be designed for your business, not inherited from a template. Complexity that does not produce useful information or compliance benefit is complexity you are paying for unnecessarily.
- Excessive overheads limit your capacity to invest in growth. Reviewing and reducing bookkeeping costs is not just a financial decision, it can be a strategic one.
Is Your Business in a Similar Position?
If you are concerned about the accuracy of your current bookkeeping, have unreconciled accounts, or simply are not sure whether your financial records are in the condition they should be, we offer a free initial consultation.
We will assess your current situation honestly and give you a clear picture of what needs to be done.
