Updated 26 July 2026
In this guide
Credentials: what the letters actually mean
Not everyone who does your books can do your tax, and not everyone who does your tax can advise on structure. The hierarchy:
| Title | What they can do | How to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | Transaction processing, reconciliation, payroll processing | No mandatory registration for pure bookkeeping |
| BAS agent | Prepare and lodge BAS, advise on GST, PAYG withholding, super guarantee | Tax Practitioners Board register |
| Registered tax agent | Prepare and lodge tax returns, advise on tax law, represent you to the ATO | Tax Practitioners Board register |
| CA / CPA | Chartered Accountant or CPA: degree-qualified, postgraduate program, supervised experience, ongoing professional standards and quality review | CA ANZ or CPA Australia member directories |
The minimum bar for anyone lodging your tax return is registered tax agent status; check the TPB register, it takes one minute and unregistered preparers are a genuine problem. The CA or CPA layer on top is what buys you advisory depth: structuring, Division 7A, CGT planning, disputes. For a business of any complexity, you want a firm where registered agents and CAs or CPAs do the thinking, whatever software does the processing.
One more distinction that matters in practice: a tax agent lodges what happened; an adviser changes what happens. When you interview firms, you are hiring for the second thing.
Industry and stage fit
A brilliant accountant for a plumber can be the wrong accountant for a content creator, an SMSF trustee or an ecommerce seller, because the technical issues differ: platform income and GST-free exports, marketplace GST, trading stock, payroll tax grouping, R&D claims. Ask directly how many clients they act for in your industry and what the recurring issues are; a good answer is specific and immediate. Stage matters too: a firm built around large corporate groups may under-serve a two-person startup, and a sole practitioner may cap out as you grow into multiple entities.
Ten questions to ask before engaging
- Who exactly will work on my file, and who reviews it? You want named people and a review layer, not "the team".
- Are you a registered tax agent, and who holds the registration? Then verify it on the TPB register.
- How many clients like me do you act for? Industry and entity-type fit.
- What does proactive contact look like? The honest answers range from "we call you in May for tax planning" to "we respond when you email". Both exist; pay for the one you want.
- What is included in the fee, and what triggers extra billing? ATO reviews, extra schedules, phone calls, software.
- How do you charge: fixed fee, hourly, or monthly package? More below.
- What software do you work in, and will you work in mine? If you run Xero and they want desktop files posted in, walk. The same fit question applies to bookkeeping if that is bundled.
- What is your turnaround in peak season? Lodgment in May because work started in April is a system problem, not a workload problem.
- How do you handle ATO reviews and disputes? You want a firm that has run objections and remission requests, before you need one.
- Why do clients leave you? A confident firm answers this honestly.
What proactive actually looks like
"Proactive" is the most claimed and least defined word in accounting marketing, so define it before you buy it. In a genuinely proactive relationship you should be able to point to: a tax planning meeting in April or May, before 30 June, working from a current-year profit estimate rather than last year's return; your lodgment program monitored so nothing runs to deadline by accident; contact from the firm when a rule change touches you specifically, not a generic newsletter; and numbers during the year, not fourteen months after the fact. Ask a prospective firm to describe their pre-30 June process for a client your size. If the answer is vague, the word was marketing. Our year-end planning guide shows what that May conversation should actually cover.
Fee models, decoded
- Fixed fee per engagement. A quoted price for the year's compliance scope. Predictable, comparable, and the model that aligns incentives best for defined work. Make sure the scope document is specific.
- Hourly. Defensible for genuinely unpredictable work (disputes, transactions), poor for routine compliance because the risk sits entirely with you.
- Monthly packages. Compliance plus software plus some advisory bundled into a subscription. Good when you use the included advisory; expensive if you only ever needed the compliance.
Price ranges vary with complexity, but for orientation: individual returns commonly run $300 to $800, small business compliance packages $1,500 to $4,000 a year, and SMSF administration $1,700 to $4,000. A quote far below those bands usually means offshore processing with thin review, or scope you will be billed to escape.
Cheapest is not the metric. The metric is fee against value delivered: one properly executed piece of planning advice routinely exceeds a decade of fee differences between competing quotes.
Firm A quotes $1,800 to lodge a company and individual return from your Xero file. Firm B quotes $3,400 including a May planning meeting. At that meeting, Firm B picks up that super contributions were $12,000 under the cap with cash sitting idle, that a planned equipment purchase should land before 30 June under the instant asset write-off, and that the director loan account needs a complying agreement before lodgment to avoid a deemed dividend. Combined tax effect: well north of $6,000, against a $1,600 fee difference. Firm A did nothing wrong; it delivered exactly the lodgment it quoted. The gap is the definition of the engagement, which is why comparing quotes without comparing scope tells you nothing.
The questions a good accountant asks you
The interview runs both ways, and the firm's questions reveal its model faster than its answers. A firm planning to advise you asks about your goals for the next three years, your structure and why it is what it is, how you pay yourself, what you would do with a surprise $50,000 tax saving, and whether anyone has reviewed your loan and insurance arrangements. A firm planning to process you asks for last year's return and your Xero invite. Both are viable services; make sure the one you are buying matches the one you need.
Red flags
- Not on the TPB register, or evasive about who holds the registration
- Guaranteed refunds or "we get bigger refunds than anyone": refund size is determined by your facts and the law, and firms marketing on it are telling you how they operate
- Wants you to sign blank or unexplained documents, or lodges without your review
- No engagement letter setting out scope, fees and responsibilities
- Chronic unresponsiveness during the sales process: it does not improve after you sign
- Everything is extra: a fee model built on surprise invoices
- No questions about your goals: a firm that only asks for last year's file is pricing a lodgment, not advising a business
- Deductions you cannot substantiate waved through: you carry the penalties, not them
How to switch accountants
Switching is easier than most owners think, and the profession has a standard process for it:
- Choose the new firm first and sign their engagement letter.
- The new accountant sends an ethical letter to the outgoing firm requesting professional clearance and your records. This is standard courtesy between firms; you do not need an awkward breakup call, though a short email from you is good form.
- Records must be handed over. Your data belongs to you. A firm can hold back its own working papers, but returns, financials and your source records transfer. Unpaid fees can complicate timing, so settle the final invoice.
- The new firm updates the ATO and ASIC appointments, takes over the lodgment program, and reviews the last returns lodged. A fresh set of eyes on the prior two years finds something surprisingly often.
Best timing is after a lodgment cycle completes, but do not stay a year in a bad relationship for tidiness; mid-year handovers happen constantly.
Does local matter?
Capability-wise, no: tax is federal law, every document moves digitally, and firms service clients nationally as standard, ours included. Local earns its place only where you value sitting across a table, and even then most clients settle into video after the first meeting. What actually varies by state is a thin layer of rules such as payroll tax and duties, and any competent firm handles all jurisdictions. Choose on fit, capability and responsiveness; treat postcode as a tiebreaker.
The quick checklist
| Check | Pass looks like |
|---|---|
| TPB registration verified | Listed, current, named individual |
| CA or CPA qualified | Member directory confirms |
| Industry fit | Names clients and issues in your space unprompted |
| Scope and fees in writing | Engagement letter before work starts |
| Proactive planning | A defined pre-30-June process exists |
| Software fit | Works natively in your stack |
| Dispute capability | Has run ATO objections and remissions |
| References | Comfortable providing them |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper?
Bookkeepers process transactions and keep records. Tax returns and tax advice require a registered tax agent, and advisory depth typically comes with CA or CPA qualification on top.
How do I verify an accountant is registered?
Search the Tax Practitioners Board register online for tax and BAS agents, and the CA ANZ or CPA Australia directories for professional membership. Takes a minute each.
How much should a small business accountant cost?
Commonly $1,500 to $4,000 a year for small business compliance, $300 to $800 for individual returns, varying with complexity. Judge fee against planning value, not against the cheapest quote.
What questions should I ask a new accountant?
Who works on the file and who reviews it, registration details, industry experience, what is included in the fee, how proactive contact works, and how they handle ATO disputes.
Is it hard to switch accountants?
No. Engage the new firm, they send a standard ethical letter to the old one, records transfer, and appointments update with the ATO and ASIC. Settle the final invoice to keep it smooth.
Do I need a local accountant?
Not for capability; tax is federal and everything runs digitally. Local matters only if you value in-person meetings. Fit and competence beat postcode.
Interview us
We are happy to be question ten on somebody's list. Book an intro call; bring the checklist, ask everything on it, and see how our small business team answers.
Book an intro callThis article provides general information only, current at the date of publication, and does not constitute personal tax, legal or financial advice. Consider your circumstances or speak with us before acting. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
