← Business and finance

ANZSCO 5512Skill level 4Business and finance

Bookkeeper

Maintain day-to-day financial records, process payroll and lodge BAS for small and medium businesses.

Registration: BAS agent registration with the Tax Practitioners Board (for lodging)

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1300Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a bookkeeper actually does

Bookkeepers work either inside one business or across a portfolio of small business clients. A typical day starts with bank-feed reconciliation, then categorising expenses, entering supplier bills, chasing missing receipts from owners, and processing the weekly or fortnightly payroll. End of month brings BAS and IAS preparation, super lodgement, and a tidy-up of the ledger so the external accountant can finalise tax returns. Most bookkeepers work 30-40 hours a week. Many work flexibly or from home, often part-time across two or three clients, with the rest of the week-spent client visits or training new staff on the bookkeeping software. Workload spikes ahead of quarterly BAS lodgement deadlines and end of financial year. Most of the day is on a laptop in Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks plus Excel.

Typical tasks

  • Reconcile bank transactions and invoices.
  • Process payroll and superannuation.
  • Prepare and lodge BAS as a registered BAS agent.

Skills you'll use

  • Double-entry bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
  • Cloud accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)
  • Payroll, superannuation and Single Touch Payroll lodgement
  • GST coding and BAS preparation
  • Microsoft Excel for reporting and corrections
  • Clear and patient communication with non-finance business owners
  • Confidentiality with payroll, tax and supplier data

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 10 at minimum; Year 12 with general Maths makes life easier
  2. 2Complete a Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping (the standard entry credential and Tax Practitioners Board education requirement)
  3. 3Get hands-on experience either as an employee in a small business finance team or as an assistant under a registered bookkeeper
  4. 4Apply for BAS agent registration with the Tax Practitioners Board once you have at least 1,400 hours of relevant experience (1,000 if you are a member of a recognised professional association)
  5. 5Consider further study like a Diploma of Accounting if you want to step toward an accountant role

Where you can work

  • Independent bookkeeping practices serving small business
  • In-house finance teams in trades, retail, hospitality and primary industries
  • Not-for-profits and community organisations
  • Self-employed sole trader working from home
  • Public-practice accounting firms with a bookkeeping arm

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Junior bookkeeper
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Accounts assistant, Junior bookkeeper, Accounts payable / receivable officer
    Salary band: $55,000 - $65,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Experienced bookkeeper
    3-7 years
    Typical roles: Bookkeeper, Payroll officer, Registered BAS agent
    Salary band: $65,000 - $85,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Practice owner or senior bookkeeper
    8+ years
    Typical roles: Owner, bookkeeping practice, Senior bookkeeper, Finance manager (small business)

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You enjoy keeping a tidy set of books and finding errors
  • You're patient with small-business owners who don't love paperwork
  • You're comfortable working independently for parts of the week
  • You can hold tight deadlines around BAS and payroll runs
  • You can keep client and payroll information confidential

This might not suit you if

  • You want a fully office-based corporate career on a big team
  • You hate repetitive data entry and reconciliation
  • You want to spend your time on strategy and big-picture work
  • You dislike chasing people for receipts and information

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for bookkeeper. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.