Bookkeeping services agreement, Marlin Street Coffee

Bookkeeping services agreement with a monthly scope table

Bookkeeping goes wrong when nobody wrote down which tasks are monthly, which are weekly, and who has to hand over what before a statement can be lodged. This agreement settles all three in a scope table and a lodgement calendar, then prices the whole year so the cafe can see what it is committing to.

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Ledgerline Bookkeeping
ABN 45 220 617 884 · Registered BAS agent 26134567 · 3 Verity Lane, Northcote VIC 3070
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Bookkeeping services agreement

This agreement is made on 21 September 2026 between Ledgerline Bookkeeping Pty Ltd, ABN 45 220 617 884, of 3 Verity Lane, Northcote VIC 3070, a registered BAS agent, called the Bookkeeper, and Marlin Street Coffee Pty Ltd, ABN 71 604 338 205, of 88 Marlin Street, Fitzroy North VIC 3068, called the Client.

$480
Monthly fee
11
Staff on payroll
Quarterly
BAS cycle
1 Oct 2026
Start
1. The services
1.1
What the monthly fee buys
The Bookkeeper carries out the tasks in the table below for one trading entity with one bank account, one card account and one merchant facility. The table is the scope. Anything not in it is quoted before it is started.
Task
What is done
When
Bank and card reconciliation
Code and reconcile every transaction on the trading account, the card account and the merchant settlement account, and clear the suspense account
Weekly
Accounts payable
Enter supplier bills, match them to delivery dockets supplied by the Client, and prepare a payment run for the Client to authorise
Weekly
Payroll
Process the fortnightly pay run for up to 11 employees, issue pay slips, and report through Single Touch Payroll on or before each payday
Fortnightly
Superannuation
Prepare the quarterly super batch for the Client to authorise and submit through the clearing house
Quarterly
Business activity statement
Reconcile GST, PAYG withholding and PAYG instalments, prepare the statement and lodge it as the agent on record
Quarterly
Month end
Reconcile the till float and the stock on hand figure given by the Client, post accruals, and issue the profit and loss, the balance sheet and a one page trading summary
Monthly
1.2
What is not included
The services below are outside the monthly fee. They are quoted separately, and nothing in this agreement obliges the Bookkeeper to provide them.
Income tax returns, fringe benefits tax returns and financial statements, which the Client obtains from its tax agent
Advice on the structure of the business, on tax planning or on whether a transaction is deductible
Award interpretation, classification of employees and rates of pay, which are set by the Client
Responding to an ATO review or audit, charged at the hourly rate in clause 4.2
2. Lodgements
2.1
Lodging as the agent on record
The Bookkeeper is registered with the Tax Practitioners Board and is the agent on record for the Client for activity statement purposes, which is what gives the Client the concessional lodgement dates below. It tells the Client within five business days if that registration ends or is suspended.
Quarter
Records due to Bookkeeper
Draft to Client
Lodgement date
Jul to Sep
20 October
10 November
25 November
Oct to Dec
25 January
14 February
28 February
Jan to Mar
20 April
12 May
26 May
Apr to Jun
20 July
11 August
25 August
2.2
Late records, and approval before lodgement
Where records arrive after the date in column two, the Bookkeeper lodges on time if it reasonably can and otherwise as soon as the records allow, and a general interest charge or failure to lodge penalty that follows late records sits with the Client. No statement is lodged until the Client approves the draft in writing, including by email, because that approval is the declaration that the information is true and correct.
The Client stays responsible for the numbers it reports
A registered agent prepares and lodges, and the taxpayer remains liable for what is reported. The Bookkeeper works from the records and the explanations the Client gives and does not audit them.
3. Payroll
3.1
Pay runs and Single Touch Payroll
Timesheets are approved by the Client in the rostering system by 10 am on the Monday after each pay period closes. The Bookkeeper processes the pay run the same day, reports to the ATO through Single Touch Payroll on or before payday, and issues pay slips within one working day of payday as the Fair Work regulations require.
3.2
Rates of pay are set by the Client
The Client sets every classification, base rate, penalty rate, loading and allowance and confirms them in writing before the first pay run and whenever they change. The Bookkeeper enters what the Client provides, does not interpret the award, and is not responsible for an underpayment caused by a rate the Client supplied.
3.3
Superannuation
The Bookkeeper prepares the quarterly super batch at the current superannuation guarantee rate on ordinary time earnings and gives it to the Client at least seven days before the due date, and the Client authorises and funds it. Super counts as paid only when the fund receives it, so a batch authorised on the due date is likely to be late.
4. Fees
Charge
Times a year
Each
Year total
Monthly bookkeeping and payroll
12
$480.00
$5,760.00
Year end file handover to the tax agent
1
$340.00
$340.00
Total a year before GST
$6,100.00
GST at 10 percent
$610.00
Total a year including GST
$6,710.00
4.1
The monthly fee
The fee is $480 plus GST a month, payable by direct debit on the 15th of the month for the month just completed. Preparing and lodging the four quarterly activity statements is inside that fee and carries no separate charge.
4.2
Work outside the scope
Work outside the table in clause 1.1 is charged at $95 plus GST an hour in 15 minute units, quoted before it starts where it is likely to exceed two hours. Rebuilding a period that was not reconciled when this agreement started is quoted as a fixed price after a look at the file.
4.3
Review and unpaid fees
The fee may rise once a year on 30 days written notice stating the new figure. An invoice unpaid 21 days after its due date lets the Bookkeeper suspend the services, lodgements included, on written notice until the account is clear.
5. Software and access
5.1
The subscription is in the name of the Client
The cloud accounting subscription, the payroll module and the document storage are held in the name of the Client and paid by the Client, and the Bookkeeper is added as a user. That is what makes the file portable: if this agreement ends the Client keeps the file and removes one user rather than migrating a data set.
5.2
Access, and what access is not
The Bookkeeper holds a named user login with advisor permissions, which lets it code, reconcile and prepare pay runs and payment files. It holds no bank token, no authorisation card and no signatory role, and never releases a payment: every payment is authorised by the Client. Logins are not shared, and multi factor authentication is on for every user.
5.3
Removing access
When this agreement ends the Client removes the Bookkeeper as a user within two business days and rotates any credential it held, and the Bookkeeper confirms in writing that it holds no further access.
6. Records
6.1
Two retention periods, not one
Tax records are kept for five years from the date they were prepared, obtained, or the transaction was completed, whichever is latest. Employee records are a separate obligation and are kept for seven years under the Fair Work regulations, so a cafe with staff meets both and keeps the payroll file the longer period. Working papers prepared by the Bookkeeper remain its property, are kept for five years, and a copy of the reconciliation behind any lodged statement is given to the Client on request at no charge.
6.2
Source documents
The Client uploads supplier invoices, receipts and bank statements to the document store in the accounting file within 10 days of the end of each month. A digital copy is enough for tax purposes as long as it is a true and clear reproduction of the original.
7. Obligations of the Client
1.
Give complete and accurate records by the dates in clause 2.1 and clause 6.2.
2.
Approve timesheets by 10 am on the Monday after each pay period closes.
3.
Confirm pay rates, classifications and allowances in writing before they are used.
4.
Authorise and fund every payment, including wages, super and statement liabilities.
5.
Tell the Bookkeeper about a new bank account, card, merchant facility or entity before it is used, and approve each draft activity statement in writing before it is lodged.
8. Confidentiality, privacy and conduct
8.1
Confidentiality and the Code of Professional Conduct
Each party keeps the other party information confidential and continues to do so after the agreement ends. The Bookkeeper handles personal information, including tax file numbers and bank details, under the Australian Privacy Principles. As a registered BAS agent it is also bound by the Code of Professional Conduct in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, which covers honesty and integrity, independence, confidentiality, competence and reasonable care. Nothing in this agreement reduces those duties.
9. Liability
9.1
What is covered, and the cap
The Bookkeeper holds professional indemnity insurance of at least $1,000,000 for any one claim, as its registration requires, and gives a certificate of currency on request. Its liability is limited to the fees paid in the 12 months before the claim, except where the law does not allow that limit, and it is not liable for a loss caused by records or rates the Client supplied. Consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded are not excluded.
10. Term, ending and general
10.1
Term and notice
This agreement starts on 1 October 2026 and continues until either party ends it on 30 days written notice. Either party may end it immediately for a serious breach that is not fixed within 10 business days of written notice.
10.2
The last month
In the final month the Bookkeeper reconciles to the last day of the engagement, lodges any statement already due, gives the Client a handover note listing open items, and removes itself as the agent on record within five business days. Fees are payable to the last day. Notices are given by email to the addresses on the first page, a variation takes effect only when both parties agree it in writing, and this agreement is governed by the law of Victoria and replaces any earlier engagement letter between the parties.
For Ledgerline Bookkeeping Pty Ltd
Name
:
Position
:
Date
:
For Marlin Street Coffee Pty Ltd
Name
:
Position
:
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Parties and key facts
Both companies with their ABNs and the BAS agent number, then the fee, the headcount, the cycle and the start date.
1. The services
The seven row scope table that governs, and the list of work that sits outside it.
2. Lodgements
The agent on record clause and the quarterly calendar of records, drafts and lodgement dates.
3. Payroll
Timesheet deadlines, Single Touch Payroll, who sets the rates and how super is prepared.
4. Fees
The year table reaching $6,710 including GST, the monthly fee, out of scope work and the review.
5. Software and access
The subscription in the client name, what advisor access is and is not, and removing access at the end.
6. Records
Five years for tax records, seven for employee records, and where the source documents live.
7. Obligations of the Client
Six numbered things the client has to do for the calendar in clause 2 to work.
8. Confidentiality, privacy and conduct
Confidential information, the Australian Privacy Principles and the Code of Professional Conduct.
9. Liability
Professional indemnity cover, the cap at twelve months of fees, and consumer guarantees that stay.
10. Term, ending and general
Thirty days notice, what happens in the final month, and the governing law.
Signatures
A block for each company with name, position and date.

Clauses in this document

How to adapt this agreement

For a monthly rather than quarterly lodger, replace the four row calendar with twelve rows and shorten the records deadline, because a monthly cycle leaves no room for a client who takes three weeks to upload receipts. For a business with no employees, delete clause 3 and the seven year retention line, and drop the monthly fee accordingly, since payroll is usually the largest part of the work. For a bookkeeper who is not a registered agent, remove clause 2.1 and the concessional dates entirely, say that the client or its tax agent lodges, and keep the draft and approval steps so the reconciliation still gets checked before anything is filed.

Which law the terms follow

Record keeping sits under the tax law rule that business records are kept for five years, and separately under the Fair Work regulations, which require employee records to be kept for seven years. Activity statement lodgement dates come from the standard quarterly cycle plus the concession available when a registered agent is on record. The Code of Professional Conduct in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 binds the agent regardless of what the agreement says, which is why clause 8.1 references it rather than restating it. GST is charged at 10 percent on the monthly fee and shown on a tax invoice carrying the ABN of the bookkeeper. The agreement is governed by the law of Victoria.

What makes this document work

The scope is a table, so nothing is assumed

Seven rows name the task, what is actually done and how often, from weekly bank reconciliation to the quarterly super batch. Clause 1.1 makes that table the scope, and clause 1.2 lists what is outside it, so a request for a cash flow forecast is a quote rather than an argument.

The lodgement calendar has four dates, not one

Every quarter gets a records due date, a draft date and a lodgement date, and the lodgement dates are the concessional ones an agent on record can use. A client who can see that records are due on 20 October for a 25 November lodgement knows exactly how much slack there is.

Two retention periods, because a cafe with staff has two

Clause 6.1 keeps tax records five years and employee records seven, and says plainly that the payroll file is kept the longer period. Most bookkeeping agreements state one number and leave the reader to discover the other after an audit.

Questions people ask

What should a bookkeeping services agreement include?

A scope you can point at, how often each task happens, who lodges what and by when, the fee and what it covers, an hourly rate for anything outside the scope, who holds the software subscription, how long records are kept, and how either side ends the arrangement. This one carries all of those.

Does a bookkeeper have to be a registered BAS agent?

To prepare and lodge activity statements for a fee, yes. Registration sits with the Tax Practitioners Board and brings the Code of Professional Conduct with it, which covers honesty, independence, confidentiality, competence and reasonable care. Clause 8.1 says nothing in the agreement reduces those duties.

Who is responsible if a lodgement is late?

It depends on why. Clause 2.2 puts a general interest charge or failure to lodge penalty on the client where the records arrived after the date in the calendar, and keeps it with the bookkeeper where the records were on time. That single split prevents most of the argument.

How much does monthly bookkeeping cost?

It depends on transaction volume and headcount rather than turnover. This agreement charges $480 plus GST a month for one entity, one bank account, one card and eleven staff on fortnightly pay, which comes to $6,710 a year including GST once the year end handover is added.

Should the accounting file be in the name of the business or the bookkeeper?

The business, every time. Clause 5.1 puts the subscription, the payroll module and the document store in the name of the client with the bookkeeper added as a user, so ending the engagement means removing one login rather than migrating a data set and negotiating over who owns the history.

Can a bookkeeper authorise payments?

Not under this agreement. Clause 5.2 gives the bookkeeper advisor permissions to code, reconcile and prepare payment files, and no bank token, authorisation card or signatory role. Every payment is released by the client, which keeps the preparation and the authorisation in different hands.

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