Bookkeeping services proposal
Bookkeeping services proposal with a catch up, payroll and BAS
A bookkeeping services proposal should separate the one off catch up from the monthly fee, price payroll by the person, and say who lodges what. This example from a Hobart BAS agent to a physiotherapy practice prices the catch up and first month at $3,048 plus GST, then about $1,000 a month plus the quarterly activity statement.
The proposal, page by page
Every page as the client sees it and as it prints, pricing table included.
The pricing, line by line
- Catch up, July to October 2026
- 1 × $1,650.00
- Monthly bookkeeping
- 1 × $690.00
- Payroll, per employee per month
- 9 × $32.00
- Quarterly activity statement
- 1 × $420.00
- Software setup and bank feeds (optional)
- 1 × $480.00
- Tax
- $304.80
- Total
- $3,352.80
Section by section
- Cover
- The title, the client, the Hobart and Kingston clinics and a November start.
- About us
- A registered BAS agent practice with one bookkeeper per file and a one business day reply.
- Understanding your needs
- Four months behind, a BAS due and payroll done at night, with 4 months, 9 staff and 2 clinics.
- Our approach
- Catch up, run the month, report and lodge.
- Deliverables and timeline
- Reconciled books in three weeks, payroll and super, monthly reports and BAS, four dates, and what the client provides.
- Investment
- The catch up, the first month of bookkeeping, payroll for nine, one quarterly statement, and optional software setup.
- Terms
- First invoice on acceptance then monthly and quarterly billing, a 400 transaction cap, records, notice and validity.
- Next steps and acceptance
- Accept, tick setup if wanted, sign, then the access checklist.
One off work and monthly work belong on separate lines
Most bookkeeping clients arrive behind. If the catch up is folded into the monthly fee, the fee looks high for the first months and the client wonders why it never comes down. If it is left out, the client is surprised by a large first bill. This proposal does neither: the catch up is one line, priced for four months of reconciliation and the overdue activity statement, and the monthly fee is priced for a normal month. The client can compare the monthly fee with another bookkeeper's directly, and see the catch up as the cost of the practice manager leaving, which is what it is.
How the numbers work
The first invoice covers the catch up at $1,650, one month of bookkeeping at $690, payroll for nine at $32 each, $288, and the first quarterly activity statement at $420: $3,048 before GST, $3,352.80 with it. Software setup at $480 is optional. With no deposit set, accepting the proposal issues that one invoice, due in 14 days. After that a normal month is $978 before GST at nine staff, about $1,000, plus $420 each quarter. The product has no recurring invoice, so clause 1 states the monthly and quarterly billing plainly and the bookkeeper issues each invoice. Payroll moves by $32 for each person who joins or leaves.
How to adapt this proposal
If you are a registered BAS agent, say so in the letterhead and the about section, because only registered agents can provide BAS services for a fee and clients increasingly check. If you are not, say who lodges and keep your scope to bookkeeping. Size the catch up from the bank statements, not from the client's guess. Put a transaction cap or a time cap on a fixed monthly fee, and say what happens above it. Name the client's accountant if there is one, and say what you hand them at year end, so nobody assumes you are doing their tax return.
What makes this proposal work
The backlog has its own price
The catch up for July to October is one line at $1,650, separate from the $690 monthly fee. The owners can see what four months behind costs to fix, and the monthly fee they compare with other bookkeepers is not inflated by it.
Payroll scales with the team
Payroll is $32 per employee per month with nine as the quantity, so a new hire adds $32. The monthly fee is honest about what drives it, and clause 2 caps the bookkeeping at 400 transactions so the fixed fee stays fixed.
It is clear who does what
The callout says the clinic's accountant still prepares the tax return and the bookkeeper hands over reconciled books, and clause 3 puts the accuracy of source records with the client. Bookkeeping disputes usually start with a blurred line between the two.
Questions people ask
What should a bookkeeping services proposal include?
The state of the books now, what you will do to catch up, what is done every month, payroll and super, which statements you lodge, what the client provides, the price split into one off and monthly parts, any cap on the fixed fee, and notice terms. This example covers each across five pages after a cover.
How much does a bookkeeper charge per month?
It depends on transaction volume, payroll and lodgements. This example charges $690 a month for up to 400 transactions across two clinics, $32 per employee for payroll and $420 a quarter for the activity statement, all before GST. A catch up for months already behind is priced separately at $1,650.
Can a bookkeeper lodge my BAS?
Only a registered BAS agent or tax agent can provide BAS services for a fee. This proposal comes from a registered BAS agent practice and includes preparing and lodging each quarterly activity statement. If your bookkeeper is not registered, they can keep the books but a registered agent must handle the BAS.
Should a bookkeeping proposal have a deposit?
Often it does not need one. Here there is no deposit: accepting issues a single invoice for the catch up and the first month, due in 14 days, with a pay link for card payment. Monthly and quarterly invoices follow, so the bookkeeper is never far ahead of what has been paid.
What is a catch up in bookkeeping?
Bringing books that are behind up to date: coding and reconciling past transactions and preparing any overdue statements. In this example the books are four months behind, so the catch up covers July to October and the September quarter activity statement, priced at $1,650 and done within three weeks.
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