Bookkeeping services Melbourne trusts

Optimise your business with leading Melbourne bookkeepers

Liston Newton Advisory is rated 4.8 from 32 reviews
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An award-winning Australian accounting firm

SMSF multi service firm of the year awardSMSF customer service firm of the year awardIfa innovator of the year awardIfa holistic adviser of the year award

Focus on what you enjoy. Leave the numbers to the experts.

Entrepreneurs don’t dream of payroll optimisation strategies or filing invoices. You started a business to follow your passions, serve your community and enjoy the wealth you’ve earned. Let us help you get back to what matters.

For nearly half a century, Liston Newton’s professional bookkeeping services in Melbourne have helped local small business owners optimise and (equally important) enjoy their work. With our unrivalled experience and market-leading accounting software, we’ll streamline your business processes for cash flow management and offer growth-focused financial planning advice.

Before we get into the details, let’s start with a coffee. Come for a cup at our Melbourne CBD bookkeeping office on Queen Street. We’re a step away from Flinders Street Station, and there’s plenty of city parking around. We’re happy to come to you or set up a virtual consultation at your convenience.

Contact us

Call us on

(03) 9070 9959
Business hours

Monday to Friday

8am to 5pm

Parking

Street parking on Queen St and Flinders Ln. Secure Parking at 367 Collins Street.

Visit us

Contact us

Call us on

Business hours

Parking

Focus on what you enjoy. Leave the numbers to the experts.

Entrepreneurs don’t dream of payroll optimisation strategies or filing invoices. You started a business to follow your passions, serve your community and enjoy the wealth you’ve earned. Let us help you get back to what matters.

For nearly half a century, Liston Newton’s professional bookkeeping services in Melbourne have helped local small business owners optimise and (equally important) enjoy their work. With our unrivalled experience and market-leading accounting software, we’ll streamline your business processes for cash flow management and offer growth-focused financial planning advice.

Before we get into the details, let’s start with a coffee. Come for a cup at our Melbourne CBD bookkeeping office on Queen Street. We’re a step away from Flinders Street Station, and there’s plenty of city parking around. We’re happy to come to you or set up a virtual consultation at your convenience.

Contact us

Call us on

(03) 9070 9959
Business hours

Monday to Friday

8am to 5pm

Parking

Street parking on Queen St and Flinders Ln. Secure Parking at 367 Collins Street.

Small business bookkeeping services available in Melbourne

Our bookkeeping solutions are only one facet of our holistic approach to helping Melbourne’s small businesses. We’ll work closely with you and your team to design a personalised plan to improve your business’s financial performance. That plan may include any of the following services.

Liston Newton have been a great partner for us! They have supported us a lot in our journey and helped us focus on the stuff we are good at (while they handle the stuff we aren’t as good at).

Maria is incredibly approachable, explains things in layman’s terms when we sometimes don’t understand accounting speak, and is willing to go above and beyond when we have a problem!

Jeremy Basset

Owner, Willow Urban Retreat

Liston Newton helped us move our accounting over to Xero. Their Accountant managed the set up and training so we felt comfortable with the software. We now have all our processes streamlined which gives us improved visibility of our business performance. This has allowed us to open 2 more stores without a significant increase in administration effort.
Peter Luskan
Pandora
Go beyond your most ambitious business goals. Make the call.
Talk to us

Bookkeeping is all about details. We have the eye for it.

The bookkeeping and accounting department is the heart of all small businesses. They keep the money flowing smoothly, allowing the other departments and contractors to do their best work. Many business owners open shop with a great idea but a poor understanding of the difficulties of proper accounting. 

Our Melbourne-based bookkeepers can handle all of your accounting responsibilities. Let us upgrade your outdated, traditional bookkeeping software to a streamlined cloud-based platform; we’ll automate your accounts payable to ensure invoices are up to date; we’ll even schedule regular management reporting to ensure you fully understand your business finances. Long story short, let us make your life easier.

Bookkeeper responsibilities

  • Creating and sending invoices
  • Automated bank feeds and reconciliation
  • Cash flow management
  • Payroll functions
  • Receipts and payments
  • Superannuation payments

Learn more about your business with our comprehensive guides

At Liston Newton Advisory, we take pride in helping business owners get more out of their hard work. Our downloadable guides can give you an in-depth look at strategies and technologies that will help your business grow.

  • Discover tax strategies and business structures available to you
  • Understand and apply new business management technology
  • Get in touch with us for information tailored to your business

Meet the Melbourne team

Expertise you can trust

Professional advice from a trusted, accredited team

Our Melbourne bookkeeping office has earned accreditations from leading Australian financial institutions.

Australia’s most experienced and professional accountants — with industry leading qualifications and accreditations to show for it. Learn more from a specialised business accountant.

Why choose us

With no detail left to chance, we can guarantee progress

Bookkeeping is the basic first step of any accounting process. While some consider it grunt work before the important work begins, we see it as building a critical foundation. Why erect a palace on a bed of sand? Our Melbourne bookkeepers have proven their invaluable service to local merchants time and again.

There’s not a word of a boast on this page. Whether you’re starting a new business, expanding one, or getting your personal accounts and investments in order, you can trust that our bookkeeping service works. Our award-winning success lies in our flawless attention to detail and unwavering commitment to your personal and professional goals.

Expect success with:

  • Process automation using market-leading fintech
  • Reliable accounts reconciliation
  • Regular insight reports and counsel

Read through our collection of case studies. As you’ll see, our ability to build a strong financial foundation is second to none.

Our methodology

Our holistic approach leads you towards financial freedom

How we get you set

The first phase is all about establishing the fundamentals of your business and creating a strong foundation to build from. You also need to establish your long-term goals so you have a clear idea of what you're working towards.

  • Plan your goals
  • Structure your business and assets
  • Online accounting
  • People and HR
  • Protect your business and personal risk
  • Business and personal will

How we get you moving

The second phase is about gaining a deeper understanding of your business; how to make it more efficient and experience sustainable growth. This is where you transition from working in your business to working on your business.

  • Understand your numbers
  • Delegate bookkeeping
  • Systematise and automate tasks
  • Minimise tax
  • Forecast cashflow and capital needs
  • Quarterly coaching and accountability

How we get you free

The final phase is when all your hard work really starts to pay off. This is when you start using your profits to build your personal worth to a point that give you financial freedom—the freedom to work only if you want to.

  • Understand wealth creation
  • Investment portfolio
  • Investment property
  • Superannuation
  • Succession and exit planning
  • Your legacy

Our Melbourne case studies

Read all

Contributing to our community in every way we can

Community service isn’t a corporate chore for us. It’s a personal obligation. As business owners who have found financial success and freedom, we feel we have a responsibility to help others reach their full potential, too. We contribute our expertise and financially support a number of charities and initiatives, including:

  • The Cancer Council’s Small Business Advisory Service
  • The Type 1 Foundation for diabetes education and prevention
  • Several community sports teams in Wantirna, Richmond and St Kilda

We’ve selected these initiatives because they’re particularly close to our hearts. But we’re just the Melbourne team. Each of our teams across Australia has chosen their own set of charities to support.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Does my Melbourne business need a bookkeeper?

We strongly recommend all businesses have a bookkeeper, even if just to manage basic accounting tasks. Many small business owners feel they can handle the responsibilities alongside their regular workload. We’d discourage that thought. 

Without a dedicated bookkeeper, you’ll likely quickly fall behind and find yourself facing the following problems:

  • Late payments to staff, contractors and debtors
  • Broken tax obligations, including ATO lodgements, BAS returns and PAYG instalments

As these problems snowball, you’ll be forced to dedicate more hours per week to manage them.

Is a bookkeeper the same thing as an accountant?

A bookkeeper is not the same thing as an accountant. 

Bookkeepers handle day-to-day financial transactions, such as:

  • Processing invoices
  • Processing wages
  • Processing payments
  • Accounts reconciliation

Accountants are accredited financial experts who specialise in strategic financial services, such as:

  • Tax advice
  • Tax planning
  • Superannuation advice
  • Succession and estate planning advice
What’s the best bookkeeping software?

Every accounting platform has its drawbacks and benefits. The right software for you will depend on your unique needs. However, we believe Xero is the most robust, user-friendly and useful accounting and bookkeeping software.

One particularly useful feature of Xero’s platform is its cloud-based accounting, which allows you to access financial insights instantly from anywhere. That level of usability allows you to make informed yet quick business decisions when opportunities, or problems, arise.

How much will it cost to hire a Melbourne bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping costs vary depending on the responsibilities you need covered. For example, you may only need a bookkeeper to update your records for a few hours every week, or you may need an expert to manage the finances of multiple stores.

Liston Newton’s sibling company, Bigger Fish, are our trusted bookkeeping expert. Review their bookkeeping packages to find the right option for you.

Related resources

About our content authors

We work for humans, not algorithms

‘Artificial intelligence’ is not intelligence. But AI tools are exciting. The hype around the possible capabilities of such tools has blinded many to the shoddy reality of their output. And so, business owners in practically all industries have started using AI tools without understanding what they are, how they work or their limitations. We don’t want to make that mistake.

At Liston Newton, we leverage our decades of experience to create business-specific accounting and growth strategies. We’ll admit to testing AI and other emerging technology as tools for rote tasks, but our high-level strategies are written by humans. As was this page.