Hi, I’m Zoe Hadley, and I’ve been an accountant here in Australia for more than 35 years. In that time, I’ve worked with café owners, tradies, shopkeepers, consultants, and even farmers who just wanted someone to take the stress out of their books.
Something I’ve noticed over the years is this: not everyone needs an accountant all the time. Lots of people just need help once maybe to lodge a BAS, fix payroll, or clean up a year’s worth of messy receipts.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had someone ring me and say:
“Zoe, I don’t want an ongoing contract. I just need help with this one thing. Can you do it?”
The answer is always yes. That’s exactly what one-off accounting services are for.
Why Small Business Owners Ask for One-Off Help
Running a business is hard work. You’re already doing long hours, wearing too many hats, and trying to keep everyone happy customers, staff, suppliers, even the ATO.
Sometimes you don’t need an accountant holding your hand every week. You just need someone to:
- Step in.
- Sort things out.
- Hand it back to you in good shape.
I once helped a couple who ran a small design studio from their lounge room. They didn’t want me full-time, but at tax time, they had a shoebox of receipts and no clue where to start. That was a perfect one-off job. I pulled everything together, made sure their return was right, and gave them peace of mind.
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What One-Off Accounting Services Look Like
Over the years, I’ve seen the same types of requests come up again and again. Most small businesses ask for one-off help with:
- BAS lodgement – especially when the quarter gets away from you.
- Tax returns – just once a year, to make sure deductions are claimed properly.
- Financial reports – when the bank or a lender wants to see tidy records.
- Payroll setup or corrections – the big one I’ll explain more about.
- System setup – Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, getting it all running smoothly.
- Clean-up jobs – fixing messy reconciliations or overdue accounts.
- Audit preparation – getting things organised before an ATO knock on the door.
One tradie I helped hadn’t reconciled his accounts for three years. He thought it was too late, but we untangled it in a week. He didn’t need me after that he just needed a reset.
Payroll: The Sneaky One That Trips People Up
If there’s one area that brings people to me most often for a one-off job, it’s payroll.
Payroll isn’t just handing out wages. It’s making sure:
- PAYG is withheld properly.
- Superannuation is paid on time.
- Leave entitlements are tracked.
- Staff are paid according to the right award.
- Single Touch Payroll (STP) reports go through to the ATO.
I remember a café owner who rang me in a panic. She’d been paying staff cash for months and knew she needed to get things sorted. She didn’t want me forever she just wanted me to set it up right, fix past mistakes, and show her how to keep it going.
That’s the beauty of one-off services: you can bring someone in to do the hard part, then take over yourself.
How It Works When You Hire for One Job
Most people overthink this, but it’s simple. Here’s how it usually goes:
- You tell me the problem.
Maybe it’s “I need my BAS done” or “I stuffed up payroll.”
- I explain what I can do.
We agree on the scope, the timeline, and the fee.
- You hand over your records.
Don’t worry if they’re messy. I’ve seen everything from shoeboxes of receipts to half-finished spreadsheets.
- I fix it.
What takes you weeks of stress often takes me an afternoon.
- You get it back, sorted.
Then you carry on with your business, lighter and less stressed.
The Benefits of One-Off Help
What I’ve seen time and again is that small business owners walk away with more than just a finished job. They also gain:
- Clarity – they finally understand what’s going on with their numbers.
- Confidence – no more second-guessing the ATO.
- Time – back to working on their business, not in the books.
- Relief – the weight off their shoulders is real.
I’ll never forget a young tradie who hugged me after I fixed his overdue BAS. He said, “Zoe, I thought I was in trouble for life. You sorted it in days.”
One-Off Doesn’t Mean Less Professional
Some people think one-off jobs mean accountants won’t take them seriously. That’s not true.
In fact, one-off projects are often where we can make the biggest difference quickly. It’s like when you take your car in for a service you don’t hire the mechanic full-time. You just go when the engine light’s on.
The same goes for your accounts.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a small business owner in Australia, you don’t need to feel trapped into hiring an accountant long-term. Sometimes, you only need help once and that’s perfectly fine.
Whether it’s BAS, payroll, tax returns, or just cleaning up the books, one-off accounting services exist to give you that reset. After 35 years of helping businesses, I can tell you this: those single projects often make the biggest difference.
Sometimes, one good clean-up is all it takes to help you breathe again.
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