Pricing accounting services in Australia

What the rules require, and what they leave to you

There is no fee scale for accounting work in Australia. APES 110 says it directly: a member in public practice "might quote whatever fee is considered appropriate," and quoting lower than another accountant "is not in itself unethical." What the standards care about is that the client understands the basis of the fee, that the fee is enough to do the work properly, and that the way you are paid doesn't compromise your judgement.

That leaves most of pricing to the firm. This guide covers the rules first, briefly, then the decisions that actually determine whether a firm's fees work: the pricing method, how to price a family group, scope and variations, annual rollovers, payment terms, and GST on the invoice.

The professional standards on fees

APES 305 Terms of Engagement

The current APES 305 applies to engagements commencing on or after 1 January 2025. Paragraph 3.8 requires the terms of engagement to be recorded in an engagement document. Paragraph 4.8 covers fees: the document should refer to "the basis and calculation of fees," for example time based billing or fixed price contracts, and to "agreed upon billing schedules."

For recurring engagements, paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2 set out when to reissue or amend the engagement document, including where there are significant changes to the engagement, the services, or the terms. A fee change of any size is a good prompt to ask whether that threshold has been crossed.

APES 110 section 330: fees and other remuneration

These references are to APES 110 as compiled by the APESB as at July 2025. Check the current compiled version before relying on paragraph numbers.

Should you charge fixed fees, by time or on value?

Most firms end up with a mix. The useful question is which method fits which kind of work.

Fixed fees are a bet on inputs

A fixed fee for a company tax return is really a fixed fee for a company tax return prepared from reconciled ledgers, with a loan account schedule, and no Division 7A surprises. When those assumptions fail, the fee fails with them. The fix is to price the inputs you expect into the scope, and say what happens when they arrive in a different state. That turns a dispute about the fee into a conversation about the records.

Time is information, even if you don't bill on it

Firms that move to fixed fees often stop recording time. That removes the only data that tells you whether a fee was right. Recording time against a fixed-fee job is not about billing. It is about knowing which clients and which services are profitable when you set next year's fee.

Value pricing without the jargon

Value pricing, done honestly, starts with a question: what is this outcome worth to the client, and what would it cost them to get it another way? A restructure that moves a growing business out of a sole trader structure before a sale is worth more than the hours it takes. A fee that reflects that is fine under APES 110, provided the client understands the basis, and provided the fee isn't contingent on an outcome in an engagement where contingent fees are prohibited or the threat can't be managed.

Not every job has a value story. Most compliance work doesn't. Pretending otherwise produces proposals clients see through.

Pricing a family group

A typical client group in an Australian practice is not one client. It is two individuals, a discretionary trust, a trading company, perhaps a bucket company and an SMSF. Pricing each entity on its own misses how the group actually generates work.

Where the work really sits

• Interdependencies. The trust's distribution resolution affects the individuals' returns and the bucket company. Pre-30 June planning for the group is one piece of work spread across four returns.
• Repeat information. Contact details, ID, related-party loans and minutes cross entities.
• Uneven complexity. The SMSF may be routine while the trust carries the real thinking.

A worked example

The Nguyen family group, all fees GST-exclusive for illustration only:

Two things are worth noticing. The planning work is priced once, at group level, rather than buried in four entity fees. And the client sees one number for the group, while the firm can still invoice entity by entity if the trust and company need their own invoices for deductibility.

Deciding who pays matters too. Each entity paying its own fee is usually the cleanest for tax, but some families want one payment. Write down which entity is billed for which service, so the GST and deductibility questions have a clear answer.

Nagaris is built around this. Trusts, companies, SMSFs and individuals go on one proposal, priced together or entity by entity, and the client signs once for the whole group. The group can pay together, entity by entity, or in a split you set. See group proposals and the family group engagement letter template.

Scope and variations

Most fee disputes are scope disputes. A good scope does three things: lists what's included, lists the assumptions behind the price, and says how anything else will be charged.

That last point matters most. A variation the client agreed to before you started is an invoice. A variation they first see on the invoice is an argument.

Unfair contract terms

Engagement letters are usually standard form contracts, and many business clients are small businesses for the purposes of the unfair contract terms laws. From 9 November 2023 the ACCC describes a small business as one with fewer than 100 employees or annual turnover under $10 million. From the same date, proposing, using or relying on an unfair term in a standard form contract is prohibited, and penalties apply. For a business, the maximum is the greatest of $50 million, three times the benefit attributable to the conduct, or 30% of adjusted turnover during the breach period, if the benefit can't be determined.

The ACCC's example is relevant to fee clauses. A term letting one party change the price at any time while the other can't exit is likely unfair. A similar price-change term is likely not unfair if the customer can end the contract without penalty. So a fee review clause works best when it gives notice of the change and lets the client walk away without a break fee. Only a court can decide finally whether a term is unfair, so have your engagement letter reviewed.

Annual rollovers

The annual fee review is where firms either keep their fees honest or quietly lose margin. A rollover process that works:

1. Look at last year's actual effort against each fee, by entity and by service. This is where recorded time pays for itself.
2. Separate the causes. Was the overrun the client's records, a one-off event, or a fee that was simply too low?
3. Change the scope or the fee, not both silently. If records were poor, the fix might be a records standard in the scope rather than a higher fee.
4. Reissue or amend the engagement document where APES 305 paragraph 5.2 points that way, for example a significant change to services or terms.
5. Give notice early, before the work starts, with the right to decline.

A flat percentage increase across the client list is simple but treats the well-organised client and the shoebox client the same. The well-organised client notices.

Payment terms

How and when you are paid is part of the price. A $5,000 fee paid in advance by direct debit is worth more than a $5,000 fee paid 90 days late after three reminders.

One change matters from this month. The ACCC states that from 1 October 2026 businesses can no longer add a surcharge for payments made using Visa, Mastercard, American Express and eftpos cards. Firms that used to pass card fees on should review their payment terms and invoices, and factor processing costs into the fee itself.

Nagaris lets clients sign and set up payment in the same step. Payment details can be captured when the engagement is signed, then charged on completion, or set up as recurring monthly or quarterly billing. Direct debit and PayID are 1% plus 30 cents, capped at $5 a payment, and cards are 1.95% plus 30 cents. Payments are matched to the invoice. See payments.

Showing prices honestly

The Australian Consumer Law applies to how fees are advertised and quoted. The ACCC says businesses "must not mislead consumers about their prices" and that information about prices "must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds." Its examples of misleading price claims include a price shown without GST or other costs included.

The ACCC's price display guidance says a total price must be shown as a single figure, including taxes and unavoidable fees, and that "the total price must be at least as prominent as the partial price." A monthly fee for a 12-month arrangement should sit alongside the annual total. There is one exception that matters for accountants: "If a business is displaying prices only to other businesses, it doesn't need to include GST in the total price." Pricing on a website seen by individuals should include GST.

Practical points for a fee page or proposal:

• "From $X" pricing should be a price some real clients actually pay.
• If a fee depends on records being in order, say so next to the price.
• Don't show a "was" price that was never charged.

Do you charge GST on accounting fees?

Most firms are registered for GST and charge it on their fees. The ATO requires registration when GST turnover is $75,000 or more, measured as total business income, not profit, on a current or projected basis. Once required, registration has to happen within 21 days.

On invoices: if a client asks for a tax invoice, the ATO says you must provide one within 28 days, unless the sale is $82.50 including GST or less. A tax invoice under $1,000 must let the reader identify that it is a tax invoice, your name and ABN, the date, a description, quantity where relevant and price, the GST amount, and the extent each sale is taxable. For $1,000 or more, it also needs the buyer's identity or ABN. Most annual group invoices clear $1,000, so the entity name or ABN of the entity being billed needs to be right. This is another reason to decide which entity pays for which service.

Quote individual clients GST-inclusive. Quote business clients in whichever form is clearer, but state which it is every time.

Putting it together

A fee that works is one the client understood before the work started, that reflects the real effort for that group, that is reviewed each year against what happened, and that is paid on time without chasing. None of that depends on a particular pricing philosophy. It depends on writing things down: the scope, the assumptions, the basis of the fee, and how changes are handled. APES 305 and APES 110 ask for exactly that, and clients tend to respond to it well.

Related: engagement letters guide, engagement letter template, client onboarding guide.