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Growth Accounting

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Growth Accounting

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We help construction business owners grow a wildly successful business and achieve financial stabili Hey there! Bookkeeping is boring.

I love chatting with construction business owners about their business and the number one thing they tell me is that doing their bookkeeping and paperwork is such an unpleasant task, they feel like a kid again who has to eat their veges 🤢

Let’s face it. Bookkeeping is time consuming. And bookkeeping is just NOT FUN. Except if you’re a bookkeeper or accountant like me! But unless your bookkeeping is done and kept up to date, you have NO IDEA where you stand financially.

⛔ You don’t know how much money you’re making or worse, losing.
⛔ You’re not sure what projects are profitable until the very end, or not at all.
⛔ You often struggle with erratic cash flow and get a little stressed as payroll day approaches.
⛔ Your receipts and paperwork are all over the place and hard to keep under control.
⛔ And sometimes, you secretly wonder how you’re going to provide for your family...

Luckily, I LOVE taking care of the bookkeeping, payroll, cash flow and everything else financial for construction business owners. As the daughter of a family of builders, I LOVE everything about the construction industry. I’ve put together a FREE Guide for construction business owners called “How To Prevent The 5 Cash Flow Traps To Make Sure You Have Money in the Bank”

To grab a copy, click here: https://growthaccounting.com.au/

Sincerely,

Larisa Hailey
Construction Bookkeeper & CPA Accountant 😊

23/10/2026

Your weekend wasn't made for bookkeeping.

When you were running a smaller business, spending a couple of hours catching up on the books may have been manageable.

But once you have a team, regular payroll, dozens of suppliers, hundreds of transactions and a business turning over $1m+, Sunday-night bookkeeping is no longer just an admin inconvenience.

It can be a sign the finance function hasn’t kept pace with the business.

And owner time is expensive.

If you’re spending five hours a week reconciling transactions, checking supplier bills, chasing paperwork or trying to work out why Xero doesn’t agree, that’s five hours you’re not spending on:
• quoting and winning better work
• managing your team
• improving operations
• reviewing margins and pricing
• talking to key customers
• planning what comes next

Or simply having a weekend.

The goal isn’t to remove you from the numbers.

You should understand your numbers.

But there’s a big difference between reviewing useful financial information as the owner and being the person who has to produce it.

Your time is better spent using the numbers to run the business – not spending Sunday night getting them ready.

13/10/2026

Money in the bank. But how much is already spoken for?

For an established business, the bank balance can be one of the most misleading numbers to look at on its own.

You might have $150,000 sitting there today – but some of that cash may already belong to next week’s payroll, super, BAS, suppliers, loan repayments, rent or a large equipment commitment.

So the better question isn’t simply:

“How much cash do we have?”

It’s:

“How much of this cash is actually free after everything we’ve already committed to?”

A useful weekly check is to look at:
• current bank balances
• debtors expected to be collected
• supplier payments due
• the next payroll and super
• BAS/PAYG commitments
• loan and finance repayments
• large planned purchases
• any annual or quarterly costs coming up

Then look forward, not just at today.

An 8–12 week rolling cash-flow view can show you where a strong bank balance today becomes a tight week later.

That gives you time to act – chase debtors earlier, adjust payment timing, reconsider a purchase or simply know that the cash is there and you can proceed confidently.

Money in the bank is useful information.

Knowing what that money needs to do next is what gives you control.

12/10/2026

Industry connections. Shared knowledge. Stronger businesses.

Last week, Growth Accounting's Principal, Larisa Hailey, attended The Bookkeeper Event 2026, hosted by the Australian Bookkeepers Network (ABN).

As a Director of the Australian Bookkeepers Association (ABA), the sister organisation of ABN, Larisa values opportunities like these to connect with industry peers, exchange ideas and contribute to the continued development of the bookkeeping profession.

With this year's theme, Change Creates Opportunity, the event highlighted the importance of adapting to an evolving industry, embracing innovation and strengthening professional connections.

At Growth Accounting, staying connected with the profession isn't simply about keeping up with change. It's about understanding how new developments can translate into better systems, more meaningful financial insights and stronger support for the businesses we work with.

For our clients, that means more than accurate bookkeeping and meeting compliance obligations. It means having reliable, timely financial information, greater visibility over cash flow and profitability, and proactive support to help them plan ahead and make informed business decisions.

Events like these are a valuable reminder that collaboration and continuous learning help move the profession forward.

06/10/2026

Your business has grown. Has your finance function?

When a business reaches $1m+ turnover, the financial workload usually looks very different from the early days.

There are more staff on payroll. More suppliers to pay. More transactions moving through Xero. BAS, super and other commitments are larger. And the decisions you’re making – hiring, equipment, pricing, capacity and growth – carry more weight.

Yet the finance process can still be operating like it did when the business was much smaller.

A few signs you may have outgrown it:
• you’re still using the bank balance as your main measure of performance
• bills and payroll are being handled, but no one is looking at the bigger picture
• you can’t easily see what’s driving profit or squeezing cash
• financial admin is still landing back on the owner
• issues are being discovered at BAS or year end instead of during the month

At this stage, bookkeeping shouldn’t only be about keeping Xero tidy and meeting deadlines.

You need accurate accounts, but you also need useful information – what’s happening to margins, where cash is going, what commitments are coming up and whether growth is actually improving the financial strength of the business.

That’s when bookkeeping starts becoming a finance function.

And it’s often the point where the business needs more support – not necessarily an in-house finance team, but a finance function that has grown with the business.

02/10/2026

Keeping up with change is part of the job.

Yesterday, Larisa attended the ICB Australian Bookkeepers Roadshow & Summit, a great opportunity to connect with others in the industry and hear about some of the changes shaping the way we work.

AI was one of the topics on the agenda, and there's no question technology is changing the bookkeeping and accounting landscape.

One key takeaway: AI can feel overwhelming, so start small. Pick one simple task and use AI to make it a little easier. As you get more familiar with the process, the next step gets easier too.

For us, staying current isn't about adopting every new tool that comes along. It's about understanding what's changing, what's genuinely useful, and where better systems can improve the way we work and the financial information we provide to the businesses we support.

A valuable day of learning, connecting and coming away with new ideas for Growth Accounting.

30/09/2026

There’s a point in the growth of a business where the questions you ask about the numbers start to change.

In the early days, it might be enough to know the bookkeeping is up to date, the BAS is lodged and there’s enough in the bank to pay the bills.

But add a team, payroll, more customers, more suppliers, bigger projects and higher overheads – and suddenly there’s a lot more riding on the numbers.

You start asking different questions.

Are we actually becoming more profitable as we grow?

Which customers, jobs or services are producing the best return?

How much of the cash in the bank is really available once wages, super, GST, suppliers and other commitments are taken into account?

Can we afford another employee, vehicle or piece of equipment?

What happens to cash flow if sales increase – or if a major customer pays late?

And perhaps the biggest question:
Are the numbers giving us enough information to make good decisions about what happens next?

That’s where bookkeeping should start becoming more than recording what has already happened.

Accurate accounts are the foundation.

But for a growing business, the real value comes from being able to understand the numbers, see what’s changing and use that information to make better decisions.

Because the bigger the business becomes, the more expensive it can be to make decisions without that visibility.

Good numbers shouldn’t just keep your business compliant.
They should help you build a stronger business.

22/09/2026

If you’re in construction or the trades, it’s worth knowing what the ATO is keeping an eye on.

Earlier this year, the ATO highlighted some of the recurring tax and GST issues it sees in property and construction businesses, including builders, contractors and tradies, particularly growing businesses with turnover between $1 million and $10 million.

Some of the common issues include:

• Income not being reported correctly
• Expenses and GST credits being overclaimed
• Private expenses being treated as business expenses
• Not registering for GST when required
• Contractor payments and reporting obligations being missed

None of these are particularly complicated issues, but when your business is growing and there’s more money moving through the accounts, small bookkeeping problems can quickly become bigger ones.

Good bookkeeping isn’t just about getting your BAS lodged on time. It’s about having accurate records, the right supporting documents and confidence that the numbers being reported actually reflect what’s happening in your business.

The bigger your business gets, the more important those foundations become.

The ATO article also includes some useful real-world examples of what can happen when businesses get it wrong.

👉 Read the full ATO article:
https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/corporate-tax-measures-and-assurance/our-focus-areas-for-small-business/small-business-focus-areas/tax-risks-property-construction-and-professional-services

15/09/2026

Good record keeping isn’t just about keeping the ATO happy.

When your accounts are accurate and up to date, you can see what’s really happening in your business, what’s coming in, what’s going out, where your money is going and whether you’re actually making a profit.

Combine good records with the right technology and you spend less time chasing paperwork and more time making informed decisions about your business.

Yes, keeping records is a legal requirement. But done properly, your bookkeeping becomes much more than compliance.

It gives you the financial clarity you need to run a better business.

11/03/2026

⚠️ IAS Reminder

If you lodge monthly IAS, the next lodgement and payment deadline is coming up.
This usually includes PAYG Withholding (W1 / W2) from your payroll.
A quick reminder — processing payroll doesn’t mean the IAS is done.
It still needs to be reported and lodged with the ATO.

If Growth Accounting handles your IAS, we’re already working on it. If we’re waiting on anything from you, we’ll be in touch.

17/12/2025

It’s easy to get caught up in end-of-year distractions... gatherings, travel, wrapping things up.

Just a gentle reminder not to let your IAS slip through the cracks.

A quick payment now keeps your cashflow clear and your business steady.

Address

21 Quinane Avenue, Forde
Canberra, ACT
2914

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61413871965

Website

http://www.growthaccounting.com.au/

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