Trade Business Accountants

Trade Business Accountants Specialist tax accounting and bookkeeping for Australian trade and construction businesses.

You finish a $45k job... and it looks profitable on paper.But you paid for labour and materials weeks ago.And the client...
17/06/2026

You finish a $45k job... and it looks profitable on paper.

But you paid for labour and materials weeks ago.

And the client now pays in 30+ days.

Meanwhile, you've already started another two jobs to keep your crews productive... spending another $30k on labour and materials.

That gap is where good businesses run out of cash.

6 ATO triggers that cause a business to get audited The ATO doesn’t randomly pick businesses. Most audits are triggered ...
17/06/2026

6 ATO triggers that cause a business to get audited

The ATO doesn’t randomly pick businesses.

Most audits are triggered by patterns in your tax returns, lodgements, and financial data. And if you understand these patterns early, you can reduce your audit risk significantly.

Trigger 1: Late or missing lodgements.

Consistently lodging late (or not at all) puts you on the ATO’s radar.

Even if you can’t pay, lodging on time is critical to avoid escalation.

Trigger 2: Unreported or mismatched income.

The ATO uses data from banks, payment platforms, and third parties.

If your reported income doesn’t match their data, it’s an immediate red flag.

Trigger 3: Unusual or inflated deductions.

Claims that don’t align with your income or industry stand out.

Car expenses, home office, travel, and education claims are closely scrutinised.

Trigger 4: Ongoing losses.

If your business or investments show losses year after year, the ATO may question whether it’s a genuine business or a hobby.

Trigger 5: Cash-heavy businesses.

Industries dealing heavily in cash face higher scrutiny.

If your numbers fall outside industry benchmarks, the ATO may step in and estimate income.

Trigger 6: Lifestyle vs income mismatch.

If your lifestyle doesn’t align with your declared income, the ATO may investigate.

Large purchases must be supported with clear documentation.

ATO audits are rarely random.

To lower your chances make sure you have clean records, accurate reporting, and strong documentation.

What an incredible evening at the Australian Accounting Awards, hosted by AccountantsDaily in Sydney! To Bayley's surpri...
14/06/2026

What an incredible evening at the Australian Accounting Awards, hosted by AccountantsDaily in Sydney! To Bayley's surprise, he was honoured to be recognised as the Young Accountant Of The Year!

A huge thank you to AccountantsDaily for putting on such a fantastic (and big) event, the judges for their time and consideration, and of course all the sponsors.

Getting recognised at a national level and accepting this award up on the big stage was truly humbling for Bayley.

Don’t be fooled by the dangerously low prices your competitors are charging.Time is their enemy.The market rarely reward...
08/06/2026

Don’t be fooled by the dangerously low prices your competitors are charging.

Time is their enemy.

The market rarely rewards the cheapest operator long term.

It usually destroys them.

If you don’t use the correct markup when pricing jobs and projects in your business, you’re likely going to be at risk o...
04/06/2026

If you don’t use the correct markup when pricing jobs and projects in your business, you’re likely going to be at risk of underpricing.

(without even realising)

I had a client doing this recently.

They run a busy electrical business and were adding a 30% markup to every job, thinking this meant they were making a 30% margin.

But that isn’t true.

If a job costs $1,000 and you add 30% markup, the price you give your customer is $1,300.

$1,300 divided by $1,000 job costs equals $300 gross profit.

Divide $300 gross profit by the $1,300 sell price and you get a 23% gross margin.

So straight away, they were making 7% less profit than they thought.

A gap across every job they were delivering.

This matters because the field technicians were at capacity every week, but the business kept falling short of its profit targets.

The solution was correcting the markup.

They increased theirs to 43% to allow for a true 30% gross margin.

They didn’t lose many jobs as a result, and the numbers changed almost overnight.

At $120,000 per month in sales this fix added over 6 figures a year in additional profit.

They weren’t working any harder, just pricing smarter.

So remember, markup is what you add, margin is what you keep.

If you don’t understand the difference between the two and what you need to apply to hit your profit targets, you risk underpricing.

Sales turnover feeds your ego, profit feeds your family. Be careful which side of the coin you pay most attention to.
02/06/2026

Sales turnover feeds your ego, profit feeds your family.

Be careful which side of the coin you pay most attention to.

Nobody sees the private victories. The alarm you didn’t snooze. The gym session you nearly skipped. The hard conversatio...
31/05/2026

Nobody sees the private victories.

The alarm you didn’t snooze.

The gym session you nearly skipped.

The hard conversation you didn’t avoid.

The extra hours worked after everyone else switched off.

But those moments change your life more than the public praise ever will.

Everyone wants the outcome. The business growth, the money, the physique, the confidence, the respect...

But very few people want the lonely part that creates it.

Because private victories are boring.

There’s no applause or recognition.

Just you, doing what you said you would do.

I’ve noticed the strongest operators usually have one thing in common:

They keep promises to themselves.

Even when tired, even when stressed, even when nobody is watching.

That builds something most people never develop, self respect.

And once you have that, everything changes.

Because now your confidence isn’t built on motivation that comes and goes, it’s built on evidence.

These private victories stack.

Early mornings, preparedness, discipline, reps, consistency, delayed gratification, and small wins repeated long enough start to shape your identity.

So success doesn’t happen in public.

By the time people see you winning, it’s usually just the visible result of years of private victories that took place behind closed doors.

Simple pricing math for trade businesses...Want a quick gross profit guide?If your labour + materials cost is $1,00030% ...
28/05/2026

Simple pricing math for trade businesses...

Want a quick gross profit guide?

If your labour + materials cost is $1,000

30% Gross Profit → quote = $1,430

40% Gross Profit → quote = $1,670

50% Gross Profit → quote = $2,000

The formula:

30% GP → Cost × 1.43

40% GP → Cost × 1.67

50% GP → Cost × 2

Now before the comments start…

Yes, pricing can be more nuanced than this.

Industry, overheads, risk, labour mix, warranty exposure, travel, project complexity, and market positioning all matter.

But if you’re currently pricing based on gut feel or what competitors charge, this is a far better starting point.

Higher margins don’t happen by accident!

They start with pricing.

27/05/2026

Meet Merinda, Senior Bookkeeper here at Trade Business Accountants!

After working in traditional accounting firms, Miranda quickly noticed something different about TBA.

The culture.

“I think if somebody came from a traditional firm into TBA, the thing that they would notice straight away is just like the banter between the team. Everyone’s super friendly, super bubbly.”

At TBA, we’ve worked hard to build a workplace where great people can genuinely enjoy what they do, feel supported, and deliver exceptional outcomes for hardworking business owners.

No office politics.

No micromanagement.

No feeling like just another cog in a machine.

Just good people, high standards, flexibility, collaboration, and meaningful work.

In Merinda’s words:

“That’s what I personally want in a job... to not feel chaotic, feel like I’m supported, and I can go and do a good job and that just makes me feel wonderful.”

Trade Business Accountants is growing fast and we’re always interested in meeting experienced, high-calibre professionals who want to do great work with great people.

If you’re tired of traditional firm culture and want to explore a different way of working, get in touch today today.

Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is reality.You can get away with okay people, okay strategy, and even okay ex*...
25/05/2026

Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, cash is reality.

You can get away with okay people, okay strategy, and even okay ex*****on.

But run out of cash and it's game over.

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Unit 1/55 Tradelink Road, Hillcrest
Brisbane, QLD
4118

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