Bookkeeping for Agencies, Architects, Engineers and Consultancies
Diverse provides outsourced Xero bookkeeping for Australian professional services firms with 3+ staff. We handle invoicing, payroll, BAS and reconciliations, track margin on every project, and deliver management reports by day 10 of each month. Packages start from $400 a month + GST, with no lock-in contracts.
For marketing and advertising agencies, architects, engineering firms, IT consultancies and management consultants.
You're billing for your expertise. Why are you spending your evenings on admin?
Your clients pay for your thinking. Your designs, your strategy, your technical know-how.
Then the day ends and the second shift starts: invoices to send, timesheets to chase, a Xero file that's three weeks behind. And when a big decision comes along, like a new hire or a bigger project, you're making it on instinct because the numbers aren't ready.
That's the bit we take off your plate.
What changes when we take over
You get your time back.
Bills, invoicing, payroll, reconciliations and BAS
handled by your dedicated bookkeeper.
Your evenings go back to you. Your billable hours
go back to clients.
You know how each project is tracking.
Your time and job data setup,
so you see each project's margin while it's still running, not after it's finished. Fixed-fee, milestone, retainer or time-and-materials, we set it up to suit how you bill.
Cash comes in when
it should.
Progress and milestone invoices out on schedule, WIP tracked, debtors followed up before they drift past 60 days.
You make big calls with confidence.
Management reports by day 10 and cashflow
insights. Hiring a senior designer, taking on a
major tender, opening a second office: decide
on numbers, not nerve.
Payroll runs smoothly.
Salaries, contractors and super, now paid
with every pay run under Payday Super.
STP lodged. No surprises.
Sound familiar?
● Invoicing and admin happen after hours, after the real work
● Your turnover looks big because sales have been recorded incorrectly
● Stage or milestone invoices go out weeks after the work is done
● A big project lands and you're not sure your cash flow can carry it
● You want to hire, but you're not sure the numbers support it
What we understand about firms like yours
FIRM TYPE
WHAT WE HANDLE
Marketing and advertising agencies
Media and ad spend passed through to clients is recorded separately from your fee income, so your margin isn't distorted by money that was never yours. Retainers, freelancer payments and on-charged production costs are handled correctly.
Architects
Fees billed against each design stage, from concept through documentation to contract administration, with variations captured before they're forgotten.
Engineering firms
Work in progress tracked on long projects, progress claims scheduled, and subconsultant costs allocated to the right job.
IT consultancies
Recurring managed services and support invoiced on time, prepaid annual contracts spread across the months they cover, and hardware and licence resale tracked at its own, usually thin, margin.
Management consultancies
Travel and expenses captured and rebilled, and associate and contractor costs matched to each engagement.
Across every firm type: retainers and client deposits are recorded as held in advance until the work is delivered, so you never report income you haven't earned yet. Staff time is split between billable project work and overheads, so each project carries its true labour cost.
Five mistakes we fix in professional services firms
Counting client media spend as revenue.
Turnover looks impressive, but your real margin is buried.
Billing stages late.
The work is done, the invoice waits, and you end up funding the client's project.
No work-in-progress tracking.
Months with lots of unbilled work look like losses, and the following months look like windfalls.
Booking prepaid contracts
all at once.
An annual support contract recorded in one month distorts every report for the rest of the year.
Unbilled disbursements.
Travel, printing and subconsultant costs that never make it onto an invoice.
Why firms like yours choose Diverse
✓ 100% Australian team. Nothing offshored.
✓ A dedicated bookkeeper backed by a Team Leader, so leave and sick days never stop your reports.
✓ No lock-in contracts.
✓ Xero Platinum Partner and Xero Bookkeeping Partner of the Year FY23.
RESULTS
“Diverse allows me to leave the stress of problem-solving to them. I can now focus on other more pressing elements of the business."
— Angela, Lucinda Hotel
I am a big believer in external consulting – and I think it works extremely well for us. We get the best and the brightest at our fingertips which means we’re making better business decisions.
— Siobhan Dooley, Dooley's Hospitality Group
Diverse has given me more time in the field, and I can actually play golf on weekends now, which I never had time for in the past."
— Tim, Ag-Plus Health
What it costs
Packages start from $400 a month + GST.
EXAMPLE 4:
Professional Services Firm
Marketing agency | 5 staff | Single entity | $500k–$1M turnover
What they need:
● Weekly processing
● Monthly management reports
● Monthly IAS & Quarterly BAS
● EOFY workpapers, liaison with accountant
● Bookkeeping support
Payroll add-on:
● Fortnightly payroll, 5 staff
● Super, STP, onboarding & termination management
● Leave management & reporting
● Annual STP finalisation & WorkCover lodgements
Monthly Investment: $750 + GST per month
What they get:
Time back, accurate project margins, confident decisions on hiring.
Frequently asked questions
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A bookkeeper keeps your financial records accurate and up to date. For agencies, architects, engineers and consultancies, that means invoicing clients, tracking work in progress, processing payroll, reconciling bank accounts, lodging BAS and reporting on project profitability, so owners can spend their time on client work.
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There are a range of options including utilising Tracking Categories, Xero Projects or an external project management tool that you connect into Xero. Working out the best approach depends on the nature of your business. Ultimate you want hours and costs allocated to each project. You can then compare what each project has cost against what you've billed, while it's still running. We set this up to suit how you bill: fixed fee, milestone, retainer or time and materials.
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A retainer paid before the work is done is money you owe the client in services, so it's recorded as a liability when received. It moves to revenue as the work is delivered. Recording it this way stops a big upfront payment making one month look extraordinary and the following months look weak.
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Usually when the owner is doing the books after hours, invoices go out late, or big decisions like hiring are made without current numbers. Firms with 3+ staff typically reach the point where outsourcing costs far less than the owner's time or an in-house hire.
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Yes. We schedule progress and milestone invoices against each project's stages, track work in progress and follow up debtors. That keeps cash coming in steadily on long projects instead of waiting until the end.
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No. Diverse is a fully remote Australian team. We work in your cloud systems, meet by video call and answer by phone and email. Your dedicated bookkeeper is backed by a Team Leader, so cover is always available.
Get back to the work you’re actually good at
30 MINUTES.
We’ll look at your setup and show you exactly what
we'd take off your plate.
