Bookkeeping for Perth Tradies: What You Should Track Every Week

General information only. This article does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Please consult a registered BAS Agent or tax professional for advice specific to your business.

If you run a trade business in Perth — whether you're a plumber, electrician, builder, painter, landscaper or any other tradie — your bookkeeping needs are different from a simple office-based business.

You're dealing with materials, tools, vehicles, subcontractors, deposits, progress payments, and often a mix of cash and card transactions. If your records aren't kept up to date, you can quickly lose track of where your money is going — and BAS time becomes a nightmare.

Here's what you should be tracking every single week to keep your tradie bookkeeping in order.

1. All Income — Including Deposits and Progress Payments

Tradies often receive money in stages: a deposit upfront, a progress payment mid-job, and a final payment on completion. Every one of these needs to be recorded correctly in your bookkeeping software.

If you're using Xero, each payment should be matched to the correct invoice. Deposits that haven't been fully earned yet need to be handled carefully — they're not always income the moment they land in your account.

Missing income entries are one of the most common bookkeeping mistakes tradies make, and they can cause problems at BAS time and tax time.

2. Materials and Supplier Invoices

Every time you buy materials — timber, pipes, electrical components, paint, landscaping supplies — that's a business expense. Keep the receipt or invoice and make sure it gets entered into your books with the correct GST treatment.

If you're buying materials for a specific job, it's worth tracking those costs against that job so you can see whether the job was actually profitable.

A good bookkeeper can help you set up job tracking in Xero so you always know your margin on each project.

3. Vehicle and Equipment Costs

Your ute, van or work vehicle is one of your biggest business assets — and one of your biggest expenses. Fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, tyres and loan repayments all need to be recorded.

If you use your vehicle for both business and personal use, you'll need to track the business-use percentage. Your accountant will use this at tax time, but your bookkeeper needs the records to be clean throughout the year.

The same applies to tools, equipment, trailers and any plant you own or hire.

4. Subcontractor Payments

If you use subbies, every payment needs to be recorded correctly. Subcontractor costs are a business expense, but they also have reporting obligations — particularly if you're in the building and construction industry, where Taxable Payments Annual Reports (TPAR) may apply.

Keeping clear records of who you paid, when, and how much makes TPAR reporting much simpler at the end of the financial year.

5. Payroll — If You Have Employees

If you employ staff, payroll needs to be processed correctly every pay run. That means wages, PAYG withholding, superannuation, leave entitlements and Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting to the ATO.

Payroll mistakes are expensive and stressful to fix. Getting it right from the start — with proper Xero payroll setup — saves a lot of grief.

6. Bank Reconciliation Every Week

Bank reconciliation means matching every transaction in your bank account to a record in your bookkeeping software. It's the foundation of accurate books.

For tradies, weekly reconciliation is important because your cash flow can move quickly. You want to know at any point whether you have enough coming in to cover your next supplier payment, payroll run or BAS payment.

If you leave reconciliation for months, it becomes a much bigger job — and errors are harder to find.

7. BAS-Related Items: GST and PAYG

If your business is registered for GST, every transaction needs to have the correct GST treatment applied. For tradies, this includes:

Sales invoices to customers (GST on income)
Materials and supplier bills (GST credits)
Subcontractor invoices (check whether GST applies)
Vehicle and equipment costs (GST credits where applicable)

A registered BAS Agent can prepare and lodge your BAS, making sure GST and PAYG withholding are handled correctly. Trying to do this yourself without clean books is where many tradies run into trouble.

Why Tradies Often Fall Behind on Bookkeeping

The honest reason most tradies fall behind is time. You're on the tools all day, quoting jobs in the evening, and the last thing you want to do on a Sunday night is enter receipts into Xero.

The solution isn't to do it all yourself — it's to set up a simple system where your bookkeeper handles the weekly work, and you just need to send through your receipts and invoices.

At The Perth Bookkeeper, we work with trade businesses across Perth to keep their books clean, their BAS on time, and their cash flow visible.

Getting Started: What You Need

If you're a tradie looking to get your bookkeeping sorted, here's what helps:

A Xero subscription (we can help set this up properly)
A simple way to send receipts (photo on your phone works fine)
A clear invoicing process so income is tracked from the start
A registered BAS Agent who understands trade businesses

If your books are already behind, catch-up bookkeeping can get you back on track before the next BAS deadline.

FAQ: Bookkeeping for Perth Tradies

Do I need a bookkeeper if I'm a sole trader tradie? Not always — but many sole traders find that a bookkeeper saves them significant time and reduces BAS stress, especially once their transaction volume grows or they start taking on employees.

What is TPAR and does it apply to me? TPAR (Taxable Payments Annual Report) applies to businesses in certain industries — including building and construction — that pay contractors. If this applies to you, your bookkeeper can help you keep the records you need.

Can a bookkeeper help me track job profitability? Yes. With proper job tracking set up in Xero, you can see the income and costs for each job, which helps you understand which work is most profitable.

What if I've got months of receipts I haven't entered? Catch-up bookkeeping can help. A bookkeeper can work through your backlog, reconcile your accounts and get your records up to date.

How do I find a bookkeeper who understands trade businesses? Look for a registered BAS Agent with experience in trade and construction businesses. Ask whether they use Xero and whether they understand job costing, TPAR and subcontractor payments.

Ready to get your tradie bookkeeping sorted? Book a free consultation with The Perth Bookkeeper. We work with trade businesses across Perth and WA.

Learn more: Xero Bookkeeper Perth | BAS Agent Perth

Bookkeeping for Perth Tradies: What You Should Track Every Week