Start your business
Start your business
Run your business
Run your business
Grow your business
Grow your business
Accountants and Bookkeepers
Accountants and Bookkeepers
- Accountants and Bookkeepers
  Learn how accountants and bookkeepers can be productive in these articles & guides
- Learning and Development
  A range of informative content to enhance your QuickBooks experience.
Updates
Updates
- Product Updates
  Watch this space for monthly product updates.
- Intuit News
  Latest news, articles & guides

Need help choosing a plan?

1800 917 771 Schedule a call

Schedule call

Award-Winning Austral Accountants - Vajira Jayasooriya Director

accountants and bookkeepers

From Start-up to Star: Meet Award-Winning Austral Accountants - Powered by QuickBooks

By QuickBooks Australia

Published on February 9, 2024

Founded in 2012, Austral Accountants has grown from being a sole practitioner, single-office firm to 9 employees spread across 4 offices in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Gold Coast. It specialises in serving micro and small businesses, providing services like business structuring, tax planning, virtual CFO support, and all-round growth advisory.

Austral’s team understands that a business’s accountant is more than just a financial expert—it’s their growth partner. That’s why the firm pulls out all the stops to guide customers through the process of starting and scaling their business.

This level of dedication has earned the firm multiple awards, including National Winner of the 2022 Accountant of the Year award from the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

So, what’s its secret to award-winning client service?

QuickBooks Online.

Here’s the story of how QuickBooks helped Austral Accountants become one of Australia’s top accounting firms.

Helping High Growth, High Need Businesses

Austral specialises in helping three types of clients: those owned by first-generation immigrants, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) businesses, and start-ups.

These are high-growth niches—but there’s a problem. First-generation, start-ups or NDIS entrepreneurs typically lack the expertise to maximise their business’s potential.

As Director Vajira Jayasooriya explains, "Many first-generation citizens are committed to starting their own businesses, but they don't have a proper understanding of the Australian system. Likewise, the NDIS sector is full of founders with plenty of passion but little prior business experience.”

That’s where Austral comes in.

The firm offers clients a fixed-fee service package specifically designed for start-ups entering the business world. This includes bookkeeping, accounting, taxation, business advice, and subscriptions to apps like QuickBooks Online.

Fixed-fee packages give cash-strapped startups full transparency over how much they owe the firm—this is immensely helpful for entrepreneurs first starting. Then, as their businesses grow, the services that Austral provides grow alongside their clients’ changing needs.

Austral also acts as a virtual CFO for small and medium businesses that can’t afford full-time internal financial leadership. They provide financial analysis and guidance to help these clients successfully compete with larger companies.

Put simply, Austral gives passionate entrepreneurs the support they need to focus on doing what they do best: serving customers.

Going Beyond Compliance

Bookkeeping, submitting financial returns, and handling payroll are key activities. However, Austral Accountants knows that compliance alone won’t help businesses reach the next level. That’s why it focuses on so much more than just providing clients with these types of traditional accounting services.

As Vajira describes, "I have clients who call me any time they need to make a business decision. I’ve been working with them for years. I know their company, industry, and ambitions. They trust me, and consider me a genuine partner”.

Austral Accountants works closely with their clients, providing ongoing advisory support regarding HR, marketing, and technology. Moreover, the firm helps connect clients to government grants and tenders tailored to small businesses, utilising its knowledge and connections as a member of the Small Business Association of Australia.

According to Vajira, the firm’s accountants are akin to a "family doctor". They don’t just troubleshoot in times of emergency. Instead, they work to build long-lasting relationships where they get to know the client and their business deeply.

Many firms talk about the need to become business advisors—but few embody this as deeply as Austral Accountants.

Pictures of Vajira Jayasooriya Director, Austral Accountants

QuickBooks Online: The Secret to Austral Accountants’ Success

Dig a little deeper, and you’ll realise Austral Accountants has a secret.

Its award-winning customer service takes the plaudits—and rightly so. But this is only possible thanks to one tool: QuickBooks Online.

Ensuring Compliance While Boosting Efficiency

Accounting firms can only become trusted advisors by doing the basics right. Keeping clients compliant isn’t the most exciting activity. However, it’s the most important. Why would clients trust a firm that can’t keep them on the right side of the ATO?

QuickBooks’ suite of accounting tools handles the bread and butter of Austral’s accounting work. Its web and mobile apps are easy to use and cloud-based. This means the team can always stay connected, even while they’re out of the office meeting clients or working remotely.

Austral’s accountants can automate essential tasks such as managing clients’ financial data, submitting tax returns, and handling payroll. What’s more, thanks to QuickBooks’ integrations, Austral runs an interconnected firm with data passing seamlessly between its various tools.

Powering Clients’ Businesses

Vajira is keen to emphasise that QuickBooks has a similarly powerful impact on Austral’s clients. “QuickBooks Online keeps our clients’ businesses running”, he says. “It allows them to easily track expenses, capture receipts, send invoices, and stay on top of their finances. They couldn’t operate without it.”

QuickBooks' affordable pricing makes it accessible for the small businesses and startups Austral serves. And thanks to QuickBooks’s online training materials and customer support, Austral can devote its energy to advisory services, rather than on teaching clients how to use the tool.

As Vajira describes, "QuickBooks is perfect for both our firm and our clients. It lets us focus on what we do best: delivering award-winning client service.”

Supporting Firm Growth

With QuickBooks powering their operations, Austral Accountants has grown rapidly over the past decade. QuickBooks enables Austral to efficiently serve a much higher volume of clients than would have been possible with manual processes. By leveraging QuickBooks, Austral Accountants has successfully scaled while still providing the personalised level of service that it has become known for.

QuickBooks: Unlocking Firms’ Potential

Thanks to QuickBooks, Austral Accountants has gone from being a small, unknown firm to a nationally recognised player.

By automating backend tasks and providing easy scalability, QuickBooks empowers Austral to make client advisory—not compliance—their focus. This has allowed the firm to become a trusted growth partner for all its clients.

Looking to deliver a similarly award-winning level of client service? Contact the QuickBooks team to learn how the QuickBooks Suite can power your firm.

A group of people sitting in front of laptops.

accountants and bookkeepers

Get Connected by QuickBooks 2023: Join the Game-Changing Event for Accounting Professionals

September 29, 2023

accountants and bookkeepers

New research highlights challenges but optimistic outlook for the accounting industry in Australia

March 12, 2023

accountants and bookkeepers

Head of Accounting at Intuit sheds light on the gender pay gap in the industry

March 7, 2023

Looking for something else?

Get QuickBooks

Smart features made for your business. We've got you covered.

See how it works

Help Me Choose

Use our product selector to find the best accounting plan for you.

Choose your product

QuickBooks Support

Get help with QuickBooks. Find articles, video tutorials, and more.

Start learning

A computer screen showing a picture of a computer.

TAKE A NO-COMMITMENT TEST DRIVE

Your free 30-day trial awaits

Our customers save an average of 9 hours per week with QuickBooks invoicing*

No credit card needed

Cancel anytime

Unlimited support

By entering your email, you are agree to our Terms and acknowledge our Privacy Statement.

- - QuickBooks reserves the right to change pricing, features, support and service at any time. Prices are in AUD and include GST. See our Terms of Service for further information.
  - Pricing: All prices are in AUD and include GST.
  - ProAdvisor Program: Please find the terms of our ProAdvisor program here.
  - 50% off for 3 months: For new subscribers, enjoy a 50% off price subscription on QuickBooks Online Simple Start, QuickBooks Online Essentials or QuickBooks Online Plus for the first 3 months of your subscription (Offer). The discount will applied from the date of your enrolment and will continue for 3 months. From month 4, you will be charged the then current monthly retail price for your subscription. See current prices here. QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Time prices are not eligible for any discount and will be invoiced separately according to your usage on a monthly basis during your subscription. Intuit reserves the right to request information to verify the eligibility of a purchaser of the Offer. Acceptance of such verification information is at the reasonable discretion of Intuit, which may revoke the Offer and impose a monthly cost for the subscription at the then current retail prices, at any time if it considers the purchaser is ineligible for the Offer.
  - 50% off for 12 months: For new subscribers, enjoy a 50% discount off the current monthly retail price for QuickBooks Self-Employed, QuickBooks Online Simple Start, QuickBooks Online Essentials or QuickBooks Online Plus for the first 12 months of your subscription (Offer). The discount will applied from the date of your enrolment and will continue for 12 months. From month 13, you will be charged the then current monthly retail price for your subscription. See current prices here. QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Time prices are not eligible for any discount and will be invoiced separately according to your usage on a monthly basis during your subscription. Intuit reserves the right to request information to verify the eligibility of a purchaser of the Offer. Acceptance of such verification information is at the reasonable discretion of Intuit, which may revoke the Offer and impose a monthly cost for the subscription at the then current retail prices, at any time if it considers the purchaser is ineligible for the Offer.
  - 50% off for 3 months (existing subscribers): For existing QuickBooks subscribers who upgrade to QuickBooks Online Essentials, Plus or Advanced, enjoy a 50% discount off the current monthly retail price for 3 months of your subscription (Offer). The discount will be applied from the date you upgrade in-product and will continue for 3 months. From month 4, you will be charged the then current monthly retail price for your subscription. See current prices here. QuickBooks Payroll and QuickBooks Time services and prices are not eligible for any discount and will be invoiced separately according to your usage on a monthly basis during your subscription. Intuit reserves the right to request information to verify the eligibility of a purchaser of the Offer. Acceptance of such verification information is at the reasonable discretion of Intuit, which may revoke the Offer and impose a monthly cost for the subscription at the then current retail prices, at any time if it considers the purchaser is ineligible for the Offer.
  - Free Trial: First thirty (30) days of subscription to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Self-Employed and QuickBooks Payroll (including QuickBooks Advanced Payroll), starting from the date of enrolment, is free. During the free trial, you may pay any number of employees using QuickBooks Payroll free of charge. To continue using QuickBooks after your 30-day trial, you'll be asked to present a valid credit card for authorisation and you'll be charged monthly at the then-current fee for the service(s) you've selected.
  - QuickBooks Payroll powered by Employment Hero: Payroll services are offered by a third party, Employment Hero. QuickBooks Payroll is only accessible via QuickBooks Online subscriptions. You will be charged $6.00 (incl. GST) per month for each ‘active employee’ paid using QuickBooks Payroll. An ‘active employee’ is one who has been paid at least once in the billing month. For Advanced Payroll, there is an additional monthly subscription fee of $10 (incl GST). Pricing, terms and conditions, including service options, are subject to change.
  * Employment Hero was voted the leading payroll solution for SMBs <50 employees (Australian Payroll Association 2021 Payroll Benchmarking Study)
  - Customer support: Call or chat to an expert for QuickBooks Online Accountant, QuickBooks Simple Start, Essential, Plus, and Advanced or use in-product QB Assistant and chat for QuickBooks Self-Employed. You'll also find useful resources in the QuickBooks Community.
  - Compatible Devices: QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Self-Employed and QuickBooks Payroll require a computer with Internet Explorer 10, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari 6 and an Internet connection (a high-speed connection is recommended). The QuickBooks Online mobile app works with iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll are accessible on mobile browsers on iOS, Android, and Blackberry mobile devices. Devices sold separately; data plan required. QuickBooks Payroll cannot be used on the mobile apps. Not all features are available on the mobile apps and mobile browser. QuickBooks Online mobile access is included with your QuickBooks Online subscription at no additional cost. Data access is subject to cellular/internet provider network availability and occasional downtime due to system and server maintenance and events beyond your control. Product registration required.
  - Get paid faster: Get paid 2.5x faster invoicing with PayPal
  * PayPal and QuickBooks customers get paid on average in less than 5 days, which is over 7 days faster than the average for invoices that get paid with other payment methods. Data is for paid invoices that were created in QuickBooks in Australia between 23.05.22 and 23.11.22
  - Tax deductions: Tax deductions not guaranteed due to being subject to user data entry errors. Mileage calculation provided by the Australia Taxation Office - 85 cents per kilometre for the 2023-2024 income year. To a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per car (Deductions are only applicable to cars)
  - Customer Service Awards: Excellence in Customer Service Award at the CX Australia Awards 2022
  - Multiple file discount: Multiple file discount applies to QuickBooks Australia customers only and valid when signing up for more than one QuickBooks Online subscription in one order. Further terms and conditions available here. Not applicable to QuickBooks Self Employed.
  - Reviews: GetApp, Capterra, Google Play Store, Apple App Store reviews as at date 08/01/24.
  - Cost per day claim (annual): Based on a QuickBooks Simple Start plan at its regular retail price of $313 per year and a 365 day year.
  - Annual Billing: You may pay for your QuickBooks Online subscription on an annual, upfront basis to enjoy a discount on the current fees. If you use QuickBooks Payroll powered by Employment Hero, your payroll costs will still be charged monthly to your nominated payment method in accordance with your usage as set out here. If you cancel your QuickBooks Online subscription within the pre-paid 12 month period, you will not be eligible for a refund, but will retain full access to your QuickBooks Online subscription for the remainder of the 12-month period. Unless cancelled by you prior, your annual subscription will auto-renew on the 12 month anniversary of your sign-up date using the billing details you have given us. Discounts, prices, terms and conditions are subject to change.
  - Over 7 million customers: Based on number of global QB customers (ecosystem) (7.1m) worldwide as of October 2022.
  - Free Onboarding: Applicable to Buy Now subscriptions on QuickBooks Simple Start, Essentials and Plus plans. Not available for QuickBooks Self-Employed.
  - Save Hours: Save up to an average of 29 hours per month with QuickBooks.
  - * Based on a survey conducted by Intuit Australia Pty Ltd in September 2022. Time saving is in comparison to previous accounting method, based on 184 responses from customers that saw time savings.
  - Get access to QuickBooks Tax: ***Access QuickBooks Tax, powered by LodgeiT, by becoming a member of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program (it’s free to join). Find out more about the ProAdvisor Program here, including the terms of the QuickBooks Tax offer in the Program here.
  - QuickBooks Time Disclaimers & Offers for Australia: For Important pricing offers and disclaimers with further information, please see here.
  - *Full terms and conditions for access to QuickBooks Tax, powered by LodgeiT as part of the the Proadvisor Program can be found here. QuickBooks reserves the right to change pricing, features, support and service at any time.
  - **Intuit conducted a study involving 56 interviews with accountants and bookkeepers who used Books Review for BAS preparation between March to December 2021 and found that when using Books Review, participants reduced the time spent preparing their clients BAS Reports by around 40%.
  - Our Terms of Service apply to all QuickBooks Online subscriptions. Please review them carefully.

Intuit helps put more money in consumers’ and small businesses’ pockets, saving them time by eliminating work, and ensuring they have confidence in every financial decision they make.

From Start-up to Star: Meet Award-Winning Austral Accountants - Powered by QuickBooks

Helping High Growth, High Need Businesses

Going Beyond Compliance

QuickBooks Online: The Secret to Austral Accountants’ Success

Ensuring Compliance While Boosting Efficiency

Powering Clients’ Businesses

Supporting Firm Growth

QuickBooks: Unlocking Firms’ Potential

Related Articles

Looking for something else?

Get QuickBooks

Help Me Choose

QuickBooks Support

Your free 30-day trial awaits