01 · Base camp
It starts with clean books.
CPA-reviewed bookkeeping and stress-free payroll: the solid ground every great business is built on.
Bookkeeping & Payroll
CPA Australia Qualified
Registered BAS & ASIC Agent
Hobart and Tasmania
Outsourced CFO and
Seasonal Cash Planning
in Hobart
CPA-led financial leadership for Tasmanian businesses whose year is shaped by the visitor season, the harvest or an export market, and whose cash has to last between them.
Based in Canberra and Brisbane. Hobart and Tasmanian clients are served remotely by default, with visits by arrangement.
What we do in Hobart
Planning Twelve Months Around One Busy Quarter
Tourism carries more weight in Tasmania than in any other state: Tourism Tasmania puts its direct and indirect contribution at 10.8% of Gross State Product for 2023-24, the highest in the country. The spending is concentrated, too. Of the roughly $3.8 billion interstate and international visitors spent in the year to March 2026, about 40% landed in the January to March quarter alone. For a Hobart business that sells to visitors, most of the year's cash comes in during a few months and has to fund the rest. Our CFO work here starts with a monthly cash forecast built on that shape, not an annual budget divided by twelve.
What Tasmanian clients engage us for:
Outsourced CFO
Monthly cash forecasting around the season, the harvest or the shipment.
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Systems and software advisory
Inventory, costing and multi-currency handled in software that can take it.
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Business process optimisation
Seasonal rostering and stock processes that scale up and back down cleanly.
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The Tasmanian picture
Food, Seafood and a Two-Step Payroll Tax
Tasmania's agri-food sector had a gross value of $4.28 billion in 2023-24, with salmon the single most valuable food product, and a meaningful share of it is sold overseas. Producers and the businesses that supply and process for them deal with long lead times between input costs and sale, stock that has to be valued properly, and prices that move with markets they do not control. Tasmanian payroll tax also works differently from the mainland: the State Revenue Office rate table for 2026-27 sets 4% for annual wages from $1.25 million to $2 million and 6.1% from $2 million up. A business growing through that band needs the step in its forecast.
What our clients say
Trusted by Hobart Businesses and Beyond
“I've been working with Ascend Solutions for well over three years and couldn't be happier. They don't just take care of the accounting side of things, but also help with software/tech, contracts, and other admin.”
“Ascend Solutions has been advising and implementing all the governance and NFP compliance requirements for our ACNC registered charity. Their expertise has been invaluable.”
“Exceptional advice and ongoing support to get our business up and running. They helped with accounting setup, payroll, web development and integration.”
“Ascend Solutions helped me navigate the myriad of software packages out there, and has been there to answer all my questions, no matter how quirky!”
ascend
ADVISORY
Outgrown Your Bookkeeper?
Get a CFO Without the Salary.
For businesses with $1M+ revenue that need strategic financial leadership, not just compliance. Our outsourced CFO service gives you C-suite insight at a fraction of the cost.
- Financial strategy & planning
- Management reporting & KPI dashboards
- Budgeting, forecasting & cash flow
- Board & investor reporting
- Growth advisory & M&A support
Starting from
Outsourced CFO
From $3,000/month
vs. $180,000+ per year for a full-time hire. Scale up or down monthly.
See Engagement OptionsThe Ascent
Five stages. One partner.
The whole way up.
Scroll to climb. Wherever you are on the mountain, we meet you there and take you higher.
02 · First light
Compliance you never lose sleep over.
Registered BAS & ASIC agents keeping you lodged, accurate and on time, every deadline.
BAS & ASIC Agent03 · The ridge
Systems that carry the load.
Business improvement and systems advisory: we build the engine so your business runs without you.
Business Improvement & Advisory04 · Above the clouds
A presence that grows with you.
Conversion-focused websites, managed hosting and custom apps, built by the team that knows your numbers.
Web, Hosting & App Design05 · The summit
Strategy, from the very top.
Ascend Advisory: your virtual CFO. Forecasting, insight and the clarity to make confident moves.
Ascend Advisory · virtual CFO
Common questions
Hobart FAQ
How do we plan cash around a short, busy season?
By forecasting month by month from real history rather than dividing an annual budget by twelve. We map when cash actually arrives, when wages, rent and suppliers fall due, and where the low point sits. That shows how much of the peak-season cash has to be held back, and whether an overdraft or a timing change to a big purchase is needed before the quiet months rather than during them.
How is Tasmanian payroll tax different?
It has two rates rather than one. The State Revenue Office table for 2026-27 has no tax on annual wages up to $1.25 million, a 4% rate from $1.25 million to $2 million, and 6.1% from $2 million up. Payroll tax is lodged monthly against a monthly share of those thresholds, so a business that hires heavily for the season feels it in those months. We model wages by month so the tax is in the cash forecast; how the bands apply to your wages, and which payments count as wages, are questions for your tax adviser or the SRO.
Do you do bookkeeping for Hobart businesses?
Only underneath a CFO engagement, where the forecast needs a ledger we can rely on. We do not compete for standalone bookkeeping in Tasmania, and if that is all you need, a local bookkeeper will serve you better and cost less.
Can you work with a food producer or exporter?
Yes. The recurring questions are the true cost of each product once waste and freight are included, how stock is valued at year end, the cash gap between inputs and sale, and exposure to the exchange rate on export sales. We build the costing and reporting to answer those, and make sure the software is set up to hold the detail.
Will we ever see you in person?
If the engagement calls for it. We are based in Canberra and Brisbane and work remotely by default, which is how most of the reporting is done anyway. For a planning day, a board meeting or a conversation with the bank, a visit to Hobart can be arranged, with the travel quoted in the written proposal before you agree to anything.
Talk to a CPA about your Hobart business
A discovery call, and a straight answer about whether we are the right fit. If we are not, we will say so.