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
Melbourne and Victoria
Outsourced CFO and
Management Reporting
in Melbourne
CPA-led financial leadership for Melbourne businesses whose reporting has not kept pace with the number of sites, jobs, product lines or entities they now run.
Based in Canberra and Brisbane. Melbourne clients are served remotely by default, with on-site visits by arrangement.
What we do in Melbourne
One Profit Figure Is Not a Management Report
Melbourne does not run on one industry. At the 2021 Census the largest employer of Greater Melbourne residents was health care and social assistance, with professional services, retail, construction and education close behind, and manufacturing still employed more than 160,000 people. So a Melbourne business turning over a few million dollars is as likely to be a group of clinics, a fit-out contractor or a food producer as a consultancy. What they usually share is a single profit figure that hides which site, job or product line is carrying the rest. Our CFO work here starts by splitting the numbers the way the business is actually run.
What Melbourne clients engage us for:
Outsourced CFO
Forecasting, board reporting and margin by site, job or product line.
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Systems and software advisory
Moving off entry-level software once it stops coping with multiple entities or locations. NetSuite Solutions Partner.
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Business process optimisation
A month-end that closes in days, so the report arrives while it can still change a decision.
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Web and app design
Sites and custom applications from a team that also understands the finance data behind them.
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The Victorian picture
Payroll Tax Belongs in the Forecast
Victorian payroll tax is assessed on the wages of the whole employer group, not each company on its own. For 2026-27 the State Revenue Office sets the annual tax-free threshold at $1 million and the general rate at 4.85%, and a separate mental health and wellbeing surcharge starts once wages pass $10 million. For a growing Melbourne employer, the hire that takes the group over a threshold is a cash-flow event. We put it in the forecast and the hiring plan so it is priced before the offer letter goes out, rather than found at the first return.
What our clients say
Trusted by Melbourne 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
Melbourne FAQ
Why engage a CFO who is not based in Melbourne?
Because most CFO work is reading the data, building the forecast and writing the report, and none of that depends on postcode. We are based in Canberra and Brisbane and deliver remotely by default. For a board meeting, a lender conversation or a planning day, on-site visits are available by arrangement, with the travel quoted in the written proposal up front. If you want someone in your office every week, a Melbourne-based part-time CFO will suit you better, and we will tell you so.
Do you do bookkeeping for Melbourne businesses?
Only as the base layer under a CFO engagement, where we need the ledger to be right before the analysis means anything. We do not tender for standalone bookkeeping in Melbourne. If clean books and on-time BAS are all you need, a local bookkeeper is the better and cheaper choice.
We run several sites. Can you report on each one separately?
Yes, and it is usually the first thing we fix. That means setting up tracking in the accounting file so revenue and direct costs land against the right site, agreeing how shared overheads are allocated, and then reporting contribution by site each month. It is the report that tells you which location to expand and which one to fix.
How does Victorian payroll tax change our planning?
It turns a hiring decision into a tax decision once the group is near the threshold. We model wages by entity and by month, show when the group will cross the State Revenue Office threshold, and include the payroll tax cost in the cash forecast. Whether a particular payment counts as wages, or which entities are grouped, is a question for your tax adviser or the SRO; our job is making sure the number is in the plan.
What does outsourced CFO cost?
Engagements start from $3,000 a month. The scope, the reporting cycle and any on-site time are set out in a written proposal before you commit to anything, so you know the fee and what it covers in advance.
Talk to a CPA about your Melbourne business
A discovery call, and a straight answer about whether we are the right fit. If we are not, we will say so.