Senior bookkeeper
You own the accuracy and rhythm of our clients' books. The scope, the responsibilities and how we will measure success, in full.
- Part time, 3 days a week in Kingscliff
- $83,000 to $89,000 pro rata, plus super
- Your own client portfolio in Xero
- Direct line to the partners, no layers
Takes about two minutes. Name, contact details and your CV is enough to start.
- Role
- Senior bookkeeper
- Reports to
- Partners
- Type
- Part time, 3 days a week, option to increase hours over time
- Salary
- $83,000 to $89,000 pro rata, plus super
- Based
- Kingscliff, Pearl Street, Tweed Coast
Purpose of the role
STE Financial is a Kingscliff practice that pairs accounting and tax with mortgage broking under one roof. Our partners cover both sides of the picture: Mark Moore is a licensed mortgage broker and Craig Hughes is a CPA, so clients get their accounting and their finance advice from the same two people.
The senior bookkeeper owns the accuracy and rhythm of our clients' day-to-day books. You run the bookkeeping, payroll and BAS cycle end to end across a portfolio of clients, keep our Xero files clean and reconciled, and make sure nothing is late or unexplained. You are also the person clients ring when something in their numbers does not look right.
This is a senior seat in a small team, so it comes with real ownership: your own portfolio, input into how we build our processes, and the chance to mentor junior team members as we grow.
We simplify the day to day, transform the systems behind it, and empower our clients to make confident calls about their business.
Like the sound of this so far? You can apply now and read the rest after.
Prefer a quiet chat first? Call Mark on 02 6672 1501 or email markm@stefinancial.com.au. Completely confidential.
What you own
The core responsibilities of the role.
Portfolio bookkeeping
The full cycle for your own client files in Xero: coding, bank and credit card reconciliations, accounts payable and receivable, and month-end close.
Payroll
Accurate pay cycles including award interpretation, leave accruals, superannuation and Single Touch Payroll, so every client's team is looked after.
BAS & compliance
Prepare and lodge BAS and IAS, manage GST and PAYG positions, and keep ATO obligations and lodgement calendars on track with no surprises.
Client relationships
First point of contact for your clients: answers in plain English, chasing what you need without friction, and flagging issues early.
Reporting handover
Clean, reviewed files and management reports to the accounting team, with the commentary the partners can advise from.
Systems, process & review
Improve and document our workflows, onboard new clients onto our standard Xero setup, review junior work and be the technical go-to.
Skills & experience
Essential experience.
- Five or more years of Australian bookkeeping experience, ideally across multiple clients in a practice or outsourced setting.
- Advanced Xero skills, including payroll, bank rules, tracking categories and the common app integrations.
- Confident with GST, PAYG, superannuation and STP, and comfortable preparing BAS for review or lodgement.
- Cert IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping (or equivalent experience), with BAS agent registration or eligibility to register.
- Genuinely good with people: clear written and verbal communication, and the patience to explain things without jargon.
- Self-managing and deadline-driven, with the discipline to keep a multi-client workload on schedule without being chased.
- Hubdoc
- Job or project costing
- Trades or construction clients
- Hospitality awards
- CRM management
- Mentoring juniors
Still reading? That is a good sign. Apply and we will call you.
Prefer a quiet chat first? Call Mark on 02 6672 1501 or email markm@stefinancial.com.au. Completely confidential.
The working rhythm
How the month is shaped.
Weekly
Bank feeds reconciled, payables coded, pay runs processed, client queries cleared.
Monthly
Month-end close, balance sheet reconciliations, management reports to the team.
Quarterly
BAS preparation and lodgement, super obligations, client check-in calls.
Yearly
Year-end file handover, payroll finalisation, workflow review and clean-up.
What success looks like
- First 30 days
You know your portfolio, you have met your clients, and the weekly reconciliation and pay run cycle runs without hand-holding.
- First 90 days
Every file is current and reconciled, one BAS quarter is delivered on time, and you have flagged the clean-ups worth doing.
- Ongoing
Lodgements on time, reconciliations clean at month-end, and review notes trending down because the work lands right the first time.
- A better system
Our process is documented, consistent across clients, and a little faster each quarter because you improved it.
Still reading? That is a good sign. Apply and we will call you.
Prefer a quiet chat first? Call Mark on 02 6672 1501 or email markm@stefinancial.com.au. Completely confidential.
What we offer
- A senior seat with real ownership of your portfolio and a direct line to the partners.
- Flexible part-time hours with the option to increase them, and a genuine work-life balance. We do not measure people by hours at a desk.
- A tight-knit Kingscliff team that brings personality to the numbers. Coffee in the morning, a beer in the afternoon. Some days, both.
- Supported training, BAS agent registration and CPE, plus exposure to advisory and lending work as you grow.
- A salary that reflects senior experience, reviewed annually, and a say in how the bookkeeping side of the practice is built.
Not the right fit if
Better to know now than in month three.
- You need a single set of books and a fixed routine. This role juggles a portfolio, and priorities move week to week.
- You would rather not talk to clients. Direct, friendly client contact is core to the job, not an occasional extra.
- You are attached to desktop-era software or manual workarounds and resistant to cloud systems and automation.
- Close enough is good enough for you. Our accuracy comes from real review and a genuinely careful eye for detail.
- You need close supervision to stay on track. Seniority here means owning your deadlines and asking for help early.
What it is actually like here
A small team you actually know
Six of us in one Kingscliff office. You will know every client name and every colleague, and nobody disappears into a department.
Three days, properly protected
Part time here means part time. We plan the workload around three days, so your other days stay yours.
Beach at the end of the street
Pearl Street, two minutes from the sand. Morning swims, coffee runs and a Friday knock off that happens on time.
Modern systems, not workarounds
Xero, Hubdoc and a workflow that is documented. If something is clunky, you are encouraged to fix it, not tolerate it.
Straight to the partners
Mark and Craig sit in the same room. Questions get answered the same day, and your ideas do not need a committee.
Real training budget
BAS agent registration, CPE and time during work hours to do it. We would rather you learned here than left to learn.
Your path from here
- Year one
Own your portfolio end to end, get your rhythm on BAS and payroll, and shape how we onboard new clients onto Xero.
- Year two
Lead the bookkeeping side of the practice: review junior work, set the standards, and take on advisory-flavoured reporting for your clients.
- Beyond
Grow into a client manager seat with more hours if you want them, or step into supporting our advisory and lending work. We will fund the study either way.
Five steps, no guesswork
- 1. Send the basics
Fill in the short form on this page. Name, phone, email and your CV. About two minutes.
- 2. We read it properly
Both partners read every application themselves. No screening software, no black hole.
- 3. A friendly call
If it looks like a fit, we ring you for a relaxed chat about the work and what you are after.
- 4. Coffee in Kingscliff
Meet the team in the office, see the files and the systems, and ask us anything.
- 5. Offer and start date
References, an offer in writing, and a start date that works around your notice period.
Apply right here
No cover letter, no login, no PDF to wrestle with. Name, contact details and your CV takes about two minutes, and you are applying for the senior bookkeeper role.
Sound like you? Tell us in your own words.
Three questions, your CV, and we will call you in the coming weeks.
Prefer a quiet chat first? Call Mark on 02 6672 1501 or email markm@stefinancial.com.au. Completely confidential.