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Xero bookkeeping for Sydney businesses

If a previous bookkeeper or the owner has been keeping your Xero file, we take it over from where they left it. Sydney businesses add us as a user, we read through what's there and reconcile anything outstanding, then the file is kept current each month.

  • By Book Keeping Pros
  • Sources checked 15 Oct 2026

Taking over a Xero file someone else kept

  • Access as a user

    Someone who can manage users in your Xero organisation sends us an invitation, and we sign in with our own login, so nobody has to hand over a password. Once the handover is done, the previous bookkeeper's access can be removed or reduced.

  • A read of the file before any changes

    We look at what's already reconciled, which statement lines are still waiting in the bank feeds, which bills and invoices are open, and any notes or attachments left in the file. You hear what we found before the work starts.

  • Outstanding lines reconciled

    For each bank account, the unreconciled lines are compared with the bank statements and reconciled. Where the file and a statement differ, we find out why: an item not yet cleared, an entry made twice or wrong in the books, or a bank error to raise with your bank.

  • Kept current after that

    Once nothing is left outstanding, the bookkeeping carries on monthly in the same Xero organisation, so there's no second set of books and you keep working in Xero the way you did before.

Sydney businesses in figures

Estimated resident population of Greater Sydney, 30 June 2025 (preliminary)
5,638,830 peopleAustralian Bureau of Statistics. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
Growth in the estimated resident population of Greater Sydney, 30 June 2024 to 30 June 2025
1.4%Australian Bureau of Statistics. Checked 15 Oct 2026.
Actively trading businesses whose main business address is in Greater Sydney, June 2025
646,605 businessesAustralian Bureau of Statistics. Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Sydney businesses by industry

The ABS may perturb small counts to protect confidentiality, so the figures need not add up exactly.

  1. Construction107,078 businesses
  2. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services103,088 businesses
  3. Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services79,607 businesses
  4. Transport, Postal and Warehousing59,687 businesses
  5. Health Care and Social Assistance49,532 businesses
  6. Financial and Insurance Services43,711 businesses
  7. Retail Trade36,678 businesses
  8. Administrative and Support Services31,599 businesses
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses. Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Sydney businesses by number of employees

The ABS may perturb small counts to protect confidentiality, so the figures need not add up exactly.

  1. Non-employing398,616 businesses
  2. 1 to 4 employees183,980 businesses
  3. 5 to 19 employees48,561 businesses
  4. 20 to 199 employees14,518 businesses
  5. 200 or more employees901 businesses
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Counts of Australian Businesses. Checked 15 Oct 2026.

Questions about a Xero handover

Our previous bookkeeper still has access. What happens to it?
It stays until someone changes it. Whoever looks after the user list in your Xero organisation can remove that login or narrow its role, which you may want to do once you're happy the handover is complete.
I've kept the books myself until now. Where do you start?
From the file as you left it. We check your entries against the bank statements and receipts, correct what needs correcting, and keep the history you've already built up.
What if the earlier work has mistakes in it?
We tell you what we found and fix what falls within bookkeeping, such as a payment matched to the wrong bill or a purchase posted to the wrong expense account. If your accountant has set a lock date in Xero, changes before that date are agreed with them first.
Do we lose our past invoices and reconciliations?
No. We work in the Xero organisation you already have, so past invoices, bills, contacts and reconciliations stay where they are.
What do you need from us besides the invitation?
Bank statements for any months not yet reconciled, receipts or bills for transactions we can't explain, and anything the previous bookkeeper told you about the file. We let you know as we go if something else is missing.

Sources

  1. Population estimates by SA2 and above, 2001 to 2025 (32180DS0003_2001-25.xlsx)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. Estimated resident population at 30 June, 2001 to 2025 (2022 to 2024 revised, 2025 preliminary), released 31 March 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Regional population, 2024-25 financial year, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  2. Counts of Australian Businesses, data cube 8: Businesses by industry division by Statistical Area Level 2 by employment size ranges (8165DC08.xlsx)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. Actively trading businesses at 30 June 2025, released 16 December 2025. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, June 2021 to June 2025, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.

  3. Correspondence, GCCSA 2021 to GCCSA 2026 (CG_GCCSA_2021_GCCSA_2026.csv)

    Australian Bureau of Statistics. ASGS Edition 4, July 2026 to June 2031, released 22 July 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.

    Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 4, licensed under CC BY 4.0 Licence: CC BY 4.0.