How to Run a Trade Business Without an Office Admin
Most trade businesses with one to five people don't have an office admin. Someone still does the admin: the owner at night, a partner at the kitchen table, or nobody, which is when invoices go out late and quotes go cold. Here are the five ways to cover it, what each costs in Australia, and how to tell when it's time to hire.
What admin actually means in a trade business
| Job | Tasks | Needs judgement? |
|---|---|---|
| Money admin | Quotes, quote follow-ups, invoices, variations, chasing overdue invoices, getting it all into Xero | Mostly no. The same steps every time, once the job and price are set. |
| Compliance | Bank reconciliation, BAS, payroll, super, end-of-year accounts | Yes. BAS can only be lodged by you or a registered BAS or tax agent. |
| Customer admin | Answering calls and messages, booking site visits, scheduling, handling questions and complaints | Often. Every customer and every problem is a little different. |
Most of the stress comes from the first row, because it's the work that slips when you're on the tools. Unsent invoices and unchased payments don't just cost time, they cost cash. That's also the row that's easiest to take off your plate.
Option 1: Do it yourself, with a system
This is how most one and two-person businesses run, and it can work well. What makes the difference is doing the admin as it happens rather than saving it for Sunday night.
- Quote before you leave the site, while the details are fresh.
- Invoice the day the job finishes, not at the end of the week.
- Turn on automatic reminders so chasing doesn't depend on your memory.
- Check your aged debtors report every Monday. It takes two minutes.
Cost: your time. Work it out at your charge-out rate, not zero. Eight hours a week at $110 an hour is about $3,800 a month of time you could have billed or spent at home.
Watch out for: a partner quietly doing it at night. It's common and it works, but it's still unpaid work, and it often goes undone when life gets busy.
Option 2: Software that does the money admin
Quoting, invoicing and payment follow-up software takes the repeatable work off your hands. A good setup drafts the quote or invoice for you to check, sends follow-ups on a schedule, stops when the customer pays and keeps Xero up to date without double entry.
Cost: most quoting and invoicing apps cost between about $30 and $100 a month for a sole trader or small crew. Korda Pro Essentials is $49 a month ex GST.
Covers: quotes, invoices, follow-ups, payment reminders, a daily view of who owes what.
Doesn't cover: BAS, payroll, answering the phone or anything that needs a judgement call.
Option 3: A bookkeeper or BAS agent
A bookkeeper keeps your Xero file clean: reconciling the bank, coding expenses, running payroll and preparing your BAS. Only a registered BAS agent or tax agent can lodge a BAS for you for a fee, so check their registration on the Tax Practitioners Board register.
Cost: in Sydney, about $50 to $130 an hour, or $280 to $840 a month for a micro business package (pricing checked October 2026). Most small trade businesses need a few hours a month, more at quarter end.
Covers: compliance, clean books, BAS on time.
Doesn't cover: sending quotes on the day or chasing customers week to week. Bookkeepers see your numbers after the fact.
Option 4: A virtual assistant (VA)
A VA works remotely, part time or full time, and can answer emails, book jobs, update your job software and chase invoices. There are tradie-specialist VA agencies in Australia and offshore, mostly in the Philippines.
Cost: offshore agencies advertise packages from a few hundred dollars a month for part-time admin, rising to $1,000 or more a month for fuller support. Australian VAs usually charge by the hour, at rates closer to a local admin.
Covers: flexible admin, inboxes, some customer contact.
Watch out for: time zones and call handling, the training time to learn how you price and talk to customers, and giving someone access to your Xero and email. Start with written processes.
Option 5: A part-time admin
A local admin, in your office or working from home, can handle calls, bookings, quotes and invoicing, and gets to know your customers.
Cost: the Clerks Award minimum for a Level 2 admin is $29.45 an hour from 1 July 2026 ($36.81 for a casual, including the 25% loading), plus 12% super. Most admin staff are paid above the award.
Covers: the most, including the customer side.
Watch out for: it's a fixed cost in quiet months, and if they're away the admin stops too.
The five options side by side
| Option | Typical cost | Best for | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | Your time at your charge-out rate | Sole traders with steady, simple work | Busy periods, or if it's eating your evenings |
| Money admin software | $30-$100 a month | Getting quotes and invoices out on time and getting paid | BAS, payroll, calls |
| Bookkeeper / BAS agent | $50-$130 an hour, or a monthly package | Compliance and clean Xero books | Day-to-day quoting and chasing |
| Virtual assistant | A few hundred to $1,000+ a month | Flexible inbox and booking help | Live calls if they're offshore |
| Part-time admin | About $1,460 a month for 10 hours a week | Busy phones and lots of customer contact | Quiet or seasonal businesses |
Most small trade businesses end up with a mix: software for the money admin, a bookkeeper for compliance, and the owner or a VA for customer contact.
Want your own numbers? Use the admin cost calculator to see what your current admin hours are really costing.
Signs it's time to hire
- You miss calls every day and some of them don't call back.
- Quotes are going out more than a few days after the site visit.
- Customers are waiting on answers about bookings or progress.
- You're turning down work because there's no time to price it.
Notice none of these are about invoices or chasing. If your only problem is the money admin, automate that first and see what's left. Hiring someone to do work software can do is the expensive way to solve it.
What Korda Pro covers, and what it doesn't
Korda Pro takes care of the money admin. You send a voice note or text about the job and Korda Pro drafts the quote or invoice with GST for you to check and send. Open quotes are followed up. Overdue invoices are chased by email and SMS at 1, 7, 14 and 28 days, then handed back to you when they need a human decision. A 7am Morning Brief shows what's been paid, owed and overdue, and everything syncs with Xero so your bookkeeper sees clean records. It's how the best-run trade businesses start the day.
What it doesn't replace: a bookkeeper or BAS agent for compliance, or a person who knows your customers and can handle the conversations that don't fit a pattern. Korda Pro does the repeatable work. Judgement still sits with you or your team.
See quotes from a voice note, invoices in under 30 seconds and automatic payment reminders.
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a trade business without an office admin?
Yes. Most small trade businesses do. The key is getting the money admin (quotes, invoices, chasing) done as you go, with software doing the repeatable parts, and using a bookkeeper or BAS agent for compliance.
How much does a part-time admin cost in Australia?
At least $29.45 an hour for a Level 2 admin under the Clerks Award from 1 July 2026, plus 12% super. Ten hours a week at $30 an hour comes to about $1,460 a month before leave and insurance.
How much does a virtual assistant cost for a tradie?
Offshore VA agencies advertise part-time admin packages from a few hundred dollars a month, rising past $1,000 a month for fuller support. Australian VAs usually charge by the hour.
Can a bookkeeper do my invoicing and chasing?
Some will, but it's rarely the best use of their hourly rate, and they usually work after the fact. Invoices go out fastest when they're sent from the job, and chasing works best on a fixed schedule.
What trade admin can be automated?
Drafting quotes and invoices, quote follow-ups, overdue payment reminders, syncing to Xero and a daily summary of who owes what. BAS, payroll decisions and customer conversations still need a person.
Who can lodge my BAS?
You can lodge it yourself, or pay a registered BAS agent or tax agent to do it. Check their registration on the Tax Practitioners Board register.
When should a tradie hire an admin?
When customer admin starts costing you work: missed calls every day, quotes going out late, or jobs turned down because there's no time to price them. If invoicing and chasing are the only problem, automate them first.
Related reading
- How to see everything you're owed in one place There are three numbers that matter: what's been collected, what's outstanding, and what's overdue. Korda's Morning Brief delivers all three to your...
- How to invoice a customer from your phone as a tradie Send the invoice before you leave the driveway. Open WhatsApp, describe the job and the amount, and Korda handles the rest. You review it, approve it,...
- How to automate follow-ups on an unpaid invoice Set a follow-up sequence once, at 1, 7, 14 and 28 days overdue, and let it run automatically by SMS and email (when Gmail is connected) every time an invoice goes unpaid.