Ledger & Lantern Bookkeeping

What we do

The books, done. And explained.

For sole traders, tradies, cafés and small businesses around Curlew Heads. You get a straight answer in plain English, and nobody makes you feel bad about the shoebox.

Sole tradersTradiesCafésSmall businesses

Bookkeeping

Your accounts kept up to date and reconciled, monthly or quarterly, so you always know where you stand.

BAS & GST

Prepared and lodged on time by a registered BAS agent, with a short note on what you owe and why.

Payroll & super

Pay runs, Single Touch Payroll, leave and super paid on time. Your staff get paid and you skip the headache.

Xero set-up & clean-ups

Starting fresh, or moving off a spreadsheet. Or a file that's got itself in a tangle, untangled.

Catch-ups

Behind by a quarter or by three years. Helen gets you up to date and talks to the tax office for you. No judgement.

We chase the paperwork

Receipts and statements, asked for politely and followed up until they're in, so you don't have to remember.

See how →

Getting started

Three steps. No judgement.

Helen going through paperwork with a couple at the big wooden table in her office

The office. First meetings happen at the big table in the front room.

Ring, or leave your number

Call 0482 089 051, or use the short form below. A line on where things are at is plenty.

Helen calls you back

She'll ask a few questions and give you a fixed price before any work starts.

Bring the shoebox

Drop it at the cottage or send photos. Helen sorts it, lodges what's due and tells you where you stand.

Please don't send tax file numbers or passwords through the website. A few words on what you need is plenty. Helen will set up a safe way to share the rest.

Helen's laptop on the desk beside a shoebox of receipts, showing her list of paperwork still to come in

The paperwork

We chase it, politely, until it's in.

The hardest part of the books is getting the bits in. Helen keeps a list of what each client still owes her, and sends a friendly reminder until it arrives. Nothing gets left for the end of the quarter.

1A friendly text, not a stern letter: "Hi, it's Helen. Could you send March's receipts when you get a sec?"

2Reply with a photo. That's it. No logging in anywhere.

3Ticked off the moment it lands, and the reminders stop.

Helen at her desk in the front room of the cottage

HelenOwner · Ledger & Lantern

About Helen

Twenty-odd years of other people's books.

Helen kept the books for businesses up and down the coast for twenty years before opening Ledger & Lantern in the front room of her cottage. It's just her, so the person who picks up your shoebox is the person who does the work, and the one you ring when the tax office writes.

“Nobody goes into business to do paperwork. Tell me what's going on and I'll explain the rest in plain English.”Helen, on how she works

RegisteredBAS agent

Xero, MYOBand QuickBooks

Eveningsby appointment

Helen on a call with a client at her desk by the window

Missed us?

In with a client? You still hear back.

Helen doesn't answer the phone in the middle of someone else's books. So if your call rings out, you get a text straight back asking what you need, and she rings you when she's free.

1You ring, Helen's with a client. It rings out.

2A text arrives in seconds, asking what you need.

3Reply, and you're on her list. Helen calls back already knowing what it's about.

Try it on your own phone:

Around the office

At the desk, and out at clients'.

Helen sorting a shoebox of receipts into folders — **The shoebox.** Sorted into folders, one month at a time.

Helen going through receipts with a café owner after closing — **After close at a café.** Going through the week's receipts.

Helen with a folder in a client's workshop — **Out at a client's.** Some people would rather not leave the workshop.

Coffee and reading glasses on a printed spreadsheet — **Month-end.** Coffee, glasses, and the numbers adding up.

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What clients say

Less dread. More sleep.

5.0★★★★★
Example reviews

★★★★★

“I hadn't done a BAS in two years and was too embarrassed to ring anyone. Helen caught up all eight quarters in about six weeks, set up a payment plan with the tax office, and never once made me feel stupid.”

Dean R., carpenterExample

★★★★★

“She explains things simply. First time I've actually understood what GST I owe and why.”

Priya S., café ownerExample

★★★★★

“I used to dread the end of the quarter. Now Helen chases my receipts so I don't have to. A friendly text, I send a photo, done.”

Kirsty M., mobile dog groomerExample

★★★★★

“Set up Xero and moved our payroll across. Walked us through it in plain English, and the staff got paid right from week one.”

Tom & Ana L.Example

★★★★★

“Turned up with a shoebox and a letter from the tax office. No lecture, just a plan. She had us up to date before the next BAS was due.”

Graham K.Example

These reviews are examples written for this demo site.

Hours & visit

The green cottage. Open weekdays.

The green weatherboard cottage on Banksia Street, home of Ledger and Lantern Bookkeeping

The office. The front room of the cottage, with the kettle on.

0482 089 051If Helen's with a client, you'll get a text straight back

Banksia Street, Curlew HeadsParking out the front. Evenings by appointment.

Ask Helen

Tell Helen what you need. She'll ring you back.

You don't need it all sorted first. Tell her roughly where things are at: a BAS due, a year or two behind, new staff to pay. She'll call to talk it through. The first chat costs nothing.

Got a letter from the tax office, or a pile of receipts? Snap a photo and add it below.

Rather talk now? Ring 0482 089 051, Monday to Friday 8:30am–5pm.