Sri Lanka
- Time zone
- UTC+5:30
- Behind AEST / AEDT
- 4.5 hrs / 5.5 hrs
- 9:00am AEST is
- 4:30am in Colombo
- Typical shift to overlap
- Early local start, e.g. 6:00am–3:00pm (10:30am–7:30pm AEST)
Bookkeeping & accounts · Full-time · Sri Lanka & Philippines
Outsource Your Bookkeeping to a Dedicated Offshore Bookkeeper
Elephant Teams recruits full-time bookkeepers in Sri Lanka and the Philippines who work in your Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks file, for your business only. Unlike a bookkeeping service, the person is yours: you set their priorities, and they learn your chart of accounts. Recruitment is a one-off $5,999+GST, or $1,000 a month with ongoing support.
Australian businesses building offshore teams with Elephant Teams
Hire a bookkeeper or outsource to a service?
There are two ways to outsource bookkeeping. A bookkeeping firm shares one person's time across many clients and bills by the hour or month. An offshore hire gives you a full-time bookkeeper for your business only. Full-time suits businesses with daily transactions, several bank feeds or entities, or an in-house accountant who needs a reliable pair of hands.
If you only need a few hours a month, a service is better value. Our sister firm, Elephant Advisory, offers accounting and bookkeeping services for that case.
What your offshore bookkeeper handles
- Bank feeds and coding. Code transactions daily against your chart of accounts and apply bank rules you approve.
- Reconciliations. Reconcile bank, credit card, PayPal and Stripe accounts, and keep a weekly list of unexplained items.
- Bills and receipts. Process supplier bills from Dext or Hubdoc, match receipts and chase missing paperwork.
- Sales invoicing. Raise invoices from job or sales data and allocate customer payments.
- GST coding and BAS preparation. Prepare BAS workpapers and GST reconciliations for review. You, or your registered BAS or tax agent, review and lodge.
- Month-end tidy-up. Prepayments, accruals schedules and a clean trial balance for your accountant.
- Reports. A weekly cash position and a monthly profit-and-loss pack in the format you use.
Software and tools
Australian small businesses mostly run Xero, MYOB Business or QuickBooks Online, so the skills assessment is matched to the one you use. We also check add-ons such as Dext, Hubdoc, ApprovalMax, Lightyear, Syft and Excel. Xero Advisor certification is a plus, but hands-on coding and reconciliation matter more than certificates.
Qualifications we screen
Bookkeeping in Australia doesn't need a licence unless the bookkeeper provides BAS services for a fee directly to the public. Your offshore bookkeeper works under your business, or under your registered agent, so the focus is competence.
- Sri Lanka: part- or fully-qualified CA Sri Lanka, CIMA, ACCA or AAT Sri Lanka, often alongside a commerce degree. Sri Lankan standards (SLFRS) are IFRS-based, so accrual concepts carry over to Australian books.
- Philippines: BS Accountancy or BS Accounting Technology graduates, some with a CPA licence from the PRC Board of Accountancy. Many have worked for Australian or US bookkeeping firms in Xero or QuickBooks.
- Everyone: a practical skills assessment. For bookkeepers it can cover coding, a bank reconciliation with planted errors, and GST treatment of common Australian transactions.
Sri Lanka vs the Philippines for a bookkeeper
| Sri Lanka | Philippines | |
|---|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 | UTC+8 |
| Behind AEST / AEDT | 4.5 hrs / 5.5 hrs | 2 hrs / 3 hrs |
| 9:00am AEST is | 4:30am in Colombo | 7:00am in Manila |
| Typical shift to overlap | Early local start, e.g. 6:00am–3:00pm (10:30am–7:30pm AEST) | Standard local day, e.g. 7:00am–4:00pm (9:00am–6:00pm AEST) |
Philippines
- Time zone
- UTC+8
- Behind AEST / AEDT
- 2 hrs / 3 hrs
- 9:00am AEST is
- 7:00am in Manila
- Typical shift to overlap
- Standard local day, e.g. 7:00am–4:00pm (9:00am–6:00pm AEST)
Swipe to compare 2 options →
Sri Lanka (UTC+5:30) is 4.5 hours behind AEST, 5.5 behind AEDT. Bookkeeping doesn't need a full day of live contact, so the gap works in your favour. Your bookkeeper can process the previous day's transactions overnight from your point of view, with an overlap window for questions. Sri Lanka's accounting pipeline is strong: CIMA, ACCA and CA Sri Lanka students are common, and suit businesses that want a bookkeeper who can grow into management reporting.
The Philippines (UTC+8) is 2 hours behind AEST, 3 behind AEDT, so your bookkeeper works almost your hours. That suits businesses where bookkeeping touches live operations: chasing approvals, answering supplier calls, or working alongside an in-house finance team. The Philippines has a deep pool of bookkeepers already trained on Xero and QuickBooks through outsourcing firms serving Australia and the US.
The people behind every placement
Our recruiters brief your role, run the skills assessment and interview every candidate before you see a shortlist.
How we screen candidates →
What a shortlist looks like
Example bookkeeper profiles
These illustrative profiles show the experience, qualifications and software we typically see on a bookkeeper shortlist. They are examples, not real candidates. Your shortlist is built from a fresh job ad for your role, and wages are confirmed with you before you commit.
Sri LankaExample profile
Bookkeeper, Australian client portfolio
- Experience
- 4 years
- Qualification
- CA Sri Lanka finalist, BCom
- Software
- Xero, MYOB Business, Dext, Excel
- Typical wage
- A$800–1,150 a month
- Monthly reconciliations for 15+ Australian SMEs
- Prepares BAS workpapers for agent review
- Accrual adjustments and month-end close
PhilippinesExample profile
Senior bookkeeper
- Experience
- 5 years
- Qualification
- BS Accountancy
- Software
- Xero, QuickBooks Online, Hubdoc, ApprovalMax
- Typical wage
- A$1,450–2,000 a month
- AP and AR for multi-entity groups
- Payroll processing support
- Clear written client updates
Plan options for a bookkeeper
If you already have an accountant or finance lead who will review the bookkeeper's work, Ready for You (employ them yourself or through us) keeps ongoing costs low. If the bookkeeper will be your first finance hire and nobody in-house will set the procedures, Managed for You includes onboarding playbooks and regular check-ins. Those reduce the risk of a new bookkeeper drifting from your processes.
| Ready for You | Managed for You | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront | $5,999+GST one-off recruitment fee | $0 recruitment fee |
| Ongoing | You employ them ($0/month), or we employ them as Employer of Record ($350/month) | $1,000/month per team member, 12-month commitment (we employ and manage) |
| Who employs | You, or Elephant Teams (EOR) | Elephant Teams |
| Included | Sourcing, screening, interviews, offer and placement, IT setup coordination | Everything in Ready for You, plus onboarding playbooks, HR policy templates, regular check-ins and advisory support |
| Replacement guarantee | 3 months | 5 months, up to two free replacements in the first 12 months |
Ready for You
- Upfront
- $5,999+GST one-off recruitment fee
- Ongoing
- You employ them ($0/month), or we employ them as Employer of Record ($350/month)
- Who employs
- You, or Elephant Teams (EOR)
- Included
- Sourcing, screening, interviews, offer and placement, IT setup coordination
- Replacement guarantee
- 3 months
Managed for You
- Upfront
- $0 recruitment fee
- Ongoing
- $1,000/month per team member, 12-month commitment (we employ and manage)
- Who employs
- Elephant Teams
- Included
- Everything in Ready for You, plus onboarding playbooks, HR policy templates, regular check-ins and advisory support
- Replacement guarantee
- 5 months, up to two free replacements in the first 12 months
Swipe to compare 2 options →
Team member wages are paid on top of either plan. Multi-hire savings are available.
IT options (pick any, with any plan): Self-managed, where you or your team member supply the equipment. Hardware coordination, where we buy and configure a laptop that you own. IT management, where we handle devices, setup and security, with leasing available. See IT security.
Frequently asked questions
Is hiring an offshore bookkeeper cheaper than outsourcing bookkeeping to a firm?
For full-time workloads, usually yes, because you pay a wage instead of hourly rates. For a few hours a month, a bookkeeping service is better value. A full-time Australian bookkeeper costs about $7,700 a month with super, based on SEEK's median salary (our estimate).
Can an offshore bookkeeper lodge my BAS?
They prepare it, and your business or your accountant lodges it. Anyone outside your business who provides BAS services for a fee must be a registered BAS or tax agent. Your bookkeeper prepares the workpapers and GST reconciliation so the review is quick.
Which accounting software do your bookkeepers use?
We match the skills assessment to the software you use: Xero, MYOB Business or QuickBooks Online, plus add-ons such as Dext, Hubdoc and ApprovalMax.
How do I keep my financial data secure with an offshore bookkeeper?
Give them their own user login with only the permissions they need. Never share the owner login, and turn on multi-factor authentication. Our IT options range from self-managed to fully managed devices and security.
Should my bookkeeper be in Sri Lanka or the Philippines?
Both work well. Sri Lanka suits businesses that want a bookkeeper studying towards CIMA, ACCA or CA who can grow into reporting. The Philippines suits businesses that need more live working-hours overlap.
Related roles
Hire your bookkeeper in 3–4 weeks
A free 30-minute consultation. We'll recommend a country and setup, and price the role for you.