You switched bookkeepers, the honeymoon promises were good, and now ninety days have passed. This is the moment to check whether you actually upgraded or just changed the letterhead. Ninety days is long enough for the promises to either become habits or become Barry in a new tie. A new bookkeeper should show clear, measurable improvement inside the first quarter, and if they have not, better to know now than a year from now. Here is the scorecard.

Published: July 2026

This piece pairs with our full guide on how to change bookkeepers, because if the first quarter is not going well, switching again is better than settling twice. The scorecard works the same whether you run a Rosebery product brand or a Sydney consultancy; only the file's contents change, not the standard.

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The 90-day scorecard

Five measures tell you almost everything. Weigh each one carefully.

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1. Response times

By now you should know how long it takes to get an answer. The standard for a good bookkeeper is same-day or next-day on normal queries. If you are still waiting days, or chasing for replies, that is the same problem you left, wearing a new name. Responsiveness is the easiest thing to assess and the hardest to fake over ninety days.

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2. Reconciliation currency

Ask when your file was last fully reconciled. A good bookkeeper keeps it current, ideally weekly, so the answer is "days ago", not "we will get to it before BAS". A file that is already drifting three months in will be a disaster by year-end. This is the single best predictor of whether the relationship will hold.

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3. A clean, on-time BAS

If a BAS fell within the first quarter, was it prepared without a last-minute scramble, lodged on time, and were you comfortable it was right? A registered agent lodging electronically through the ATO's agent lodgment program also gets later due dates than self-lodgers, which removes the excuse entirely: the work should have been handled early and calmly. A first BAS that was chaos is a bad omen.

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4. A monthly report that arrives unprompted

Did a proper monthly pack turn up each month without you asking? Comparative profit and loss, reconciled balance sheet, aged receivables, cash position, arriving as standard monthly reporting. If you are still only getting a lodged BAS and silence, you did not upgrade. We set out what the pack should contain in what your bookkeeper should send you monthly.

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5. Super leaving with every pay run

Your first quarter with this bookkeeper is also the first quarter of the new super rules. From 1 July 2026, super guarantee must be paid on each payday and received by the employee's fund within 7 business days under the ATO's Payday Super rules. Ninety days in, that pattern should be visible: super batched with every single pay run and landing in funds on time. Ask to see the last pay run's super batch date against the fund receipt. A new bookkeeper still running on quarterly-super muscle memory is not a quirk to be patient with; it is a live Super Guarantee Charge exposure.

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How to read the scorecard

Five passes: keep going, this is what better looks like. Four out of five with the fifth clearly improving: reasonable, raise the gap directly and give it one more cycle. Three or fewer: you have swapped one underperforming bookkeeper for another, and the honest move is to act on that now rather than talk yourself into another year. The whole point of switching was to stop tolerating the old problems. Do not quietly re-tolerate them under new management.

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When to run the test, and when to hold

Run the full scorecard at the ninety-day mark, because that is long enough to have seen a BAS cycle, several reports, a full quarter of pay runs and a real sample of response times, but early enough to act before a year is lost. Hold your final judgement if the first quarter included a heavy one-off, like a catch-up of a badly neglected file, since cleaning up someone else's mess legitimately absorbs early capacity. In that case, judge the trajectory: is it getting cleaner and more current each month? A rising line through a hard first quarter is a pass.

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Set the baseline on day one

The first quarter test works best if you set a baseline when you start, so you are measuring against something concrete rather than a vague memory of the old bookkeeper. On day one, note the three things you were most unhappy about, whether that was slow replies, a file always behind, or reports that never came, and note where the file actually stands: how many unreconciled transactions, how current the reconciliation is, whether the last BAS was on time. If the switch is still ahead of you, working through the Sydney bookkeeper handover checklist sets most of that baseline for you as a by-product.

Ninety days later, you compare against the baseline rather than a feeling. The improvement should be obvious and measurable: reply times you can point to, an unreconciled count near zero, a BAS lodged calmly and early, reports arriving each month, super leaving with every run. A baseline turns "I think it is a bit better" into "response times went from four days to same-day and the file is current for the first time in a year", which is the difference between a hopeful guess and a decision you can stand behind. It also makes the conversation with the new bookkeeper concrete if something is lagging.

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What you should not tolerate

Slow replies you were promised would be fast, a file already drifting out of reconciliation, a scrambled first BAS, reports that still do not arrive, and super running on last decade's timetable. You changed bookkeepers to escape exactly these. A Free Xero Roast from a fresh perspective can tell you whether your new bookkeeper's file is actually in the shape they claim, the same check we suggest in questions to ask a new bookkeeper. While you are at it, confirm the registration behind your BAS lodgements on the Tax Practitioners Board public register: registration is the legal minimum for anyone charging to prepare your BAS, and the register also shows any conditions or sanctions on it.

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If the scorecard says switch again

Then switch again, calmly, with the checklist, and this time to an engagement built around the five measures above. The Packs lay out fixed-price monthly bookkeeping with the changeover managed end to end, weekly reconciliation as standard, and a monthly pack that arrives whether you chase it or not.

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FAQ

How soon should a new bookkeeper show improvement?

Within the first quarter. Ninety days is long enough to see a BAS cycle, several monthly reports, a full quarter of pay runs and a real sample of response times, so it is the right point to judge whether you truly upgraded.

What response time should I expect?

Same-day or next-day on normal queries. If you are waiting days or chasing replies ninety days in, that is the same problem you switched to escape.

How do I check if my file is being kept current?

Ask when it was last fully reconciled. "Days ago" is good; "before the next BAS" means it is already drifting, which predicts trouble by year-end.

How do I know if super is being handled correctly under the new rules?

From 1 July 2026, super must be paid every payday and received by each employee's fund within 7 business days under the new Payday Super rules. Ask to see the super batch for a recent pay run and when the funds received it. Super still being handled as a quarterly job is a fail on this measure.

What if the first quarter included a big catch-up?

Judge the trajectory rather than the absolute state. Cleaning up a neglected file legitimately absorbs early capacity, so a file getting cleaner and more current each month is a pass even if the first quarter was heavy.

Should I switch again if the new bookkeeper is not better?

If they fail on three or more of the five measures, yes. Switching again is better than settling twice. The point of the first move was to stop tolerating the old problems, not to re-tolerate them under a new name.

What does a passing monthly report look like?

A pack that arrives unprompted each month with a comparative profit and loss, a reconciled balance sheet, aged receivables and payables, and a cash position with upcoming obligations flagged.

How do I measure whether my new bookkeeper is better?

Set a baseline on day one: note your biggest complaints about the old bookkeeper and the actual state of the file, such as the unreconciled count and reconciliation currency. At ninety days, compare against that baseline rather than a feeling, so improvement is measurable rather than hoped for.

What if only some of the five measures pass?

Four out of five with the fifth clearly improving is reasonable; raise the gap directly and give it one more cycle. Three or fewer means you have not upgraded, and acting on that now is better than settling for a second time.

How do I raise concerns with a new bookkeeper at the 90-day mark?

Be specific and factual, using your day-one baseline: name the measure that is lagging and the standard you expected. A good bookkeeper responds with a plan. A defensive reaction tells you as much as the lagging measure did.

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About Sydney Bookkeeper

Sydney Bookkeeper is the modern, fixed-price Sydney bookkeeper for businesses with staff that are tired of slow, hourly, jargon-spouting incumbents. We work with professional services firms, construction and property businesses, agencies, tech and ecommerce companies, hospitality groups, and health practices across Sydney. Monthly bookkeeping, BAS lodgement, payroll, and Xero file cleanups, all on fixed monthly pricing, no lock-in.

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The team uses a registered BAS Agent for all BAS and IAS lodgement services. Full registration details, agent particulars, and copies of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) Code of Professional Conduct, the TPB complaints process, and any conditions on the agent's registration are available on request by contacting the team. This content is general information only, written for Australian small and mid-market businesses. It does not constitute tax, financial product, or legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Tax obligations depend on your individual circumstances. The figures used are illustrative estimates and will differ for your business. For advice specific to your business, contact the team directly or consult a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser. Sydney Bookkeeper is not a licensed tax agent or licensed financial adviser. Information was current at the time of publication and may change without notice. We review and update guides periodically.

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Sources

Australian Taxation Office, About Payday Super
Fair Work Ombudsman, Payday Super: New rules starting 1 July 2026
Tax Practitioners Board, Public register
Tax Practitioners Board, Finding and using a tax practitioner

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