Tradie admin services: who does what, and what it costs
Quotes, invoices, BAS and a phone that won’t stop. Here’s who takes each one off you, what they charge, and the part we do.
The short answer
A tradie admin service is a person or small team doing your office work from somewhere else: quotes, invoices, chasing payments, booking jobs and often the phone. The ones we read that list an hourly rate charge between A$68.70 and A$99 an hour once GST is added, and one charges by the task.
We do a smaller slice. Our AI assistant answers your calls and texts, books the job, sends reminders, follows up quote requests and asks for reviews. It doesn’t do invoices, bookkeeping or BAS, so if the paperwork is what’s burying you, pay a person.
The admin that comes with the trade
Six jobs most tradies have, and who can take each one.
Calls and texts
The phone rings while you’re up a ladder, and texts land at 9pm. Admin services answer in their own hours. Our assistant answers any hour.
Quotes, and chasing them
Writing the quote, sending it, and following up when they go quiet. Admin services do all three. ServiceM8 can send the follow-ups.
Booking and reminders
Fitting the job in, then a confirmation and a reminder so they’re home. Job software sends reminders. Our assistant books the job and sends both.
Invoices and getting paid
Sending the invoice the day the job’s done, then chasing it. Admin services charge by the hour or task. ServiceM8 and Tradify Pro can chase automatically.
Bookkeeping and BAS
Reconciling the accounts, then the BAS when it’s due. A VA can do the data entry and bank reconciliations. Doing your BAS for a fee takes a registered agent.
Compliance paperwork
Licences, insurance, safety forms and certificates. Tradify Pro includes safety forms and compliance certificates, and ServiceM8’s Growing plan has certificate forms.
Features from ServiceM8’s and Tradify’s Australian pricing pages, read October 2026.
Who does it, and what it costs
Watch the GST: some include it, most add it.
| The price | What it covers | Who does it, and where | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doing it yourself | |||
| You, after hours | Your evenings and weekends | All of it, eventually | You, at the kitchen table |
| A partner or family member | Whatever you’ve worked out at home | Whatever they’ll take on | Someone who already knows your customers |
| Tradie admin services and VAs | |||
| Offsiters | A$80 an hour plus GST, 2 hours a week minimum, A$139 plus GST to start. Phone cover A$45 a month plus GST, with call time at the hourly rate | Quotes, invoices, scheduling, chasing payments, basic bookkeeping and GST help. Calls answered 9am to 2pm weekdays | Australian VAs in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and WA, mostly school hours |
| Admins The Answer | From A$335 a week plus GST for up to 20 tasks, to A$1,212 for up to 85. A$1,100 plus GST to start, and 4 weeks’ notice to stop | Customer calls, scheduling, quotes, invoices, and following up quotes and unpaid invoices | Owned and run by a tradie, with an all-Australian team, its site says |
| Dream Admin | Admin from A$157.50 plus GST for 2 hours. Bookkeeping from A$168 plus GST for 2 hours with BAS lodgement extra, or A$328 plus GST a month including lodgement on a 12-month contract | Admin, bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and a reception team | Its own team in Goulburn, NSW, which includes a registered BAS agent |
| Tradie Admin Solutions | A$68.70 an hour including GST, or A$99 for the director. It says it’s full, with a waitlist | Scheduling, quotes, invoices, following up quotes and payments, and ServiceM8 setup | Run from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland |
| TradieVA | Not on its site. Its terms ask for a month’s fee as a deposit and 30 days’ written notice | A dedicated VA for admin, bookkeeping support, estimating or customer service | VAs in the Philippines, working your business hours |
| Software | |||
| Job software | ServiceM8 is free for 30 jobs a month, or A$29 a month for 50, GST included. Tradify is A$48 per user a month plus GST | Quotes, invoices, booking reminders and automatic follow-ups on quotes and unpaid invoices (on Tradify, from the A$52 Pro plan) | You, with the software doing the reminders |
| OffsiteMate | A$299 a month for a sole trader, with 100 minutes and 150 texts included. A$299 once to set up. No GST added | Calls and texts any hour, booking, reminders, quote request follow-ups and review requests. Not invoices, books or BAS | An AI assistant that says it’s your assistant. We set it up and fix what it says |
Prices from each provider’s own pricing, FAQ or terms pages, read 12 October 2026, with GST shown the way each one shows it. Theirs change, so check before you sign.
Best for, and what to watch
| Best for | Watch out for | |
|---|---|---|
| You, after hours | A handful of jobs a week, and a system you keep up with | Quotes going out days late, and invoices that don’t go out at all |
| A partner or family member | Someone who knows your prices and your customers | It’s still admin at night, just someone else’s night. If they’re doing the BAS, read the rule below |
| An Australian admin service | The quotes, invoices and payment chasing you never get to | Weekly minimums, start-up fees, and phone cover that ends with business hours. Offsiters answers 9am to 2pm on weekdays |
| An overseas VA | A full-time assistant working your business hours | No published price. Ask about the deposit and notice period before you sign |
| Job software | Reminders and follow-ups that run themselves once it’s set up | Someone still writes the quotes and keeps the jobs up to date |
| Our AI assistant | Calls and texts while you’re on the tools or after knock-off, with routine jobs booked | It doesn’t do invoices, bookkeeping or BAS, or chase quotes you’ve already sent. Calls aren’t put through to you: it takes their number and you ring back |
Who’s allowed to do your BAS
The rule is about paying someone else to do it. The Tax Practitioners Board registers tax and BAS agents, and it warns of “significant civil penalties for anyone providing BAS services for a fee or reward” while unregistered.
On the TPB’s list of examples, completing an activity statement for a client, or telling them which figures to put in it, is a BAS service. Bank reconciliations, and data entry that doesn’t involve working out the BAS figures, are not.
Before anyone lodges yours for a fee, look them up on the TPB register. Dream Admin’s team includes a registered BAS agent. The other services we read don’t say either way, so ask.
Where we fit, and where we don’t
Our AI assistant answers calls any hour as your business, says it’s your assistant, gets the job details and books routine jobs at times you’re free. Emergencies get texted to you straight away, then it rings you.
It also sends the missed-call text, booking confirmations and reminders, two follow-ups on quote requests from your website, and your Google review link to happy customers.
It won’t write a quote or send an invoice. If paperwork is the problem, an admin service will do more for you than we will. Or run both: a person on the paperwork in business hours, and the assistant on the phone. Ours is A$299 a month for a sole trader, A$449 for 2 to 4 people and A$799 for 5 to 10, with no GST added.
Tradie admin questions
What does a tradie admin service do?
The office work you’d otherwise do at night: quotes, invoices, chasing payments, booking jobs, emails and often the phone. The ones we read work remotely, by the hour or by the task.
How much does trade admin support cost in Australia?
On their own sites in October 2026, hourly rates ran from A$68.70 including GST at Tradie Admin Solutions to A$80 plus GST at Offsiters. Admins The Answer charges by the task, from A$335 a week plus GST for up to 20. Its start-up fee is A$1,100 plus GST.
Can a virtual assistant do my BAS?
If they’re charging you for it, the Tax Practitioners Board says they generally need to be a registered BAS or tax agent. You can check anyone on the TPB register.
Are tradie admin VAs in Australia or overseas?
Both. Offsiters, Dream Admin and Admins The Answer say their people are in Australia. TradieVA says all its VAs are in the Philippines.
Can OffsiteMate do my invoices or bookkeeping?
No. Our AI assistant does calls, texts, booking, reminders, quote request follow-ups and review requests. Invoices, payment chasing, bookkeeping and BAS need a person, or job software you keep up to date.
Do I still need admin help if I’ve got an AI receptionist?
If the paperwork is piling up, yes. With the assistant on the phone, a VA’s hours can go on quotes and invoices instead. Offsiters, for one, charges phone time at its hourly rate.
This phone is answered.
Ring us on the number below, or email. Either way, a human gets back to you.
0468 075 000Or email hello@offsitemate.com.au