In short
Arbour Advisory is a specialist accountant for plant-heavy outdoor trades. The same team that looks after arborists works with excavation, earthmoving and land-clearing contractors across Australia. We handle the things that make these businesses hard to account for: expensive plant finance, job costing per site, subcontractor arrangements, fuel tax credits on off-road machinery, BAS and GST, payroll, and cash flow on staged jobs.
If you run excavators, tippers and attachments and want an accountant who already understands how the work is priced and paid, we can help. Book a free consultation →
An accountant who understands plant-heavy contracting
Excavation and land-clearing is a capital-intensive trade. You carry hundreds of thousands of dollars in plant, you quote work site by site, and your income arrives in lumps as projects hit their stages. A general accountant can lodge your return, but they often miss the parts that decide whether a job actually made money. Arbour Advisory was built around exactly this kind of business. George Morice, CA, founded the firm to work with green-industry and outdoor trades, and the same specialist team handles arborists, earthmoving operators and land-clearing contractors.
The point of a specialist is that you do not spend the first hour of every meeting explaining your industry. We already know what a tipper, a tilt-bucket or a mulching head is, how dry hire differs from wet hire, and why a quote that looked healthy can turn thin once mobilisation, fuel and machine hours are counted.
Plant and equipment finance
Excavators, tippers, floats, augers, grapples and grinders are not cheap, and most operators finance them. The way you fund a machine affects your tax position, your cash flow and your balance sheet, so it pays to get the structure right before you sign. Chattel mortgage, hire purchase and lease each have different GST and deduction treatments, and the better choice depends on your turnover, your other assets and how long you plan to keep the gear. We work through the numbers with you rather than leaving it to the dealer’s finance desk. For the detail on how we approach this, see our equipment finance service.
Job costing, site by site
The single biggest blind spot in plant-heavy trades is not knowing which jobs actually paid. A bulk-earthworks contract and a small residential clearing job behave nothing alike, yet many operators only see the total at year end. We help you cost each job properly: machine hours, operator wages, fuel, float and mobilisation, subcontracted plant, and consumables. Once you can see the margin on each site, quoting gets sharper and you stop subsidising loss-making work with your good jobs.
Subcontractors versus employees
Most excavation businesses run a mix of staff and subcontractors, and the line between the two matters. Getting it wrong exposes you to back-paid superannuation, PAYG withholding and penalties. We review how your operators and labour are engaged, check the arrangements against the relevant tests, and make sure your contracts and invoices line up with how the work is really done. We also help you keep the records that protect you if the arrangement is ever queried.
Fuel tax credits, GST and BAS
Heavy machinery burns a lot of diesel, and fuel used off-road in eligible plant and equipment can attract fuel tax credits. Excavation and land-clearing work is often exactly the kind of off-public-road use these credits exist for, but the rules around eligibility and the rate are specific, and operators routinely under-claim. We set up your records so the off-road use is captured and claimed correctly through your BAS. Alongside that, we manage your GST and your quarterly or monthly BAS so reporting is accurate and on time, and so the credits you are entitled to are not left on the table.
Payroll, PAYG and cash flow on staged jobs
Wages, PAYG withholding, superannuation and Single Touch Payroll all have to run on time regardless of when your clients pay you. That is the squeeze in this trade: your costs are weekly but your income is staged, and a big progress claim can sit unpaid while wages and finance repayments keep coming. We help you forecast cash through the project, time your purchases and tax obligations sensibly, and keep payroll compliant. If you would rather hand the whole back office across, our outsourced finance function covers bookkeeping, payroll, BAS and reporting so you can stay on the tools and on site.
Why operators choose a specialist
Plant-heavy outdoor trades share a financial shape: big assets, job-based income, off-road fuel, a mix of staff and subbies, and lumpy cash flow. We have built our processes around that shape, which means less explaining for you and fewer things missed. Whether you run a two-machine operation or a fleet, you get an accountant who already speaks the language of the work. Book a free consultation and we will talk through where your business is now and where the quick wins are.
Do you only work with arborists?
No. Arbour Advisory specialises in plant-heavy outdoor trades generally. The same team that handles arborists works with excavation, earthmoving and land-clearing contractors, because the financial issues are very similar: expensive plant, job-based income, off-road fuel use and a mix of staff and subcontractors.
Can you help me choose how to finance a new excavator or tipper?
Yes. We look at chattel mortgage, hire purchase and lease options against your turnover, your existing assets and how long you intend to keep the machine, then explain the GST, cash flow and deduction effects of each so you can decide before you sign.
What are fuel tax credits and can my excavation business claim them?
Fuel tax credits are a credit for the fuel tax included in the price of fuel you use in eligible business activities, including diesel used in heavy machinery off public roads. Excavation and land-clearing work is often eligible, but the rules are specific. We set up your records so eligible off-road use is captured and claimed correctly through your BAS.
How do you help with subcontractor versus employee questions?
We review how each operator and labourer is engaged, test the arrangement against the relevant criteria, and make sure your contracts, invoices and records support it. The aim is to avoid unexpected liabilities for superannuation, PAYG withholding and penalties down the track.
Can you handle our bookkeeping, BAS and payroll as well as the tax?
Yes. Through our outsourced finance function we can run bookkeeping, payroll, Single Touch Payroll, GST and BAS, and regular reporting, so you have one specialist team across the whole back office while you stay on site.
Do you work with excavation contractors across Australia?
Yes. We work with plant-heavy outdoor trade businesses across Australia and run meetings remotely, so you do not need to be local to work with us.
Know which jobs actually pay
Talk to an accountant who already understands excavators, off-road fuel and staged-job cash flow.
Related: Arborist accountant · Equipment finance · Outsourced finance function