Bookkeeping for Glaziers in Geelong

Running a glazing business in Geelong means juggling quote preparation, materials ordering, on-site installations, and chasing payments—all while trying to keep your books in order. Whether you're fitting shopfronts along Moorabool Street, replacing windows in weathered Belmont homes, or installing glass balustrades in new Ocean Grove developments, your bookkeeping needs differ significantly from other trades.

Glass is expensive. Breakage happens. Jobs span multiple days. And your profit margins depend heavily on accurate costing. This guide covers the specific bookkeeping challenges Geelong glaziers face and shows you how to build systems that actually work for your business.

Why Glaziers Need Specialised Bookkeeping Systems

Unlike electricians or plumbers who primarily charge for labour, glaziers carry substantial material costs. A single sheet of toughened safety glass can cost hundreds of dollars, and specialty items like double-glazed units or frameless shower screens push material costs even higher.

This creates unique bookkeeping challenges:

• High material-to-labour ratios — materials often represent 40-60% of job value, requiring precise tracking
• Breakage and wastage — you need systems to capture damaged stock without distorting job profitability
• Custom orders — many glass products are cut-to-size with no resale value if the customer cancels
• Installation complexity — jobs range from 30-minute window repairs to multi-day commercial fit-outs
• Seasonal demand — storm damage creates urgent work spikes, while new construction follows building industry cycles

Generic bookkeeping approaches miss these nuances. You end up with financial reports that tell you whether you made money last month but not which job types actually contribute to profit.

Setting Up Job Costing for Glass Installation Work

Effective job costing tracks three categories for every job: materials, labour, and overhead allocation. Here's how to structure this in Xero or your preferred accounting software.

Materials tracking: Create a purchase order for each job's glass and hardware requirements. When materials arrive, match them against the PO. This captures your actual material cost before installation begins. For stock items like standard float glass sizes you keep on hand, use an inventory system that tracks average cost.

Labour allocation: Track hours spent on each job—including travel time for Geelong's spread-out geography. If your team drives from Corio to Torquay for an installation, that travel time affects your true job cost. Use timesheets coded to specific jobs, or apps like Deputy or ServiceM8 that integrate with Xero.

Overhead allocation: Your workshop rent, vehicle running costs, insurance, and tool maintenance don't disappear because they're not tied to a specific job. Apply a labour burden rate—typically 30-50% added to direct labour costs—to capture these expenses in job profitability calculations.

The formula looks like this:

Job Profit = Invoice Amount − Materials − (Labour Hours × Hourly Rate × Burden Rate) − Direct Job Expenses

GST Obligations for Geelong Glaziers

If your glazing business turns over more than $75,000 annually, you must register for GST under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999. Most established glaziers exceed this threshold.

Charging GST: All your standard glazing services attract 10% GST—window installations, glass repairs, shower screen fitting, commercial glazing work. Add GST to your quotes and invoices.

Claiming GST credits: You can claim back the GST paid on business purchases, including:

• Glass and materials from suppliers
• Tools and equipment
• Vehicle fuel and maintenance
• Workshop rent and utilities
• Professional services (accounting, bookkeeping)
• Safety equipment and workwear

BAS lodgement: Most glaziers lodge quarterly BAS returns. Your bookkeeper or BAS agent calculates GST collected minus GST paid, along with PAYG withholding if you have employees. Deadlines fall on the 28th of the month following each quarter (October, January, April, July—with February 28 for the December quarter).

A registered BAS agent like True Tally can prepare and lodge your BAS, ensuring you claim all entitled credits while meeting ATO requirements under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.

Tax Deductions Specific to Glazing Businesses

Under Section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, you can deduct expenses incurred in earning your assessable income. For Geelong glaziers, key deductions include:

Tools and equipment: Items costing $300 or less can be immediately deducted. For more expensive items like glass cutting tables, suction lifters, or specialised tools, you'll depreciate the cost over their effective life. The ATO provides depreciation schedules for common trade equipment.

Vehicle expenses: Whether you run a van fitted out for glass transport or a ute for smaller jobs, business use is deductible. The logbook method requires keeping a 12-week logbook to establish your business use percentage, then applying that percentage to all running costs. Alternatively, the cents-per-kilometre method allows 88 cents per km for up to 5,000 business kilometres in 2025-26.

Protective equipment: Safety glasses, cut-resistant gloves, steel-capped boots, and high-vis clothing are fully deductible when purchased for work use.

Training and licensing: Costs to maintain your builder's licence registration, industry training courses, and safety certifications like working at heights qualifications are deductible.

Insurance: Public liability, professional indemnity, tool insurance, and workers compensation premiums are all deductible business expenses.

Managing Cash Flow in a Materials-Heavy Trade

Cash flow kills more glazing businesses than lack of work. Here's why: you often pay suppliers before customers pay you, and glass suppliers rarely offer generous payment terms.

Deposit structures: For jobs over $1,000, require a deposit covering at least your material cost. For custom or specialty glass orders, deposits of 50% protect you from cancellations on non-returnable items.

Invoice promptly: Send invoices the day you complete work, not at month's end. In Xero, you can create and email invoices from your phone while still on site. Set payment terms of 7-14 days for residential work and negotiate clear terms for commercial contracts.

Chase debts systematically: Automate payment reminders in Xero at 3 days overdue, 7 days overdue, and 14 days overdue. Geelong's a relatively small business community—most people pay when reminded.

Monitor your position: Keep at least two months' worth of expenses in reserve. Track your receivables aging weekly. If outstanding invoices start climbing, slow down on quoting new work until cash flow stabilises.

Payroll Considerations for Glazing Businesses

If you employ apprentices, installers, or workshop staff, payroll compliance becomes critical. The Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 requires you to pay super at 11.5% (increasing to 12% from 1 July 2026) on ordinary time earnings for employees paid $450 or more in a calendar month.

Glaziers fall under the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 for most installation work. Key requirements include:

• Minimum wage rates vary by classification level and experience
• Allowances for tools, travel, and special work conditions may apply
• Overtime rates apply beyond standard hours
• Leave entitlements include annual leave, personal leave, and long service leave

Check the Fair Work Ombudsman website for current award rates and conditions. Getting payroll wrong leads to back-pay claims and penalties—it's an area where professional help pays for itself.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting means every pay run gets reported to the ATO. Xero Payroll handles this automatically when set up correctly.

Record Keeping Requirements

The Tax Administration Act 1953 requires you to keep business records for five years. For glaziers, this means retaining:

• Sales invoices and quotes
• Purchase invoices and receipts
• Bank statements
• BAS working papers
• Payroll records (keep for seven years)
• Job costing records
• Vehicle logbooks
• Asset registers

Digital records are acceptable if they're accurate and accessible. Xero stores most of this automatically, but you need backup systems for supporting documents like supplier invoices that don't flow through your accounting software.

What to Do Next

Good bookkeeping won't help you cut glass straighter or install shopfronts faster. But it will tell you which jobs make money, keep the ATO satisfied, and give you the financial clarity to make better business decisions.

Start with these steps:

• Set up job costing — even basic tracking beats none
• Review your deposit policy — protect cash flow on material-heavy jobs
• Automate what you can — invoice reminders, bank feeds, receipt capture
• Get your BAS sorted — quarterly lodgement keeps you compliant and claims entitled GST credits

If your current bookkeeping approach involves a shoebox of receipts and quarterly panic, there's a better way. A good bookkeeper familiar with Geelong's trades sector can set up systems that work around your schedule and give you numbers you can actually use.