Bookkeeping for Glaziers in Melbourne

Why glaziers need specialised bookkeeping

Glazing is a unique trade to run bookkeeping for. You're managing high-value, fragile materials, quoting against volatile glass and aluminium pricing, juggling emergency make-safe callouts alongside scheduled commercial installs, and often dealing with head contractors on Melbourne construction sites who pay on 30, 60 or even 90-day terms. Generic small business bookkeeping doesn't cut it here.

A glazier working across Melbourne's inner suburbs, the Mornington Peninsula, or a high-rise site in Southbank needs a system that tracks each job's true cost — glass, frames, sealants, labour, subcontractor fitters — against what was quoted. Without that, it's easy to look busy on paper while actually losing money on breakage, rework or underquoted commercial jobs.

GST and invoicing for glazing jobs

Once your glazing business turns over $75,000 or more a year, GST registration is compulsory under the GST Act 1999. From there, every taxable supply — glass panels, frames, hardware, installation labour and even emergency after-hours callout fees — carries 10% GST.

• Residential builds: standard invoicing usually applies, but some new-home contracts may use the margin scheme — confirm treatment before locking in a fixed price.
• Commercial and government jobs: often require tax invoices that meet strict formatting requirements, especially for progress claims against a head contract.
• Insurance work: make-safe and emergency glass replacement jobs billed to insurers still attract GST — don't assume insurance invoices are GST-free.

Getting invoice templates set up correctly in Xero from day one avoids BAS adjustments down the track and keeps you audit-ready if the ATO ever reviews your glazing business.

Tracking materials and job costing

Glass pricing moves, breakage happens on site, and a "simple" residential shower screen job can blow out once you factor in a second trip for a mismeasured panel. The only way to know if you're actually profitable is job-level costing.

• Allocate every purchase — glass, aluminium extrusions, sealant, hardware — to a specific job code in Xero, not a general "materials" expense account.
• Track labour hours per job, including apprentice time, so you can see true labour cost against the quote.
• Compare quoted margin to actual margin at job completion, and flag any job that comes in under 15% gross margin for review.

Xero's Projects feature (or a tracking category set up specifically for job numbers) turns this from guesswork into a five-minute weekly check. Many Melbourne glaziers we work with are surprised to find their "bread and butter" residential repairs are more profitable than the large commercial contracts they chase for cashflow.

Progress claims, retentions and cashflow

Commercial glazing work on Melbourne apartment towers and office fit-outs typically runs on progress claims, often with retention money — commonly 5-10% — held back by the head contractor until practical completion or the end of the defects liability period.

This creates a real cashflow trap: GST is generally payable at the time of invoicing the full claim value, even though the cash for retention hasn't landed yet. If you're not tracking retention receivables separately from your regular debtors, it's easy to think you have more cash on hand than you actually do — or to lose track of retention owed to you entirely.

• Set up a separate ledger code or tracking category for retention held.
• Diarise retention release dates against each contract's defects liability period.
• Forecast cashflow monthly, factoring in the lag between invoicing and payment on 30-60 day commercial terms.

Payroll, super and subcontractors

Most glazing businesses run a mix of employed installers and subcontracted glaziers. Single Touch Payroll (STP Phase 2) reporting is mandatory for all employees, and Superannuation Guarantee contributions must be paid at least quarterly under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992.

The trap many glaziers fall into is treating subcontractors as automatically super-free just because they hold an ABN. If a subcontracted fitter is paid mainly for their labour and doesn't supply significant tools, plant or their own workforce, the ATO may deem them an employee for super purposes regardless of their ABN status. Review each arrangement against the ATO's employee/contractor decision tool and get contracts reviewed if you're unsure. FairWork's minimum pay and entitlement rules also apply to any employed installers or apprentices — check current award rates at fairwork.gov.au.

Vehicle, tools and deductions

Vans, glass racks, suction lifters, cutting tables and safety gear are core to running a glazing business, and under ITAA 1997 these are generally deductible when used to earn assessable income.

• Keep a 12-week logbook if you use a vehicle for both business and private travel between Melbourne job sites.
• Retain receipts for glass-handling equipment, safety harnesses and PPE — these are fully deductible business expenses, not just tax time afterthoughts.
• Apportion any tools or vehicles with mixed private use accurately — the ATO reviews trade-specific deduction claims closely.

Choosing the right bookkeeping system

A glazier juggling Docklands commercial contracts, suburban residential repairs and emergency callouts across the Eastern suburbs needs a bookkeeping setup that reflects real trade complexity — not a generic spreadsheet. Xero, set up with job tracking, retention codes, and correctly mapped GST treatments, gives you real-time visibility over which jobs, clients and job types are actually profitable.

The businesses that stay ahead are the ones reviewing job margins monthly, reconciling accounts weekly, and lodging BAS on time every quarter — not scrambling through a shoebox of invoices in July.