Newsletter - March 2026

What's inside this edition:

• Use your vehicle for work? Join the list to be notified when our new KM tracker goes live.

• Are you on the ATO’s watch list this year? Find out what industries and activities are under the spotlight.

• Know someone who needs to switch from Thriday or NAB Bookkeeper? Refer them to us and get 2 months free.

• Should you be charging more? Use this test to find out. Plus advice from an accountant and a guide to help you set your new prices.

• What happens after you survive your first year as a sole trader? Watch the replay of our latest Making it Work session.

• And even more helpful resources for solo businesses 💡

🛻 ICYMI: We're building a KM tracker

This is one of our most requested features ever, and we're excited to bring it to you soon!

Last month, we spoke to many of you about what you need in a KM tracker. Based on your feedback, we've begun developing a solution that's reliable, easy to use, and doesn't need extra hardware to make it work.

Keep an eye on our social feeds for more info about the release date 👀

🔍 Are you on the ATO’s watch list?

This year, the ATO is focusing on sole traders who use cash to avoid meeting tax obligations, as well as those in the following industries:

• Property and construction (e.g., builders, contractors/subcontractors, tradies)

• Professional services (specifically engineering, design, IT, management and consulting professionals)

If that’s you, you’ll want to be extra careful with your tax reporting for FY 25/26.

What's the ATO on the lookout for?

• Omitting sales / income from your BAS and tax returns (especially cash payments)

• Overclaiming expenses and GST credits

• Reporting private expenses as business-related, or not properly apportioning business use

• Not registering for GST when required

• Not seeking independent advice from a registered tax agent (especially in head contractor and subcontractor arrangements)

• Incorrectly claiming R&D tax incentives (R&DTI)

What should I do to stay on the ATO's good side?

• Keep clean income and expense records using an app like Rounded (including receipts)

• If in doubt about expenses or GST, consult an accountant

👥 Help a mate move from NAB Bookkeeper or Thriday and get 2 months of Rounded free

Last month we spoke about how NAB Bookkeeper is shutting down. And now, Thriday is closing customer bank accounts and predicting outages of key business tools.

Know anyone looking to make the switch from NAB or Thriday to a more reliable app for sole traders?

Refer them to us and you'll both get 2 months free* once they've signed up to a paid plan 🙌

(That's double our usual referral bonus! And yes, you can refer more than 1 person.)

Just shoot us a message with their name and the email they used to create their Rounded account, and we'll apply the credit to both of your accounts.

*Ts and Cs apply

💰 Find out if you should be charging more (the answer is probably 'Yes')

1. Get a time tracking tool.

We recommend Rounded 😉 but choose whatever works for you.

2. Add each client / source of income.

You'll also want to your own business as a client, to record all the time you spend on admin and development, as well as any side projects you work on during the week.

3. Track hours for each client:

• Billable time (spent on actual work)

• Non-billable time (e.g., admin, meetings, emails)

• If you work on retainer or have ongoing projects, track time for these as well.

(Note: Even if you don’t charge by the hour, this exercise can still be helpful to see how much time projects actually take, so you can sense-check whether your pricing is profitable.)

4. Do this for a set amount of time.

At least 1 month is best, as it gives a more accurate picture of how your work week may fluctuate.

5. Find your real hourly rate.

Add up all the hours you worked (billable and non-billable).

Then use this formula to find your real hourly rate:

Total revenue ÷ Total hours worked

Example:

• Monthly revenue: $6,000

• Total hours worked that month: 120

• Real hourly rate = $50/hour

6. Find your required hourly rate.

Start with your target income for the year.

Example:

• Personal income: $100,000

• Expenses (software, insurance etc): $20,000

• Total revenue needed: $120,000

Now, estimate how many billable hours you'll realistically work.

e.g.: 20 hrs/wk x 48 work weeks = 960 hrs

This gives you the hourly rate you need to hit to meet your target income.

e.g.: $120,000/960 = $125/hr

7. Compare your real and required hourly rates.

If your real hourly rate is significantly lower, this usually means you’re undercharging, spending too much time on non-billable work, or both.

From here, you have a few options:

• Raise your rates

• Move to value pricing

• Reduce non-billable hours (e.g, automating tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, etc.)

💡 Pro Tip: If you want to get a bit more granular, you can also look at your rates for each client or type of work.

This also helps you figure out:

• Which clients/services are the most profitable (and if these are the ones you're currently prioritising)

• If there's any services you could charge more for (rather than raising your prices across the board)

• Any clients/services that take up too much of your time in comparison to what you’re charging

• Any admin, meetings, or other non-billable work you can cut to free up more billable hours

Rounded makes this easy with a breakdown of how much you make per client / service on your dashboard.

💡Lauren Thiel, Accountant for Sole Traders, on raising your rates

Increasing prices of products and services is often necessary in a response to the broader economic environment, so we can maintain our profit margins and wages whilst the cost of everything we're buying is increasing too.

It's also sometimes an appropriate reflection of our growing experience, expertise, or in response to competition and demand.

It's better to do gradual increases more regularly, then not increase prices for a few years and then do a bigger jump when you realise you're feeling very squeezed. Communication with customers is key!

See more advice from Lauren here.

▶️ Replay: What happens after you survive your 1st year as a sole trader?

Last month, we spoke to Honni Hayton, Sally Bathgate, and Jen Robson from Engage Agency about how their businesses have evolved over the past 5 years.

What we covered:

• What their businesses look like in Year 6 vs Year 1

• What works now for client acquisition (and what they tried that didn't work)

• The power of niching and repositioning

• Going solo vs shifting to a company structure

• What support and resources helped them grow

• What they would tell their Year 1 selves

Watch our first video with Honni, Sally, and Jen from 2020 here.

More helpful resources for sole traders

• How to speed up your invoicing with item templates in Rounded

• Why your success is no accident

• What's holding you back as a freelancer

• Here’s when you can (and can't) access your super early according to the ATO

New to Rounded, or have questions?

We run an Introduction to Rounded masterclass every Wednesday. Come and join us!

Cover Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash