Accountants for Psychologists.

You’re receiving payments from Medicare through bulk billing or patient claims, private health insurers with various processing times, DVA with its own claiming system, NDIS if you’re registered, and direct payments from clients. Each has different processing times, different documentation requirements, and different tax treatment. Without systems tracking these separately, you can’t reconcile what you’re owed against what you’ve received.

Walker Hill sets up income tracking by payment source, reconciles Medicare statements to bank deposits, tracks outstanding private health claims, monitors NDIS payment processing, and identifies where revenue is delayed or missing. You’ll know exactly what’s outstanding and can follow up on delayed payments before they age beyond recovery.

Operating as a sole trader is simple initially, but as your income grows, it might not be the most tax-effective structure. However, complexity of companies or trusts might not justify the additional cost and administration for your income level. Choosing the right business structure registrations requires analysing your specific numbers, not applying generic rules.

Walker Hill reviews your actual income, projected growth, asset position, and personal circumstances to provide practical information specifically relevant to your situation. We model the tax difference between structures, calculate the additional costs involved, and provide smart advice on whether restructuring makes sense now or should wait until income reaches certain thresholds.

Psychologists can claim significant professional expenses, but many miss deductions or claim things incorrectly. Professional indemnity insurance, registration fees, supervision costs, continuing professional development, assessment materials, subscriptions to professional journals, conferences, workspace costs (whether rented rooms or home office), technology, and professional library all qualify. Missing these leaves money on the table.

Walker Hill tracks your professional expenses throughout the year, advises on what requires receipts versus what can be claimed based on reasonable basis, explains how to claim workspace costs without overclaiming, and ensures your professional development claims are properly substantiated. You’ll claim everything you’re entitled to while maintaining records that support your position.

Many psychologists price based on Medicare rebate levels or what other psychologists charge, not on their actual overhead, desired income, and the value they deliver. You’re not factoring in all your costs including insurance, registration, supervision, professional development, admin time, cancellation rates, and non-billable activities. The result is being busy but not earning enough to sustain practice long-term.

Walker Hill helps you calculate your true cost per clinical hour including all overhead, understand what you need to charge to achieve your income goals, analyse which services are profitable at current pricing, and develop fee structures that support sustainable practice. We work closely with you to ensure your business goals are financially viable, not aspirational targets disconnected from financial reality.

Your income might look strong on paper, but cash flow creates stress. You invoice weekly but Medicare processes fortnightly. Private health claims take 2-6 weeks. DVA can take longer. Clients on payment plans pay over months. Meanwhile, rent is monthly, insurance is annual upfront, and personal expenses continue regardless of when revenue actually lands in your account.

Walker Hill builds cash flow forecasts specific to your revenue patterns, identifies when cash will be tight, advises on maintaining working capital reserves, helps you plan for annual lumpy expenses like insurance, and provides quarterly financial analysis showing whether your cash position is improving or deteriorating. You’ll understand your cash reality, not just your revenue.

You might be paying quarterly tax instalments based on last year’s income, which doesn’t match this year’s reality. You’re either overpaying throughout the year (tying up cash unnecessarily) or underpaying (facing a large bill at tax time). Without proper tax planning, you don’t know how much to set aside or whether timing decisions around income and expenses would improve your position.

Walker Hill manages your tax instalments, adjusts them when your income changes significantly, calculates quarterly projections showing your likely tax liability, and provides smart advice on timing decisions that affect your tax position. You’ll know what you owe well before lodgement and won’t be caught short when tax bills arrive.

Growing your practice might involve employing reception staff, practice managers, or bringing in other psychologists. Whether those psychologists should be employees or contractors affects your obligations, their tax treatment, and the practice structure. Contracting arrangements require careful documentation to withstand scrutiny.

Walker Hill advises on employee versus contractor arrangements, helps you understand the obligations and risks of each, assists with documentation that supports contractor relationships, and handles payroll processing if you employ staff. We’ve worked with existing clients navigating these decisions and can provide valuable advice based on what we’ve seen work in allied health practices.

Eventually you’ll want to reduce hours, bring in partners, or sell your practice entirely. Practice value depends on systems, transferable goodwill, profitability, and documentation. Poor financial management reduces value dramatically. Buyers or incoming partners want to see sustainable profitability, clean books, and minimal risk.

Walker Hill helps you build practice value through strong financial management from the start, maintains records that demonstrate profitability trends, advises on structuring partnerships or associate arrangements, and prepares financial information in formats buyers expect. If you’re planning eventual exit or transition, financial management throughout your practice life cycle affects final outcomes.