Vestly vs an accountant?
You want both.
Vestly does not replace your accountant. It is the year-round system that makes them faster and cheaper - tracking your cashflow, deductions, CGT and depreciation live, then handing them a clean, ATO-aligned pack at tax time.
Your accountant
An expert you see about once a year. Reactive by design, roughly $200 to $400 an hour, and the right person to lodge your return, sign off on complex deductions, and advise on your situation. What they are not is a system that watches your portfolio between appointments.
Vestly
The year-round system that runs alongside your accountant. It tracks cashflow, deductions, CGT and depreciation live on the FY 2025-26 ATO rules, then hands over a one-click tax pack and an accountant-share view - so the expert spends their time advising and lodging, not doing data entry.
Accountant alone vs accountant + Vestly
The accountant still lodges and advises in both columns. Vestly fills the year-round gap.
Lodging your tax return
Accountant alone
Your accountant lodges - the right person for the job
Accountant + Vestly
Your accountant still lodges - unchanged
Personal tax advice + sign-off
Accountant alone
Your accountant advises and signs off
Accountant + Vestly
Your accountant still advises - Vestly is not a tax agent
How often you see the numbers
Accountant alone
Once a year, in arrears, at the appointment
Accountant + Vestly
Live, every day, as you log expenses
Tracking deductions through the year
Accountant alone
On you - receipts in a folder or a spreadsheet
Accountant + Vestly
Captured and categorised as they happen
Live negative-gearing tax-saving estimate
Accountant alone
Not until the return is prepared
Accountant + Vestly
Estimated live on FY 2025-26 ATO brackets
Depreciation (Div 40 + Div 43)
Accountant alone
Applied at tax time from a QS schedule
Accountant + Vestly
Tracked all year, ready for the schedule
CGT before you sell
Accountant alone
Modelled when you ask (extra billable time)
Accountant + Vestly
Estimated in-product with the 50% discount
Tax time hand-off
Accountant alone
You reconstruct a year of records first
Accountant + Vestly
One-click ATO-aligned FY tax pack + share mode
Typical accountant hours billed
Accountant alone
Higher - data entry + chasing receipts is on the clock
Accountant + Vestly
Lower - they advise and lodge, not reconstruct
Cost
Accountant alone
$200-$400/hr, mostly at EOFY
Accountant + Vestly
Accountant fees + $9.90 / property / month
| What you get | Accountant alone | Accountant + Vestly |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging your tax return | Your accountant lodges - the right person for the job | Your accountant still lodges - unchanged |
| Personal tax advice + sign-off | Your accountant advises and signs off | Your accountant still advises - Vestly is not a tax agent |
| How often you see the numbers | Once a year, in arrears, at the appointment | Live, every day, as you log expenses |
| Tracking deductions through the year | On you - receipts in a folder or a spreadsheet | Captured and categorised as they happen |
| Live negative-gearing tax-saving estimate | Not until the return is prepared | Estimated live on FY 2025-26 ATO brackets |
| Depreciation (Div 40 + Div 43) | Applied at tax time from a QS schedule | Tracked all year, ready for the schedule |
| CGT before you sell | Modelled when you ask (extra billable time) | Estimated in-product with the 50% discount |
| Tax time hand-off | You reconstruct a year of records first | One-click ATO-aligned FY tax pack + share mode |
| Typical accountant hours billed | Higher - data entry + chasing receipts is on the clock | Lower - they advise and lodge, not reconstruct |
| Cost | $200-$400/hr, mostly at EOFY | Accountant fees + $9.90 / property / month |
When an accountant alone is enough
- You own one simple property, positively or neutrally geared, and keep tidy records yourself.
- You are comfortable handing your accountant a basic spreadsheet once a year and do not need to watch your position in between.
- You have no near-term sale, so there is no CGT to model before you decide.
- Your structure is straightforward - held in your own name, no trust, company, or SMSF layer to track.
If that is you, keep doing what works. Vestly earns its place as your portfolio and your tax position get more complex.
What Vestly adds when you keep your accountant
- Every deductible expense captured live, so nothing is forgotten by the time your accountant sees it.
- A one-click FY tax pack - income, deductions, interest, depreciation, and CGT position - exported as PDF or CSV.
- Accountant-share mode so your tax agent works straight from your data instead of chasing you for it.
- Live cashflow and negative-gearing estimates on the current ATO FY 2025-26 brackets, all year, not just at lodgement.
- Depreciation (Div 40 + Div 43) and CGT (50% discount) tracked across every property in one place.
- Fewer billable accountant hours, because they advise and lodge instead of reconstructing a year of transactions.
Do I need an accountant, software, or both?
Do I need an accountant for my investment property?
For most Australian property investors, yes - a registered tax agent is the right person to lodge your return, sign off on complex deductions, and give advice on your situation. Vestly does not replace that. What it changes is the other 360 days of the year: it tracks your cashflow, deductions, CGT position and depreciation live, so when tax time arrives your accountant gets a clean, ATO-aligned pack instead of a shoebox of receipts. That usually makes them faster and cheaper.
Property investment accountant vs software - which do I choose?
It is not either-or. An accountant is an expert you typically see once a year; they are reactive by design and charge by the hour. Software like Vestly is the year-round system that captures every expense and keeps your numbers current to the ATO FY 2025-26 rules. The accountant lodges; the software keeps the books your accountant lodges from. The two together cost less in accountant hours than the accountant alone working from disorganised records.
Will Vestly replace my accountant?
No, and we will not claim it does. Vestly is not a registered tax agent, it cannot lodge your return, and it does not give personal tax advice. It is general information and a tracking tool. Your accountant signs off and lodges. Vestly just makes sure the inputs they work from are complete and accurate, all year.
How does Vestly make my accountant cheaper?
Accountants charge roughly $200 to $400 an hour, and a big chunk of that time is spent reconstructing a year of transactions, chasing missing receipts, and re-categorising expenses. When you hand them a Vestly FY tax pack - income, deductible expenses, depreciation schedule, interest, and CGT position already organised the way the ATO expects - there is far less of that grunt work to bill for. You are paying them to advise and lodge, not to do data entry.
Can I share my Vestly data directly with my accountant?
Yes. Vestly has an accountant-share mode and a one-click FY tax pack you can export as a PDF or CSV. You send it, your accountant works from it, and you skip the back-and-forth of "can you redo this" emails at the busiest time of their year.
When is an accountant alone enough, without software?
If you own a single, simple, positively or neutrally geared property, keep tidy records yourself, and are comfortable handing your accountant a basic spreadsheet, an accountant alone can be plenty. Software earns its keep as complexity grows - multiple properties, depreciation schedules, a sale with CGT to model, co-ownership, or a trust or SMSF structure - where tracking live across the year prevents missed deductions and tax-time surprises.
Give your accountant less to do.
Track every property, every expense, every deduction live all year - then hand your accountant a clean, ATO-aligned tax pack in one click. Keep the expert; lose the shoebox. Vestly is $9.90 per active property a month, with a 7-day free trial.
Start free trial →7-day free trial, $0 today, cancel anytime. Then $9.90 per active property a month.