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Lighthouse Accounting Review | Property and Business Accounting Services - What You Need to Know

​Our in-depth review of Lighthouse's accounting services looks at their fixed-fee structure, property tax expertise, and integrated service model to help you determine if they're the right fit for your accounting needs.
Updated 28 August 2025

Summary
  • Lighthouse Accounting is the accounting arm of Auckland-based Lighthouse Financial Services, specialising in property accounting, business accounting, and trust management.
  • Unlike many legacy accountancy firms, Lighthouse is arguably more transparent, offering clear, fixed annual fees ranging from $800 to $5,000 plus GST, depending on the services provided.
  • Lighthouse positions itself as property tax specialists serving New Zealand clients through a team led by Accounting Director Amanda Quill (ex Deloitte).
  • The firm distinguishes itself through its integrated model - clients can access accounting, mortgages, wealth management, and property services under one roof.

Our review examines their services, pricing structure, value proposition, and practical considerations to help clarify what Lighthouse offers and whether it aligns with your accounting needs. We cover:
Important Disclosure: Lighthouse is a client of MoneyHub. However, this review has been independently written by our research team to provide an objective analysis of their accounting services, costs, and approach.

We have asked Lighthouse to respond directly to questions about their services to ensure accuracy and transparency in acounting services information. This allows readers to make informed decisions based on factual information rather than assumptions. Our goal is to make accounting services more transparent and accessible to New Zealanders, regardless of our commercial relationships.

Overview of Lighthouse’s Services

Lighthouse's services span five main categories, each with specific offerings:

Accounting (the focus of this review, and discussed in detail below)
  • Property Accounting: Focuses on rental property tax and compliance.
  • Trusts: Assistance with trust setup and management for asset protection.
  • Business Accounting: Includes bookkeeping and tax planning for small to medium enterprises.

Wealth
  • Holistic Financial Advice: Plans for budgeting, goal setting, budgeting, debt repayment, investment strategy and financial projections.
  • Investment Advice: Independent investment advice on shares, property and bonds. They have no conflicts of interest and pass on discounts on funds to clients.
  • KiwiSaver Management: Assistance with provider selection and contribution strategies.
  • More details: Lighthouse Financial Services Review

Mortgages
  • Property Investors: Mortgage options for investment property purchases.
  • First Home Buyers: Support for deposit saving, buying processes, and loan structuring.

Property
  • Our Process: Steps for Property Investment, Including Market Analysis.
  • Investing From Australia: Support for cross-border property deals.

Insurance
  • Life Insurance: Coverage for family and estate protection.
  • Disability Insurance: Income support during disability.
  • Income Protection: Earnings replacement for illness or injury.
  • Health Insurance: Medical coverage options.
  • Business Insurance: Protection for business assets and liabilities.

Our view: This integrated model aims to consolidate financial management, but it may limit clients' exposure to specialised providers.

Lighthouse Accounting Services - Property, Business and Trust Services

Lighthouse specialises in three core areas of accounting - we outline their services in detail below.

1. Lighthouse Property Accounting - Their Core Focus

Lighthouse markets itself as a property tax specialist, and its client-facing documentation, reviewed by MoneyHub as part of our research, shows significant depth in this area.  

For property investors, Lighthouse offers:
  1. Tax Deduction Optimisation: Their property tax focus helps clients manage allowable deductions including rates, insurance, mortgage interest, agent fees, repairs and maintenance, depreciation on chattels, travel expenses, legal fees for financing, and home office expenses. Lighthouse's expertise helps their clients distinguish between deductible repairs (fixing existing items) and non-deductible capital improvements (adding value), which is critical for maximising legitimate deductions.
  2. Chattels Depreciation Strategy: They recommend chattels valuations through partners like Valuit (as outlined on a recent podcast), offering discounted rates to clients. This can unlock thousands of dollars in additional deductions - a $300,000 property might have $30,000-$50,000 in depreciable chattels, generating $3,000-$5,000 in annual deductions at IRD rates. Whatever the situation, Lighthouse applies a microscope to every investment property as part of its process to maximise tax deductibility.
  3. Structural Advice: Lighthouse has extensive expertise in Look-Through Companies (LTCs), as explained in our guide, which outlines how losses can be allocated to high-income earners for maximum tax benefit. This means tax efficiencies for anyone with an unprofitable investment property. For example, Lighthouse can offer guidance to help apportion a $15,000 annual rental loss by allocating 90% of the loss to someone in a high tax bracket, rather than an equal allocation to partners on different tax rates.
  4. Year-End Requirements: Lighthouse works with property investors to prepare financial statements, sourcing data from bank statements, loan statements, property management reports, settlement statements, invoices, and personal expenditure calculations. Their focus is on accuracy and compliance while maximising client returns.

Further Insights: Lighthouse runs its Cheques and Balances Podcast, demonstrating its expertise across all service areas through in-depth discussions on practical accounting topics:

2. Lighthouse Business Accounting Services

​Lighthouse's business offerings span from sole traders to large companies that need a full-service solution. Lighthouse has clear pricing tiers for several services, including:
  • Sole Trader Package (from $1,500 + GST annually): Includes financial statements, Xero review and year-end adjustments, IR3 and IR10 returns, tax assessments and reminders, plus tax planning assistance. For a sole trader turning over $200,000, this represents 0.75% of revenue, which we believe is reasonable given Lighthouse offers comprehensive compliance.
  • Small Business Package (from $2,000 + GST annually): This includes company-specific requirements, including IR4 returns, IR4J imputation credit returns, up to two shareholder IR3 returns, company minutes and resolutions, and annual accounts meetings. We believe the inclusion of shareholder returns is valuable - many accountants charge these separately at as much as $400-600 per shareholder.
  • Medium Business Package (from $3,500 + GST annually): Lighthouse offers an enhanced service level for more complex compliance needs, including all small business features plus additional support for businesses with multiple entities or more complex structures.
  • Large Business Package (from $5,000 + GST annually): Comprehensive accounting for substantial operations, including complex compliance management and strategic tax planning.

Further Insights: Lighthouse's Cheques and Balances Podcast has several Business Accounting-themed episodes, including:

3. Trust Services

​Lighthouse offers comprehensive trust services that go beyond simple establishment and help trustees manage investment properties, and other trust-specific assets. Services include:
  • Trust Setup (from $1,850 + GST): Includes consultation, trust deed creation, initial trustee minutes, letter of wishes, and IRD number application.
  • Corporate Trustee Setup (from $950 + GST): This is an additional option for those seeking the benefits of a corporate trustee, including no individual names on titles, easier trustee changes, and potentially enhanced asset protection.
  • Ongoing Trust Management (from $1,800 + GST annually): Covers financial statements, IR6 trust returns, two beneficiary IR3 returns, tax reminders, and ongoing advice. Lighthouse focuses on devising and implementing distribution strategies that benefit beneficiaries at lower rates, ensuring the trust remains tax-efficient.
  • Trust Changes (from $350 + GST): For adding beneficiaries or trustees - reasonable for the legal documentation required.

Further Insights: Lighthouse's Cheques and Balances Podcast has several Trust and Estate Planning episodes, including:

What You Actually Get For Your Money

Lighthouse offers a range of Property Accounting services:
​
1) Individually Owned ($800 + GST): This involves more than just filing an IR3. You get a dedicated accountant who understands property-specific deductions, annual profit/loss statements prepared correctly for tax purposes, proactive tax reminders (critical for provisional tax), and ongoing support throughout the year. Their documentation shows that they'll help you understand the difference between repairs and improvements, calculate home office deductions, and maximise legitimate claims.

2) LTC Structure ($1,600 + GST): Beyond the basic returns, they handle the complexity of loss attribution between shareholders, prepare full financial statements (required if income/expenses exceed $30,000), and manage the IR4 company return plus up to two individual IR3 returns. Their documentation explains how to allocate losses - potentially worth thousands in tax savings strategically.

3) Trust-Owned ($1,800 + GST): Includes managing the 39% trust tax rate implications, distributing income to beneficiaries for tax efficiency (potentially saving $5,000+ annually on $30,000 profit), and ensuring proper trust documentation to avoid "sham trust" issues that could void protection.

4) Business Accounting - More Than Compliance - The packages include elements often charged separately by other firms:
  • Xero Integration: They don't just prepare returns from your data - they review and adjust your Xero file to ensure accuracy throughout the year. This proactive approach prevents year-end surprises.
  • Company Administration: Minutes and resolutions are included, not extras. These documents are legally required and often overlooked until needed for banking or legal purposes.
  • Strategic Planning: Annual accounts meetings aren't just about reviewing numbers - they also include tax planning discussions for the year ahead, potentially identifying thousands of dollars in savings.

The Six-Step Process They Follow:
  1. Initial Contact (15 minutes): Not a sales pitch but an assessment of your needs
  2. Accounting Call (30 minutes): A qualified accountant (not a salesperson) discusses your specific situation
  3. Onboarding: Structured information gathering to ensure nothing's missed
  4. Full Discovery: Their Customer Success Manager explores additional needs - this integration focus is where they differentiate
  5. Work Completion: They commit to completing work "well ahead of deadlines" - crucial for provisional tax planning
  6. Review & Filing: Not just submission, but advice on optimising next year's position

Lighthouse Accounting - Strengths and What to Be Aware Of

​We outline Lighthouse's strengths to help you determine if it's right for your needs:

Strengths
  • Fixed-Fee Transparency: Lighthouse makes its fees transparent, so you know what you'll pay before becoming a client. This makes budgeting straightforward. We believe fixed-fee services are particularly valuable, given that many accountants charge $100 to $300/hour.
  • Property Tax Depth: Their client-focused documentation demonstrates genuine expertise in property taxation. Their team understands bright-line implications, ring-fencing rules, mixed-use assets and the critical distinction between repairs and improvements for tax deductibility.
  • Provisional Tax Management: Their provisional tax guide shares insights into the $5,000 RIT threshold, safe harbour rules for those over $60,000, and the four calculation methods. Their expertise extends to tax pooling options for cash flow management.
  • Integrated Service Model: Having accounting, mortgages, and wealth services together creates efficiencies. Your accountant can work directly with your mortgage broker on restructuring or coordinate with wealth advisers on distribution strategies.
  • Educational Resources: Lighthouse has a regular and detailed podcast, Cheques and Balances, offering substantial educational materials. We consider this one of New Zealand's most valuable financial education podcasts, featuring extensive videos of over an hour on topics such as deductions, financial statements, trust operations, and compliance requirements.

Potential Drawbacks
  • Dependency on Key Personnel: The team is small, but we understand it is growing. Our research team asked Lighthouse if capacity could be an issue as they grow - their response is as follows: "We’re a small but growing team, we’re proud to have a NZ based accounting team who are passionate about property and growing our client’s businesses. Unlike some firms who choose to outsource their client’s work, our team are all based in NZ and are more than happy to pick up the phone and talk to our clients about their Accounting needs". 
  • Property Focus May Not Suit All: Their heavy emphasis on property might mean less expertise in other areas, such as tech startups, professional services, or export businesses with complex GST issues. However, we suggest contacting Lighthouse to see if they can assist with your accounting needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following frequently asked questions address the most common queries we receive about Lighthouse Accounting Services. Where indicated, we have asked Lighthouse to provide direct responses to ensure accuracy and give readers insight into how the firm explains its services and approach.

We believe this transparency helps potential clients understand exactly what they're considering and allows for more informed decision-making. The questions cover practical concerns about costs, processes, and service delivery that are crucial for anyone evaluating accounting services.

How does Lighthouse's pricing compare to other accounting firms?

Lighthouse's fixed fees, ranging from $800 to $5,000 annually, sit in the mid-market. Traditional firms typically charge $150-$300 hourly, meaning a simple rental property return could cost $600-$1,200, while complex business returns might reach $3,000-$8,000.

Budget online services run $200-$500 but offer minimal support. Lighthouse's transparency eliminates billing anxiety - you know the cost upfront.

Can Lighthouse handle complex business structures?

While they offer services up to the "large business" level, their sweet spot appears to be small to medium-sized enterprises. If you have international operations, complex GST arrangements, or multiple subsidiary companies, you may need the resources of a larger firm. Contact them directly to assess if they can handle your specific complexity.

How accessible are the directors for questions?

All Lighthouse Directors are available at any time for questions or queries. Anyone wishing to get in touch with any of the team can find contact details on the Lighthouse website.

What if I'm unhappy with the service?

Clients can contact their dedicated accountant at any time for any complaints or feedback, or contact the Operations Manager. Contact details can be found on their website.

Should contractors use Hnry or an accountant?

​It depends on your level of complexity and income. Hnry works well for straightforward contracting with income under $150,000 annually (where the 1% fee caps at $1,500). Their automated system efficiently handles GST, provisional tax, and expense tracking. However, if you have multiple income streams, complex deductions, or need strategic tax planning, an accountant provides more value.

Many contractors earning over $150,000 find accountants to be cheaper than Hnry's fee structure, plus they receive personalised advice. Some use both - Hnry for automation and an accountant for annual review and planning. For more information, Lighthouse has a comparison guide, as does HNRY.

Five Important Questions to Ask Lighthouse Accounting

​When evaluating Lighthouse (or any accounting firm), asking direct questions about their service delivery, expertise, and business practices helps determine if they're the right fit for your needs. These five questions cut through marketing promises to reveal how Lighthouse actually operates and whether its services justify the annual fees ranging from $800 to $5,000 plus GST.

Important: The questions below focus on practical concerns that directly impact the value you'll receive, from their ability to demonstrate real tax savings to their contingency plans for staff changes. Their responses will indicate whether they can deliver on their promise of being property tax specialists with integrated financial services.

Question 1: "Can you walk me through a specific example of tax savings you've achieved for a client similar to me?"

Generalities are easy - specific examples demonstrate real expertise. They should be able to explain strategies like loss attribution, depreciation maximisation, or structure optimisation with real numbers.

Question 2: "What happens during peak season - will my work be outsourced or handled by junior staff?"

March-July is busy for accountants. Understanding their capacity and processes ensures your returns aren't rushed or delegated to inexperienced staff.

Question 3: "How do you stay current with property tax changes, and how will you proactively advise me?"

​Tax rules change constantly. They should have a systematic approach to monitoring changes and communicating impacts to clients, rather than just reacting when asked.

Question 4: "What's your policy if I'm not satisfied with the service - can I get a refund or exit mid-year?"

We asked Lighthouse to explain what happens if a client isn't satisfied - their response is as follows:
“We do not hold our clients to any contracts, meaning they are welcome to exit at any time. Any work that has been completed gets handed over to the client and/or Accountant”.

Question 5: "What's your succession plan if key staff leave or retire?"

With a small leadership team, continuity risk is a real concern. Understanding their succession planning and knowledge management reveals whether your long-term relationship is secure.

Our Conclusion

Lighthouse Accounting offers a transparent, fixed-fee approach to accounting that appeals to property investors and small businesses tired of hourly billing surprises from traditional accounting firms. Lighthouse doesn't try to be all things to all people - they focus on property taxation, trusts and standard business accounting while offering an integrated service model.

Who Lighthouse likely suits best:
  • Property investors with 1-5 rentals wanting proactive tax planning
  • Small to medium businesses seeking predictable accounting costs
  • Clients who value the convenience of integrated financial services
  • Those who appreciate educational resources and want to understand their tax position
  • Investors considering LTC or trust structures for their portfolios

Who may want to consider alternatives:
  • Large corporations or complex business structures needing Big Four expertise
  • Businesses in niche industries requiring specialised knowledge
  • Clients seeking the absolute cheapest option, regardless of service
The Bottom Line:
  • At $800-$5,000 annually, Lighthouse sits in the middle of the market - more expensive than DIY software or budget operators, less than premium firms.
  • Their property tax expertise appears solid, their processes seem thorough, and their pricing is refreshingly transparent. For property investors especially, the combination of fixed fees and genuine expertise arguably has the right foundations to deliver meaningful savings year after year.
  • As Lighthouse grows, the key will be to ensure they have the capacity to maintain service quality, but our view is that they are a service-first organisation and want to ensure consistency.
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