Tamara-Lee Beveridge initially wanted to be a mechanic when she grew up.
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However, at the age of 15 she became personally invested in the prospects of accounting and bookkeeping.
"I did work experience with an accountant and I liked it ... it's an industry that requires a lot of processes," she said.
"Being in this business allows me to support other people and that's my passion, not so much the numbers."
Ms Beveridge recently won two national bookkeeping awards, and her business: BizCore360 is in its third year of operation.
Ms Beveridge is a business activity statement agent - she said the role included services in payroll, Xero advising and taxes to an extent.
However, she added being a BAS agent meant far more than just admin and data entry.
"[A] Bookkeeper is much more than that and BAS agents are much more than a bookkeeper," Ms Beveridge said.
Her job as a BAS agent means she's liaising day-to-day with small businesses across Australia.
"Our economy is made up of a small business owner majority and they don't go into business to do their books ... a lot don't understand the legislation because it can be quite complex," she said.
"They go into it because they have a passion for what they do and that's where I fit in and support them."
This support became even more evident during the peak of COVID-19, where Ms Beveridge needed to assist in helping businesses navigate the fluid JobKeeper program.
"It was really intense for the first five weeks because the legislation kept changing hourly," she said.
"Because we are so heavily regulated, we can't make a mistake and as you can imagine people were quite desperate."
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Ms Beveridge said the personal relationships with business owners meant her support extended beyond finances.
"We weren't just supporting them through JobKeeper, I was talking people down from suicide in some aspects," she said.
"I had random people desperately calling me - we're not mental health workers so within our industry across Australia we've had so much pressure as BAS agents and we stepped up ... because all we want to do is help and support businesses."
Ms Beveridge's work as BAS agent has earned her a number of awards.
Most recently, she won the Accountants Daily Australia bookkeeper of the year 2020 as well as the Women in Finance bookkeeper of the year award.
Ms Beveridge said the latter award came as a pleasant surprise.
"I think there were over 6000 nominations, 3000 submissions and there were 300 that were chosen in the the 25 categories so that's quite intense," she said.
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
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