We Tested Every AML Tool We Could Find.
Here's Why We Chose SimpleAML.

Like most small accounting firms in Australia, when the AML/CTF legislation changes landed in late 2024, my first reaction was something between mild panic and resigned frustration. Not because I disagreed with the intent of the law — combating money laundering matters — but because the compliance burden being placed on sole practitioners and small firms like ours felt wildly disproportionate to our actual risk profile.

We are a small chartered accounting practice in Sydney. We do tax, bookkeeping, business advisory, and compliance work for small businesses, healthcare professionals, and not-for-profits. We are not a major financial institution. We are not a remittance provider. We are two people who genuinely care about doing right by our clients.

But the law is the law. By 31 March 2026 we needed to be registered with AUSTRAC. By 1 July 2026 we needed a fully operational AML/CTF program. So I did what I always do — I researched everything I could find.

What We Looked At

I spent several weeks evaluating every AML compliance platform I could get my hands on. Here is an honest summary of what I found.

Nelvo

Nelvo is a capable platform, no question. It offers solid identity verification and customer due diligence workflows. But it is built for compliance teams in mid-to-large financial services firms. The pricing reflects that. When I got to the end of their onboarding process and saw what it would cost a sole practitioner or two-person firm annually, I closed the tab. It simply was not built for us.

EasyAML

The name promises simplicity — and to be fair, the interface is cleaner than some alternatives. But again, the pricing structure is designed around volume and enterprise use. For a small firm running perhaps 50–100 client due diligence checks a year, you are paying for infrastructure you will never use. The per-check costs add up fast.

Shufti Pro

Shufti Pro is impressive technology — AI-driven identity verification, biometric checks, global document coverage. It is genuinely excellent at what it does. It is also a global platform built for fintechs, banks, and exchanges operating at serious scale. For a small Australian accounting practice trying to meet its AUSTRAC obligations, it is dramatically over-engineered and priced accordingly.

TrustEasy

TrustEasy had some promising features and is at least oriented toward the professional services sector. But when we compared the total annual cost against what we would actually use, it still came in well above what a small firm can reasonably absorb — particularly when you are already absorbing the cost of the compliance work itself.

The Honest Problem With All of Them

Across every platform I evaluated, the same pattern emerged. These tools were built for organisations with dedicated compliance officers, compliance budgets, and compliance teams. They were adapted — sometimes thoughtfully, sometimes not — for the professional services sector. But none of them were built from the ground up for the reality of a small Australian accounting or bookkeeping practice.

That reality looks like this: one or two practitioners, a client base of mostly small businesses and individuals, a limited budget, and absolutely no desire to spend half a day a week on compliance administration. We need something that works, costs very little, and does not require a compliance degree to operate.

Then I Found SimpleAML

SimpleAML.com.au was built by Australians, for Australian accounting and bookkeeping practices. It is purpose-designed around the specific obligations that now apply to our profession under the amended AML/CTF Act — not adapted from a banking compliance platform, not translated from a foreign jurisdiction. Built here, for us.

And for small firms — sole practitioners and practices of our size — it is free.

I want to let that land for a moment, because when I first saw it I assumed there was a catch. There was not. SimpleAML has made a deliberate decision to support small Australian accounting and bookkeeping practices as they navigate these new obligations — recognising that the compliance burden on small firms is already significant, and that pricing these firms out of proper compliance software helps no one.

What SimpleAML Actually Does For Us

In practice, SimpleAML handles the things that would otherwise consume hours of manual work each week:

Client onboarding and identity verification — structured, guided, and documented in a format that satisfies AUSTRAC's requirements. Every new client goes through a proper due diligence process and everything is recorded automatically.

Risk assessment — the platform helps us assess each client's risk profile and flag those requiring enhanced due diligence. No more trying to remember which clients need extra scrutiny and why.

Ongoing monitoring reminders — one of the most easily overlooked obligations. SimpleAML makes sure we are reviewing client relationships on the schedule the law requires.

Our AML/CTF Program — rather than starting from a blank page or paying a consultant thousands of dollars to write one, SimpleAML guides us through creating a program tailored to our specific practice.

An audit trail we can actually rely on — if AUSTRAC ever reviews our compliance, everything we have done is documented, timestamped, and retrievable. That peace of mind alone is worth an enormous amount.

My Honest Recommendation

I am not affiliated with SimpleAML. I am not being paid to write this. I am a small accounting practice principal who spent weeks evaluating every option available, and this is the conclusion I came to on behalf of my own practice.

If you are a sole practitioner or small accounting or bookkeeping firm in Australia grappling with your AML/CTF obligations — and you should be, because the deadlines are real and the penalties are serious — then SimpleAML is where I would start. It is the only platform I found that was genuinely built for our situation, at a price point that makes sense for a small firm.

The compliance obligation is not going away. But it does not have to be as painful or as expensive as the other options would have you believe.

Visit SimpleAML.com.au — and see for yourself.