Switching accountant without the drama

The most common reason people give for staying with an accountant they do not like is that it would be awkward to leave. The second most common is that they think the handover will take months and something will get lost. Neither survives contact with the actual process, which is short and mostly done by the new firm.

Step one: the call

You tell us about the business, what you have now and what is missing. We tell you which plan fits and what it costs. If we are not the right fit, we say so. This takes about twenty minutes and there is no charge.

Step two: two signatures

You sign our engagement letter, which says what we will do and what it costs, and an authority that lets us act for you with the tax office and ask your previous accountant for your records. Both are electronic. Most people do it the same day.

Step three: we write to your old accountant

There is a standard letter for this. It asks whether there is any reason we should not act for you, and requests the records: last accounts, last return, the trial balance, fixed-asset details, and anything in progress. Professional courtesy means they answer, and their own rules mean they cannot hold the records back over an unpaid fee. You do not have to have the awkward conversation; the letter is the conversation.

Step four: we set up the books

While the records are on their way we connect your bank feed, set up the receipt app and agree how you want the monthly summary. When the records arrive we bring the balances across and check the last filed return against what we have. Across our own clients this stage averages eight days from the signatures, most of it waiting on the old firm.

Step five: the first closed month

By the 10th of the following month you get your first summary, and from there it runs as normal. Anything the previous accountant left half-done, we finish; if that is a whole set of accounts, we quote a fixed price for it up front rather than folding it into the monthly fee.

When to do it

Any time, but the tidiest moment is just after a year-end has been filed, so one firm finishes a year and the next one starts a fresh one. If your year-end is months away, do not wait for it; a clean handover mid-year is routine.

This is general information, not financial advice. The process and timings above are ours; another firm’s may differ.