Small business
Switching accountants: how it works (and why it's easier than you think)
Most people stay too long with an accountant they've outgrown, because they imagine the switch is a nightmare. It isn't — the handover is a standard professional process, and your new accountant does nearly all of it. Here's what actually happens.
The signs it's time
You only hear from them when it's time to file. You get a bill you didn't expect. Questions take a week to answer, or come back in language you don't understand. Nobody has ever suggested anything proactively — no planning, no "have you thought about", just compliance. Or the practice has grown and you've been quietly moved down to someone you've never met. None of these are dramatic. They're just signs you're paying for a service you aren't getting.
What the switch involves
One: you appoint the new accountant and sign an engagement letter and anti-money-laundering ID checks — standard, quick.
Two: you send your old accountant a short note saying you're moving, and that you authorise them to give information to the new firm. That's usually the only awkward bit, and it's a two-line email.
Three: the new accountant writes to the old one — a professional clearance letter — asking whether there's any reason they shouldn't act, and requesting your records and information. This is routine and expected; accountants do it constantly.
Four: authorisation with HMRC and Companies House is transferred so the new firm can file for you.
You do steps one and two. Steps three and four happen without you.
What it costs
Nothing to the new accountant for the handover itself. Your old firm may bill for work genuinely done up to the date you leave — settle it, because unpaid fees are the one thing that can legitimately hold up the release of their working papers.
What to actually ask a prospective accountant
Who will I speak to — you, or someone I've not met? Is the fee fixed and agreed up front? What will you tell me before I have to ask? How do you use technology to save me time? And, bluntly: what would you have done differently with my last set of accounts? A good answer to that last one tells you everything.
Moving to us
We take over from other firms regularly, and we handle the clearance, the records request and the HMRC authorisations. Your part is a signature and a two-line email. If you're in Leeds or Garforth and something about your current arrangement isn't right, the first conversation is free — and if the honest answer is that you're already well served, we'll tell you that too.
This is general information, not advice for your circumstances. If you'd like it applied to your situation, get in touch — the first chat is free.
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