You can change accountant at any point in the year. You do not need to wait for your year end, and you do not need your current accountant's permission. The process is standard across the profession, and the work sits with the new firm, not with you.
The four steps
- A 15 minute call. Headcount, contract book, software, and what is going wrong now. Enough for us to tell you which tier fits and what it costs.
- A fixed fee proposal. Scope and price in writing within two working days. If your records need cleaning up first, that is quoted separately and up front.
- We do the handover. You e-sign, we run identity checks, and we write to your outgoing accountant for professional clearance and your records.
- Live in 14 days. Ledger migrated, deadline calendar built, payroll dates locked. You get one named contact and a clear list of what we need each month.
What professional clearance means
When you appoint a new accountant, the new firm writes to the old one to ask whether there is any professional reason it should not act for you, and to request the information it needs to take over. This is routine. Your current accountant should reply promptly, and you do not have to be involved in the exchange.
What we will need from you
- Photo ID and proof of address for each director and significant shareholder, for our anti money laundering checks.
- Access to your accounting software, or an export if you are moving software.
- Agent authorisation for HMRC, which we set up and you approve.
- Your last set of filed accounts and tax return, if your current firm is slow to send them.
Good times to switch
Any time works, but two windows are easiest. Straight after your year end, so we prepare the full year's accounts. Or straight after a VAT quarter, so the first return we file is clean from the start. If your year end accounts are already part done with your current firm, it often makes sense to let them finish that set and have us take over from the next period. We will tell you which applies on the call.
If your records are a mess
It is common and it is fixable. We quote a one off cleanup before we start, from £500, so it never turns into a surprise invoice. Your monthly fee then runs as normal from a clean opening position.
Notice and lock in
Check the notice period in your current engagement letter. Ours is monthly rolling, with thirty days' notice either way. If you ever leave us, we hand over your records promptly and professionally, which is the same courtesy we ask of the firm you are leaving.