Switching bookkeepers: preparing the handover

Your business may have grown, management may spend too much time chasing figures, or your systems may need more specialist attention. Write down the actual problems. If the books are accurate but the reports do not support decisions, you need a different solution from a business with missing documents and unreconciled accounts.

Identify what you want to keep as well. A useful chart of accounts, a working payroll process or an integration need not change simply because the provider changes. Establish whether you need ongoing bookkeeping and payroll, stronger controlling and reporting or a broader external finance function.

Before work starts, the engagement should specify the tasks being taken over and the periods they cover. The cut-off date defines the division of work between the previous and new bookkeeper. Consider it alongside the state of the accounts, payroll runs, filings and your agreement with the previous provider.

A month-end or completed financial year can be a practical starting point, but the right date depends on your circumstances. Taking over new entries is also different from reviewing every earlier period. Any work needed to bring the accounts up to date should be assessed and included in the scope.

A handover is easier to assess when the records explain both the balances and the outstanding work. Use the list below to prepare; the documents that actually need to be shared depend on your business and the agreed service.

• A trial balance and the latest annual report, with a note of which periods have been closed.
• Bank accounts and the latest reconciliations, including foreign-currency accounts.
• Accounts receivable and payable listings showing unpaid invoices, credit notes and known differences.
• The status of VAT, the tax account and other relevant filings, including unfinished tasks.
• The payroll system, latest payroll run and changes to be included in the next run.
• A list of accounting, payment and expense systems, integrations and responsible contacts.

Agree who needs access to each system and what they need to do there. Accounting access, payroll access and payment permissions serve different purposes. Identify who in your business can approve access and payments, and how you will handle the previous provider’s access once the handover is complete.

Your initial enquiry only needs to describe the setup. Do not send payroll lists, banking details or other sensitive documents through the contact form. First agree which records are needed and how they should be transferred.

A trial balance shows the figures, but does not necessarily establish that every account has been reconciled. Review what sits behind material balances. Does the bank reconcile? Are customer receipts matched to the right invoices? Have supplier invoices been recorded even where unpaid? Are there prepayments or accrued expenses to allocate across periods?

Where there is a backlog, missing documentation or errors, distinguish between keeping the new period up to date and correcting earlier records. Explain known issues early. The scope, priorities and price of any review should be agreed before work starts.

Create a shared task list for the transition. Each item should identify the period, the person supplying input, the person doing the work and the person following up. This is particularly useful for the next payroll run, VAT return, payments and any questions from your auditor.

Changing providers does not automatically transfer every outstanding task to the new bookkeeper. Confirm the division of work with both the previous provider and the new partner so each task has a clear owner. The timing of the handover depends on the available records and the agreements in place.

Changing bookkeepers and changing accounting software are separate decisions. We work with e-conomic, Dinero and Billy, among other systems, and help assess whether your setup fits your needs. If you also change software, include master data, balances, open invoices and integrations in the plan. See our systems overview.

Tell us which software you use, when you would like to change and whether there are known open periods or outstanding tasks. Describe the reporting you want going forward. Contact us to discuss the handover, and read about pricing and engagement scope before comparing proposals.